New Single – The One Percent

I have been terribly sick the last few weeks, so I haven’t done much besides sit/lay around and feel miserable. I tried to write a post about working while sick, but I want to re-read it when I’m not doped up on cold medicine before releasing it to the wild.

Anyway Bendik Glomnes has released a single he wrote called “The One Percent,” which I sang on a while back.

It’s available on the following sites:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2NAmkGUhLLgrwbAV2ltN5n

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06W5LBFS7

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-one-percent-feat-mella-single/id1208335423?app=itunes&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Thanks so much to Bendik for using me on your track, and best of luck with the song! Please show him some love and support!

What are Pickup Notes?

This is another term from my book that I felt needed to be mentioned, because when a songwriter gives me a song to sing I may need to clarify if a note is a pick-up note. Sometimes they look at me like, “huh?” so I thought it might be good to talk about here!

So what is a pickup note? 

If you look at the picture above, you see three quarter notes leading to a whole note. This means that those notes will be played leading into the whole note, which is the actual start of the phrase.

For popular reference, let’s look at Maroon 5’s Payphone. The word “payphone” is the actual start of the phrase. “I’m at a” are the notes leading up to it. When Adam Levine gets to “payphone,” the music starts and the song begins. In the chorus, the actual chorus starts on “payphone” as well.

Another term for pickup note is “anacrusis” and can also be used in poetry. If you want to sound super fancy and impress (or annoy) everyone at a party, you can use this word instead.

So, why would I need to know if a note is a pickup note? Or why would you if you’re the songwriter? 

The phrasing would be entirely different in “Payphone” if “I’m at a” were not pickup lines and instead started the song. The rhythm would be different, the emphasis would be different. In fact, I might even make a video to demonstrate the difference. But trust me that it’s important to label pickup notes so the feel of the song stays true to what you wanted.

If you are a lyric writer only and I’m creating a melody to your words, I may ask if I can make certain words into pickup notes. This is because I’m trying to establish a melodic flow to the lyrics and phrasing it a certain way might help. You’re free to tell me whether or not that’s okay, and I can create a melody to fit whatever words or lines you want to emphasize. But knowing this term will help us move forward and make sure  your song is correct right away!

If you want to learn more about this term or the process of using it, here is a great reference: https://popmusictheory.com/anacrusis/

I probably will make a video on this so I’ll either edit this post or link it to this one. In the meantime, see if you can find other songs with pickup notes or see if any of your own have them!

Edit: Here is my video explaining it! https://youtu.be/t7UWnORIzsc Hope that helps!

A Day’s Work As a Session Singer

Several people have asked what my “typical day” is like as a session singer. While there really is no guaranteed daily schedule, I can tell you about yesterday which will give you a general idea.

Here is a Common Day for a Session Singer:

1). I generally wake up around 9am. No one tells me to do this, it’s just my natural waking time and I feel like having a schedule helps my day.

2). I review my To Do list I made the night before, which includes my song lineup for the day.

3). I base the rest of my day on how many songs I have lined up. Usually I have between two to five songs a day, but occasionally I’ll have more or less, or none. If I have a larger number of songs to record, I will cut back on everything else or cut a task out.

4). I comp and edit vocals recorded the night before. I go over each stem with a fine-toothed comb to make sure there are no background noises, everything sounds good, and the track is ready to be exported and sent.

5). Stems from each project are exported, batched, and submitted to clients.

6). I check my email and check in with clients I sent tracks to the day before, to see if any edits or changes are needed. If so, I add those to my list of songs for today.

7). Any business, marketing, or social media work is done during this space if my day allows for it. I also take online music classes and will fit them into this part if I can.

8). The fun begins! I compile all songs to be recorded today, print the lyric sheets, and prepare for recording. I begin my ritual to help me get into the mindset of recording: make tea, shower or breathe steam, clean my session area. (Note: I do have a booth at my home, but occasionally I do on-set sessions or book a separate studio. I skip the shower in this case).

9). Songs are recorded in the order I received the job. I do this for no other reason than it helps me stay organized. Last night, I had a 16th-century Gregorian choral piece (with sheet music), two country songs for which I provided background vocals, a symphonic rock song with lots of screaming, and an edit for a song from the night before, to change a few harmonies here and there. I opted to save the screaming one for last so as not to blow my voice out right away, and did the choral piece first because I knew I’d need all of my strength for it.

10). I am done for the day! By now it’s usually 10 or 11pm, and tomorrow I will edit the songs I just recorded. I prepare my To Do list for tomorrow, read or watch TV and relax my voice with tea, wine or whiskey (or whatever I’m feeling in that moment).

So, you may notice that only about a third of the day is actually spent singing. Some session singers might not do their own editing and comping so they might have that part of the day open. You may also notice that I do most of my recording in the evening. There’s no particular reason for this, other than I don’t like to sing early in the morning, and I like to make the most of the daylight.

Every singer’s schedule is probably different, and I allow room for mine to vary as needed so this could change, but this is my typical day as a session singer!

New Single – Way to Nowhere

I have a new single with producer Varun Marwah. We collaborated on this several months ago, so it’s always exciting to hear a song come to life! This is an energetic EDM track, check it out and let us know what you think! Thanks so much to Varun for choosing me to work on this track. I can’t wait to see what you create in the future!

How to Convey a Melody When You Can’t Sing

First, let’s discuss what a melody is:

The dictionary defines melody as “a sequence of single notes that is musically satisfying.” We can all agree that ‘musically satisfying’ is relative to the listener, because I’m sure we’ve all heard some melodies that were anything but satisfying. Essentially, the melody is what turns poetry into music. The words are lyrics, the singing is melody. A guitar solo can also be the melody, or whatever instrument is taking the lead.

As a session singer, I’m often contacted by songwriters who have incredible writing talent, but are not singers themselves (hence the need to hire one). These gifted creators feel self-conscious about singing their songs and ask me how they can convey a melody so that I can sing it.

If you happen to fall into this category, I can give you a few tips here to make it easier and stress-free:

1. Play the melody on an instrument

If you’re an instrumentalist, feel free to play a solo track on your guitar/piano/sitar/whatever and label it as “melody.” When I import the tracks, I’ll be able to line them up and figure out the melody from there. As long as you can play along to the lyrics, I can figure it out easily.

2.  Write sheet music

If you know how to do this, feel free! I can read music so this isn’t a problem. It’s certainly not for everyone, but if you feel more comfortable doing this than singing the melody, be my guest.

3. Hire a demo singer

If you’re hiring me to sing the demo, this may seem like an extra step. However, if you really aren’t comfortable singing and need me to hear how you’d like it sung, this may be a good option. Just keep in mind that you may have to pay the other singer as well. If you have a relative or friend who will do it for free, cool. If this is the method you choose, please let me know if you would like me to imitate the style and tone of the demo singer!

Lastly, although you probably won’t like this option:

4. Just go ahead and sing it yourself

Trust me, I’ve heard it all. I won’t judge you or make fun of you. As long as I can sort of determine where the melody is headed and how it lines up with the lyrics, that’s pretty much all I need. This method is probably easiest and fastest, and perhaps least expensive. Generally the writers who send me these are a little more lenient and open to my interpretation of the melody, so I will say that if you’re completely tone deaf and have a very specific melody you’d like, it may be better to use the other options. I guarantee you aren’t so bad that I can’t at least figure out part of it though, so please be kind to yourself!

The creative process should always be rewarding and fulfilling, so please choose the option that is the most fun for you. I’ve used all of these methods with different clients and they’ve all worked out completely fine. If you have a different way you like, that’s cool too! Please feel free to contact me if you’re curious about the process or have an idea, and you can also watch my video about the process if you have any questions!

Measures of Music

This is a terrible graphic (made by yours truly), but it really does help me to think of a measure as sort of a ruler. In sheet music, one bar of the staff is called a measure. If the tempo is 4/4, that means there are four counts in the measure. It gets extremely detailed and people spend years learning things like this, so I don’t expect to teach you everything in one blog post.

So, when do you need to know about measures?

Generally, only when reading sheet music. I just sang an Italian aria for a client (my first as a session singer!) and that was one of maybe two times I’ve had to read sheet music professionally. However, I was glad for my training while working on it and had I not known how to read, it would have been difficult if not impossible.

I’ve had years of training, but I haven’t used it regularly so I’m a little rusty at it. If you’re like me, or you haven’t had any training, there are many great websites to learn. https://www.musictheory.net/lessons has some great ones, as does Rick Beato on his YouTube channel.

Okay, I don’t ever plan on reading sheet music. That means I don’t need to know about measures, right? 

Eh, I guess, but having a feel for music in general will help you as a performer, composer or musician, and learning these things will help. It will also help you get more jobs and work with different genres, people and ideas.

 

Burned Out Affair

Dan has a new single featuring my voice, a cover of John Cale’s “Burned Out Affair.” Check the song out over here!

Hiring A Lyricist

First things first: What is a lyricist?

A lyricist is someone who, quite simply, writes lyrics.

They may write other parts as well, but if they’re writing the words to a song, they’re a lyricist! So, let’s say you are a producer, instrumentalist, or singer, but you know that writing lyrics is not your strong suit. That’s totally okay. There are enough talented lyricists out there that you can easily find someone to take your story and song to the next level.

But what, exactly, does a lyricist do in regards to a project?

The answer depends entirely on what you’re looking for. I have contributed lyrics to songs in the following ways:

• Written full lyrics to a song with a melody
• Written full lyrics and a melody to a music bed
• Edited lyrics for clarity and emotional storytelling
• Consulted on lyrical projects for a second opinion
• Written ad content lyrics for commercials
• Edited commercial lyrics to retain the most info in the shortest time

The list continues, but hopefully this shows that there is no standard way to hire a lyricist. You may already be a lyricist but be stuck on a verse. You may have a story to tell, but are not sure how to put it into lyrical form. Any of these are great reasons to find a lyricist to tell your story!

How much does a lyricist cost?

Sorry, there’s no set answer to that! I know you were hoping for a number, but it depends on several things including who you ask, what you need, and what the end result will be. If it’s a song about how much you love your grandma, and she’s the only one who will ever hear it, that will be less expensive than a song you’re going to try to pitch to a major company for a commercial. If the lyricist retains some of the rights to the song, that will be less expensive than giving you full rights and ownership over it (because if the song ever becomes famous, the lyricist typically receives no residual income if they give up their rights). Also, I’ve had clients contact me to write lyrics, and fail to mention that I am also responsible for creating the melody. Typically those are separate fees so it’s important to mention that up front for an accurate quote!

How does the process work?

Everyone works a little differently, but for me, we start by gathering what you already have. If it’s just the music bed or instrumental, that’s perfect. If you’ve also got a melody, great! From there I determine what you’re looking for in terms of the story. After I get a feel for what you’re looking for, I start writing (by hand – I’m old school like that). I send you a draft and let you look/listen and make any changes. I go back, edit and resend to you. Once you’re completely happy with the draft, I go to my booth and record the vocals professionally (unless I’m only writing and not performing, in which case after you’re happy with it we’re good to go!)

Each lyricist has a method and work style, so I can’t speak for everyone. It’s important to find someone whose work style compliments your own and someone you trust to tell your story.

In case you’re curious, here’s a link to my reel of songs I’ve written for clients. I may have written lyrics only or contributed in other ways to each of these samples, but hopefully it will show that there are few limits in songwriting. I love that each client has a unique story and try to convey that as best as possible!

 

Working With Me

Wondering what it’s like to hire -and work with- a session singer? I created this video to explain the process, steps, and methods I use. Check it out and feel free to write me if you have any questions!

New Single!

I co-wrote and sang on Ruvelly’s dance track. He’s an amazing producer and it was a fun project. When I heard the track, I was immediately excited to start working on it.

Check it out on the following sites:

Spotify

Amazon

iTunes

Let me know if you heard it and what you think! Thanks to Ruvelly for working with me on this track.

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Asking a musician for an improv track can be a great idea. They may bring elements to the table that you never would have considered. It can also be a disaster. You might hate what they’ve done and wonder how they could possibly think that sounded good.

How do you make sure you get the former result and not the latter?

That’s the trouble with improv tracks. Unless you know the musician very well, it’s a gamble (I’ve even had improv stems from well-known and trusted musicians that made me scratch my head, so knowing them well didn’t help).

The truth is, we all have off days. We all have better or worse ideas. We all interpret a project a little differently, which can be a great thing or a terrible thing. If you’re the songwriter, you’re in charge (or whoever is paying for the services is generally in charge, haha) so your vision should be carried out fully.

Generally, people hire me to do a lead vocal and/or harmonies, and I’ll include an improv or adlib track at no charge. That way they can pick and choose what parts they want to include, if any, or leave the whole thing in. But let’s say someone hired me to do an improv track only, on a jazz track or something. I will of course do whatever I think is best for the song and try to make it exactly what they want, but if you have a specific idea of what you want the adlibs to sound like, please let me know! It’s so much easier that way and then you get exactly what you want. Play it out on an instrument or sing a rough sample. That way I get it exactly right the first time around.

If you’ve hired someone and they send the improv track back and you hate it, how do you resolve it? My advice is to listen to what they’ve given and see if any of it is salvageable. Can you cut some parts and move them around? If not, try filling out my Revision Sheet and resubmit to the performer. If you haven’t played a part out for them, try doing so now. Hopefully you’ve already negotiated to getting at least one free edit (if not, don’t forget to do this at the beginning of hiring someone!) and they can knock it out of the park for you on the second take.

So, to recap:

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I am assuming most everyone knows the definition of Harmony, but I included it in my book because it’s an area of confusion at times.

The first thing I (and any other session singer) will tell a client is yes, harmonies are an additional fee. I have had potential clients get irritated because they think, “well you’re already recording, why can’t you just keep going and record harmonies?” It’s a matter of time and effort put into the project. A harmony track requires the same amount of time and energy as a lead track, even though there may be less singing involved. I still have to go through at the end and edit everything to send over. I have to figure out what the harmonies are. I have to spend the time recording them. So yes, there is an additional fee. It’s usually not as much as a lead (and sometimes you may get a discount depending on the singer and project) but you can expect extra for that service.

This has nothing to do with the post, but I searched for “harmony” and found this and thought it was cool. 

Another area of confusion is how much harmony should be included, and how many parts?

I was hired by a major production company for lead and harmonies on a song. This was my first time working with them and I wanted to make a good impression, so when they said “harmonies included,” I wasn’t sure what that meant and was too scared to ask. I ended up doing a three-part harmony through the ENTIRE song, which a). was a lot of work, and b). kind of sounded stupid. I sent it over and told them to just use whatever harmony parts they wanted. The producer wrote back and said, “Oh yeah, you only ever have to do harmonies on the chorus for us.” Lesson learned: Ask! I would have saved so much time and it would have been a better project overall.

So now I ask clients up front: What are you looking for in terms of harmonies? Where would you like them, and how many parts? Sometimes, people aren’t sure. That’s okay! As long as I know where they are headed with production, I can make creative decisions and let them guide me as I go.

If you’re a client looking to hire a session singer, the first step is to decide if you want harmonies at all. Not every song needs them, and some need full choruses and others just need bits here and there. You don’t have to plan it all out, but just having some idea of what you want is helpful! If you know exactly what you want and have specific needs, feel free to send us an mp3 file or sheet music of the harmonies played out. This will ensure that you get exactly what you want the first time.

The song recording and creation process should be fun and exciting for everyone involved, and the easier it is to understand each other the better! For more tips like these, check out my book Way Less Cowbell. To hire me as a session singer, check out my website!

How to Get the Right “Feel” For Your Song

The term “feel” is a tricky subject, particularly because it’s so subjective. If you are working with a producer or session musician and you tell them you want the feel to be upbeat, that might mean completely different things to each of you. So, how do you get the right feel from your team?

The easiest way is to use other songs as references. I know most songwriters don’t like to copy anyone else, but trust me…every emotion has been expressed in a song before. Unless you’ve invented a completely different emotion (which will be tough for listeners to relate to), there’s a song out there with the emotion you’re seeking. Send that to your team and make sure they all understand what feel you’re going for.

Another good way is to describe the emotions that led you to writing the song. I recently had a client send me a song and told me the story of how he came to write it. It was a difficult divorce that ultimately had a happy ending. I was able to use the story to channel my emotions when singing, and I think it resulted in the song he envisioned.

Ludwig van Beethoven said, “To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.” It is so important that your song have the right feel to it, so make sure your team knows what the feel should be!

Around and Back Again

I haven’t been writing lately BUT, I’ve had a good excuse. I made an epic road trip with a friend from Chicago to California and back. This photo is from the Grand Canyon, and it was a surreal experience. I will get back into my blog as soon as I regroup and get back to business! I’m also back to accepting clients full time so if you’d like to hire me, please visit my website and let me know!

I am also going to be blogging for Eydis Magazine, and I’m so excited! I’ve been writing articles for their monthly issues, but I will now be a regular blogger on their website. As soon as that is up and running I will let you know! I’ll probably focus more on general life topics than on music, since it’s a more general audience, but here is where you’ll find all the music stuff. 🙂

New Single – Undone

http://brainstampmusic.tumblr.com/post/149373045318/you-might-have-heard-dans-other-song-i-posted

New Remix Single

http://brainstampmusic.tumblr.com/post/149372268948/this-is-a-remix-of-alex-partys-song-dont-give

Signal Flow

Here’s an infographic I made about signal flow and how it moves through the recording process! Hope you enjoy

New Client Single – ’76 Convention Love

http://brainstampmusic.tumblr.com/post/148839699358/dan-and-i-have-worked-together-before-hes-a

New Song – I’ll Be Back

Here is a link to my new song, “I’ll Be Back” by The Beatles. This was a lot of fun and I learned a lot from it. Hope you enjoy!

http://brainstampmusic.tumblr.com/post/148646511418/i-was-contacted-by-a-musician-who-wanted-to-do-a

Falsetto Singing from a Session Singer

I included this term in my book because I’ve been asked before to sing a song “in my falsetto voice,” and I do, only to have the client come back with, “ok now can you try it in your regular voice?” which leads me to believe that people might not know what this term means exactly.

Falsetto is a style of singing accessed by a different part of my voice. It’s higher and breathier (for me, other session singers may find more power in their higher register). I am an alto, so my power area is in the middle/lower notes.

Really, clients don’t have to dictate what placement I use when singing. I can figure it out based on where the notes fall within my range. I don’t mind doing a brief demo for potential clients so they can hear what I will sound like, but feel free to check out my reel and give it a listen. You’ll be able to hear my regular singing voice for the most part and decide if it’s right for your project.

Now, let’s say you want the song to have a certain “feel” to it, such as a very breathy tone. That’s totally fine, and I can do that whether or not I’m in falsetto. As long as I have a description of what you’re shooting for, I can pull it off. I just did a song for a gifted cartoonist who wanted his character to sound very breathy, and I hope he releases it soon so I can add it here! It should get my point across better than I can explain in words.

In any case, you should (hopefully) just be able to tell the singer what style, emotion or other singer you want them to sound like, and they should be able to emulate it no problem. Throwing “falsetto” into the mix can be confusing to everyone, so no need to use it as long as our range will cover the notes!

Doubling Vocals for Session Recording

Doubling is a term for singing the same track twice. If you’re hiring me to sing your song, you may want doubles because it makes the song sound thicker/fuller. You don’t have to do this (and sometimes it’s too much for the song, such as a piano ballad or something), but it’s worth mentioning because it’s not something I do unless someone asks for it.

Why don’t I just do it if they might use it? Well, time is a major reason. I have a deadline to get the song done, and I’m usually doing leads, harmonies and editing everything so if a double isn’t requested, I won’t do it. However, if someone asks I’ll totally do it for no extra cost, so be sure to ask if you want it for your track!

One important note about doubling: it should be similar in emotional tone to the original. I’ve heard tracks where the performer sounds excited and energized on the original and relaxed on the double (or vice versa) and it sounds weird. Also, if you have two tracks with the same emotional intensity and you like one take better, you can easily swap it out without compromising the lead.

Some session singers will charge more for a double track, or will do them both automatically, so it’s important to ask up front if you need one. That way you don’t have any unexpected charges at the end of the session.

For more music terms and studio lingo, check my book out here: https://payhip.com/b/9qjd

If you’d like to hire a session singer and/or producer for your track, contact us here: www.brainstampmusic.com

In any given day, I work on several songs by different artists. Today I had a blues track and then a reggae track, right after another. It can be difficult to switch mentally from singing one style to another, so here are a few tips I’ve learned!

1). Watch music videos of each genre. For some reason, watching the video and listening to the track are better than just listening. The visual helps me get into it mentally. Think about it: if you’re watching a country video, you’re seeing fields, cowboy boots, and trucks. If you’re watching a dance video you’re seeing clubs and glow sticks. It’s a totally different scenario and helpful to watch!

2). Create a character for each song. I’m going to get into this in depth in a different entry, but I like to envision a character singing each song. I think of the person and what they would wear, how they would act, and what they would be doing as I’m getting ready. It becomes much easier to go from one song to another when you’re just switching characters! 

3). Take a break. Sometimes you don’t have a lot of time and have tight deadlines; I get it. But if you have time to go for a quick walk or do some light cleaning or exercise, do it! Cleaning helps me because I find it meditative and relaxing, but you might not agree haha. 

4). Try blending genres. This one I don’t recommend if you have a tight deadline or a picky client, but it can be fun! Let’s say you’re switching from reggae to country…why not try bringing that reggae feel and emotion into the country track? It might sound awful, but you never know! You might create something cool that the client will love.