Better Song Demos for Free(ish)
You can spend a lot of money in audio production buying new effects and plugins. But without mastering the fundamentals, these are often a waste of money.
That’s why I’ve made a FREE guide to help you identify the most important steps of song production, and take your music demos to the next level without spending a penny.
Last week I shared a new song demo at a local songwriting circle, and one of the other musicians asked how I made the song sound so “professional”. We decided to discuss it properly the next time.
In preparing for that, I realised I had plenty to say, and organised my thoughts into this document! It’s how to approach the fundamentals properly, in order to get a more professional sound. I fully believe in maximising the tech you already own before splurging on more, and I wanted to dispel a lot of commonly misunderstood ideas and provide a framework for my friend moving forward.
In terms of finances, admittedly you do need a computer/tablet, and a mic and probably an instrument or voice. That’s where the free(ish) caveat comes in. But seriously, after that point, I definitely advocate for skills and knowledge before new gear.
Here’s a breakdown of the steps in this guide:
Plan the sound (chords, arrangement, voicing, instrumentation, freq balance...)
Play it well (comfortable to perform, comfortable to listen to)
Record it well (mic position, room, mic type, interface, nice instruments/sounds)
Mixing the layers together (corrections, volume, EQ, compression)
Effects and “sparkle” (reverb, delay, saturation, extra effects, etc)
Iteration (make many drafts)
Mastering (sound comparable to others - not for artistic merit but for compatibility)
Final thoughts and recommendations
So, I hope this is useful to you if you’re on your music production or general audio journey! I hope it helps you make higher technical quality art, sooner. Let me know if you have any feedback and I will incorporate it in.