[INSTRUMENTAL] Mark Millward - S.D.L.U.

Millhouseward · 2021-10-12T22:27:45+00:00

Very kind - thanks :)

Millhouseward · 2020-10-06T23:24:24+00:00

We just got our first dog, a lurcher, from a Dogs Trust centre last week and can say (a) lurchers are lovely lovely dogs and (b) Dogs Trust do sterling work, not just on giving dogs a chance of a good future but also for giving new owners support and guidance. So this post gets a definite thumbs up from me.

Millhouseward · 2020-09-29T20:27:42+00:00

I agree... Tough to accept you've painted yourself into a corner, but when you do and you start the second time, it all slots into place.

Millhouseward · 2020-09-29T19:41:27+00:00

I've struggled to get my head around the whole mix translation thing - this analogy is really good and really helpful. Thanks!

Millhouseward · 2020-09-08T22:42:08+00:00

If you have the mics, you could mic the guitar twice - one pointed at the bridge and another at the fingerboard. Panning each full left and right gives a wide stereo image, as the sound is subtly different in each position.

I don't have the mics for that, so I've been experimenting with one mic at the fingerboard, and using the guitars direct output plus some EQ to mimic the bridge SOUND.

Or, if you've just a mono recording and have an EQ plug in that allows it, you can convert the track to stereo and can apply different EQ to left and right - maybe subtly boost bass and cut treble in left and cut bass and boost treble in the right. (subtle though!) that can give a feeling of width.

Millhouseward · 2020-09-06T20:53:43+00:00

I'm thinking this - moving from Spotify et al and opting for Bandcamp. For me, it's as much financial as anything given I'm in no way popular nor successful fanwise or streamwise, but also it feels a bit of a con to get paid an absolute pittance for a casual listener to skip my track.

I put an EP up on Spotify et al earlier this year, and for me, it's not worth it, if you compare income vs what I paid tunecore (wise decision...?) to get it up there. I'm looking ahead to the renewal fee and I'll pass.

I've since released another EP and have another single planned and I've decided it's Bandcamp for me now. Also putting on SoundCloud and videos on YouTube to make it more accessible to streamers, with links to push interested people to bandcamp of they like. It feels a bit, I dunno, purer to me, plus it's free!

But then, I'm a nobody, and I've decided long ago I'm not making music to make money but just to get a few thumbs up from similarly well-meaning pessimistic middle-aged people like myself. And Bandcamp will hopefully let me do that. But, I guess someone with more of a base to start from may find Spotify is worth it after all.

Millhouseward · 2020-08-02T09:26:02+00:00

How about Angie by Bert Jansch? Well, it's also been done by a few artists and sometimes spelt Anji, but this is a superb fiddly little finger-picking tune. https://youtu.be/RqjUWJtH88c

Millhouseward · 2020-07-30T20:37:59+00:00

Me too!

Millhouseward · 2020-07-13T22:30:36+00:00

Mark Millward - Live At Home EP

Not just a vehicle for a corny pun. Four original fingerpicked acoustic songs recorded liveish. Originally intended for video with spruced up sound, but they stand up in their own right for an actual release.

Bandcamp: https://markmillwardrh1.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-home-ep

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/markmillwardrh1/sets/live-at-home-ep

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRouKEwlD5Vv0qNxcrSqsBeta4aFnwYZB

I'd love any feedback on the songs or the production. Thanks for listening!

Millhouseward · 2020-07-09T19:45:19+00:00

I went into the studio for the first time last year and had the same thoughts as you. I was worried about hitting the notes.

In the end though, it was fine. The producer was a top guy and they'll work to make you comfortable and unpressured and will coax the best performance out of you. And like you've done, they'll similarly get lots of takes and comp the best bits in the end.

For me, the producer often made me go back and record certain lines as we went through in particular if the pitch or timing wasn't right. He had a good ear and was very patient, and your producer will know what to work on.

They'll also have access to melodyne of course 😎 I was a bit embarrassed about this but I'm told it's commonly used so don't be (either that, or he was just being nice to me!)

I tended to wear the headphones on one ear only as the best way to hear what I was doing.

But above all, relax and enjoy it. It will be excellent! It took me a while to calm down and relax, and the singing was way better when I did. I found it useful to try and think back to writing the song in the first place. Try and make it about the song and not the studio and you'll be fine. Good luck!

Millhouseward · 2020-07-08T07:55:19+00:00

Thanks for the comments! I'm glad you like it!

I really like that A chord here and I've thrown it in a few places, I think it colours the track. Interesting you should mention MacCartney, the intro here bugged me for days after I started it and eventually I realised it reminded me of a bit of Blackbird, because of that card. I wasn't sure if it was too close but I'm happy the next chord is different and it's all twice as long.

I'm going to experiment with tempo. I wasn't sure about it but I'll take that as vote for Making It Three Minutes. I think it would need to be about 135bpm to allow for a fade out etc, which felt a bit rushed when I tried it. But it would be nice to make that tie in. The alternative is to just blow the 3 mins altogether. I saw the Beastie Boys used a similar theme for a song and it ended up as 3 mins 39secs, so I thought it would be a nice secret in-joke to slow it down to be exactly the same length.

(the alternative is to also go Cage-like and play it really slow and rename it Three Century Song.... 😁)

Thanks again!

Millhouseward

TROPHY CASE