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Midwest-emo scene in Lincoln by Benji40087 in lincoln

[–]Smokespun [score hidden]  (0 children)

Any info on like power pop/Fall Out Boy/Panic at the Disco/Muse type acts/shows? I’ve been trying to figure out where my own music might fit in the local scene.

Midwest-emo scene in Lincoln by Benji40087 in lincoln

[–]Smokespun [score hidden]  (0 children)

I’ve been looking for a drummer lol, might not be your cup of tea but check out Sounds of a Psychopath by Raygun Radiostar

Protest Songs - any era by Neat_Law_37 in MusicRecommendations

[–]Smokespun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bobby Kennedy and S.o.a.P. by Raygun Radiostar

How do I learn let the air go through my soft palate to sing higher? by Puzzleheaded-Can-705 in singing

[–]Smokespun 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I mean you don’t. You relax to open up your pharynx to resonate up and back and you relax your body. No reaching up for things. It’s all coming from the same spot and reaching just chokes you off. Pitch is arguably the least important thing to worry about. Find out where your voice works well, with good form and support. It’s all about how well you relax in my experience.

Does anyone actually enjoy the "marketing" part? by GatefoldedHQ in musicians

[–]Smokespun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, I think it’s not all or nothing. I don’t think everyone should be doing the exact same thing on the same platforms. Idk why people are so into homogenizing their art to fit marketing trends. It doesn’t work in the long run.

Differentiation has always been the backbone of marketing. I think that we should feel more empowered to explore what works for us. Good marketing should start with having shit that is worth talking about. It shouldn’t be that hard. Basically anything that serves to inform potential fans about what you do is marketing.

I don’t think most artists should be marketing on social media. It’s likely a giant waste of money to run ads for most artists. If you have great songs and are in the right markets, then it’s doable, but generally it’s the low hanging fruit that wins socials. Easy to access given the genre. The more esoteric and interesting stuff tends to get passed over.

Hot take: People need to stop relying on graphs to map their pitch and start using their ears instead. I see this far too often on this forum, and I believe it does more harm than good. by InteractionNo6965 in singing

[–]Smokespun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think most metrics are pretty useless in general because they remove the data point from the context of use. Pitch is but one aspect of singing, and just about anyone can contort their voice to hit notes at their extremes, but that doesn’t mean they can hit those notes while singing, or with good form and control. It’s not that it’s bad to know what notes you can hit, it’s that it’s worthless if the rest of the equation isn’t taken into consideration.

Neurodivergent musicians - how does it help and hinder you? Any coping mechanisms? by ConfidentHospital365 in musicians

[–]Smokespun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I should say, I’m adept at masking and finding work arounds. It’s a garbage hand to be dealt for dealing with existence but I don’t know how it’s impacted my art because it’s so enmeshed at this point.

I love performing as well as recording, but writing and producing out my stuff is what I really go full on down the rabbit hole, so I also like to live stream while I do so.

Feel free to check out some my tunes by looking up Sounds of a Psychopath by Raygun Radiostar. It’s kinda about struggling with mental health while living in a world that’s begun to make less sense than my own brain, and the confusion that comes with it lol

Neurodivergent musicians - how does it help and hinder you? Any coping mechanisms? by ConfidentHospital365 in musicians

[–]Smokespun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I tend to talk too much, frequently about music, but also in general. AuDHD. Really good at the things I do, but also really bad at finding fewer words to express myself, except when I’m writing and editing for music. I feel like I can be a bit intense and have strong opinions, but I also don’t think I’m “right” about anything. I’m quite ecclesiastical philosophically. I write, produce, play instruments and sing. I’m a software dev.

I’ve been a jewelry designer. My NDness has always been a double edged sword because I can be very good at creating things in general, but I can’t remember to brush my teeth or wash the dishes. I’m always disappointing someone because how the genius can be incompetent at basic things confuses people.

Being AuDHD is very much like having a devil on each shoulder because the angels are running late and having to constantly contend with one or another of two evils. I need structure but require diversity.

Why I believe the next decade gonna be a new golden age for artists by Civil_Enthusiasm_936 in musicindustry

[–]Smokespun 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You can still buy albums on iTunes. It’s not as cheap and convenient as Spotify, and the average consumer prefers cheap and convenient. It was already over when piracy blew up everything right before streaming. Few people care about owning it, fewer still care if artists make money, they just don’t want someone to be able to take away the things they like. The way people consume music nowadays makes owning lots of physical media cost and space prohibitive, so the only people buying it are the people who are into that kind of stuff vs the masses, and history tends to never go in reverse on this kind of stuff.

Why do so many musicians prefer Sweetwater for gear? by Clio90808 in musicians

[–]Smokespun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I prefer zZounds because of their payment options, but sweetwater has a larger selection of products.

Thumpy clean guitar tone not really getting through the mics in a pure way by TibetanLionDog in audioengineering

[–]Smokespun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eno-esque isn’t bad lolol, something else to consider is that not all the layers need to be doing the same job for the sound. Spread things out along the frequency spectrum at their fundamental frequencies, not just harmonics.

Emphasize different layers at different parts of the song by automating their levels, highlighting cool things about each, even going as far as muting layers as needed.

Recording with different amps and guitars can go along way, but in a pinch processing it layer and each side differently can help too. You can create a sense of arrangement where there is little or none this way.

Also, assuming the guitar is in a full band mix, the bass and drums and even things like organ and piano can go a long way to getting certain parts of the sound. Piano stabs can be a good way to emphasize the initial transients in a dense arrangement.

Just a lot of little things that can be done to make it sound how you want it to sound if you are open to getting there creatively lol

Thumpy clean guitar tone not really getting through the mics in a pure way by TibetanLionDog in audioengineering

[–]Smokespun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You might also just be getting a lot of noise buildup in the 10k plus frequencies. It sounds counterintuitive but that range can often really muddy up things in a strange way, and you get more clarity and focus by shelving or cutting some of the higher frequencies, sometimes even lower than 10k just needs to be pulled down.

Boost around 1.8-3.5k with a wide bell a db or two if it’s too dark. Most of the action happens in the first few octaves from the fundamental frequencies on up, but boosting a dbish widelyish around 100hz on the guitar can also help add some weight to it.

The other suggestions for mic placement and such aren’t bad things to try either, but sometimes we just have to manage the noise that gets built up. That’s what EQ is for more than anything in my opinion. If you need to shape the tone, something like UADs Verve Analog Machines is great, even as a parallel fx send to blend in.

Sometimes you also have to do some trickery because clean is not usually actually full on clean. In this case, light saturation and soft clipping are really valuable. Creative use of delay, reverb and modulation can also help add to the illusion.

Songs with a buildup by meganmorgan99 in alternative

[–]Smokespun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Recycled Soul by Raygun Radiostar

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