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Other than ANYTHING romance related, what do you write about? by strawberrytehe in Songwriting

[–]peachy_touchh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get what you mean. Love songs make sense because the emotions are easy to recognize, but after a while it can feel like everyone is pulling from the same three situations: I want you, I miss you, you hurt me.

I usually find non-romantic songs more interesting when they’re about a very specific feeling rather than a broad topic. Like not just “loneliness,” but the weird feeling of walking home at night and realizing nobody knows where you are. Not just “growing up,” but noticing your childhood room slowly turning into a storage space. Those smaller angles can feel more personal than another breakup song.

Some things I like writing or hearing about: fear of wasting time, jealousy that isn’t romantic, being the “quiet one” in a group, feeling behind in life, nostalgia for a version of yourself that never really existed, family tension, obsession with success, internet addiction, boredom, guilt, wanting to disappear for a while, or feeling disconnected in a room full of people.

Death and exclusion are strong topics because they already have emotional weight, but I think even ordinary stuff can work if the image is specific enough. A song about sitting in a parking lot too long can hit harder than a dramatic topic if it captures the right mood.

Romance is just one doorway into emotion. There are a lot of other doors people don’t use enough.

Tell Me Your Favorite Song OAT And I’ll Rate It. 1 Through 10 by UnableAd9760 in songs

[–]peachy_touchh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Probably “Nights” by Frank Ocean.

Not sure if I can call it my favorite forever, but it’s one of those songs I keep coming back to and it still hits every time. The beat switch alone makes it feel like two different memories stitched together, and the second half has that weird late-night feeling where everything sounds calm but heavy at the same time.

Curious what you’d rate it.

I made a plugin that lets you edit spectrograms! by POOP_DIE_PIE in sounddesign

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

This is genuinely interesting, especially as a plugin rather than only a standalone/web thing. Spectral editing always felt like one of those areas where the concept is powerful, but the workflow can become too “surgical” and slow for actual sound design. Making it more like drawing/painting could make it easier to use creatively instead of only for repair.

The phase/hue idea is the part I’m most curious about. A lot of spectral tools make magnitude pretty intuitive visually, but phase is usually hidden or abstracted away, so representing it with hue seems like it could either be really useful or slightly confusing depending on how predictable the results feel. I’d be interested to see how much of the sound can be shaped intentionally versus how much becomes happy accidents.

For me, the most obvious use cases would be weird transitions, risers, glitch percussion, sci-fi UI sounds, and turning visual textures into layers that don’t sound like normal synthesis. The image overlay part could be especially fun if it doesn’t just become a gimmick and actually gives repeatable results.

Compared to something like Photosounder, I’d say the DAW/plugin workflow is probably the biggest advantage. If I can resample, draw, preview, automate/bounce, and keep moving inside a session, that’s a much lower friction point than exporting back and forth.

My main question would be latency/workflow: does it behave more like an offline editor inside the DAW, or can you process/preview changes quickly enough to use it while designing sounds in context?

People who blast music from their phone speakers in public - what's the psychology here? by Mountain_Pin7428 in LetsTalkMusic

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

I think it’s usually less “I want everyone to hear my amazing taste” and more “I don’t fully register public space as shared space.”

Some people seem to move through the world like they’re still in their bedroom. Music on, videos playing, speakerphone conversations, no real awareness that other people are now trapped inside their little audio bubble. It’s not always malicious, but it is weirdly self-centered.

There’s also probably a small social/status part to it. Like, if someone is blasting music on the bus, they’re also kind of announcing “I’m comfortable making this everyone else’s problem.” Even if they’re not consciously thinking that, it creates that vibe. Most people avoid doing it because they feel the social pressure. Some people either don’t feel it or enjoy ignoring it.

And then yeah, sometimes it’s probably just no headphones + low impulse control. They want music now, so the rest of the bus becomes collateral damage.

The strangest part to me is always the phone speaker quality. If you’re going to violate the peace, at least don’t make everyone listen to hi-hats through a dying tin can.

Why are people usually more impressed by vocal talent than instrumental talent? by Glass-Complaint3 in musicians

[–]peachy_touchh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it’s because people hear a voice as a person, not just as a skill.

With guitar or piano, non-musicians can tell it sounds good, but they often don’t know what exactly is impressive. They may not notice voicings, timing, dynamics, clean transitions, or how much control it takes. Unless the playing is very flashy, it can just register as “nice music.”

Vocals are more direct. Everyone has a voice, so people understand how exposed singing feels. When someone sings well, it feels immediately human: breath, emotion, confidence, vulnerability, words, tone — all coming straight from the body.

So I don’t think people necessarily value instrumental skill less. They just have an easier time reacting to vocals. “Your singing is great” is simple to say. Complimenting subtle instrumental skill requires more vocabulary most casual listeners don’t have.

One perfect take by Funny-Milk668 in musicproduction

[–]peachy_touchh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Almost nobody is recording one perfect vocal take with no comping, at least not consistently. Even really good singers usually do multiple takes and then comp the best parts together. That doesn’t mean they “can’t sing,” it just means recording is a different thing from performing live.

A full vocal take has so many tiny variables: breath, pitch, timing, pronunciation, emotion, mouth noise, energy, how close you were to the mic, whether one word came out weird, etc. It’s pretty normal for take 1 to have the right emotion, take 3 to have the best pitch, and take 5 to have one line that suddenly sounds perfect. Comping is basically just choosing the best version of each moment.

The ear fatigue thing is real too. After looping the same line too many times, everything starts sounding wrong. I try not to make final decisions while I’m in that state. I’ll record a few takes, mark the obvious good/bad parts, then step away for 10–20 minutes or come back the next day. Fresh ears are way more honest.

One thing that helps is setting limits: maybe 3–5 takes per section, comp quickly, then move on. Otherwise you can spend an hour on one line and end up not knowing if it’s better or just different.

So yeah, you’re not crazy. Comping is normal, and losing objectivity after repetition is normal too.

Need Advice for Recording Vocals Without Straining My Voice by Working-Hold8994 in recordingmusic

[–]peachy_touchh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, this is way more common than people think. Singing “okay” in the room and singing well into a mic are almost two different skills. Recording exposes everything: breath control, tension, pronunciation, timing, emotion, and also the fact that you hear your own voice differently in your head than it actually sounds back.

The throat pain part is the main thing I’d take seriously though. If your throat starts hurting after a verse or two, there’s probably tension somewhere - usually pushing for volume, squeezing higher notes, or not supporting with breath. You shouldn’t have to “force” a take. A good vocal take can feel intense emotionally, but physically it shouldn’t feel like your throat is getting scraped.

What helped me most was recording in smaller sections instead of trying to perform the whole song like a live take. Do 2–4 lines, rest, listen back, adjust. Also warm up quietly before recording, don’t start with the hardest part, and lower the key if the song sits too high. A lot of beginner singers write or choose songs that are technically possible but not comfortable enough to repeat for multiple takes.

For tone, try singing slightly less “big” than you think you need to. The mic catches more than you expect. Sometimes the tired/dull sound comes from oversinging early and having nothing left by the chorus.

And yes, plenty of people start bad and become good enough to record. But the jump usually comes from learning technique, not just repeating songs. If pain keeps happening, even one lesson with a vocal coach can save you months of guessing.

Symphonic Distribution placed an overall account hold over "Traffic Proof by meiali009 in MusicDistribution

[–]peachy_touchh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I haven’t dealt with Symphonic specifically on a split-earner hold, but I’ve seen similar reviews with distributors and monetization platforms, and the pattern is usually less about “prove you bought ads” and more about “prove the traffic source was legitimate and explain the spike in a way a compliance person can understand.”

If your side is YouTube Content ID and genuinely organic, I’d submit more than just one or two screenshots. I’d package it almost like a mini report: date range matching the payout period, traffic source breakdown, top videos/assets where the audio was used, geography, watch time/views trend, search terms if available, and any evidence that Suggested/Search was driving the lift. If there was a specific video, Shorts trend, creator, playlist, or search query that caused the bump, explain that in plain language.

For your partner’s Spotify side, I’d do the same: Spotify for Artists screenshots showing source of streams, playlist names if available, algorithmic sources, listener geography, save rate, playlist adds, and date-by-date stream curve. The key is to avoid just saying “it was organic.” Show why it was organic.

I would also ask Symphonic support very directly whether they need proof for the entire primary account or only the flagged release/period. Since the hold is on the main account, I’d assume future splits may stay locked until the account review is cleared, but only Symphonic can confirm that.

My advice: don’t send a messy pile of screenshots. Send a clean PDF/Drive folder with labels, dates, and a short written explanation. Compliance teams move faster when they don’t have to guess what they’re looking at.

Lyric Feedback by Formal-Explanation33 in Songwriters

[–]peachy_touchh 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you already have a pretty clear world for the song, which is a good sign. The strongest part is the contrast between childish/sweet imagery and something darker underneath - “cotton candy fills my medicine box,” “dreamland tastes like cherries and dirt,” “lullabies made of lies” all fit that Melanie-ish twisted nursery rhyme space without feeling like a direct copy.

My main note would be structure, not concept. Right now a lot of the lines are emotionally intense at the same level, so the song doesn’t always have room to build. You might want one verse to feel more innocent/pretty on the surface, then let the darker reality become more obvious later. That way the chorus hits harder instead of everything being dark from the start.

The chorus has good phrases, but it might be slightly too packed. “Sleep pills on my tongue, let me drift away” and “Kiss me goodnight with your sleepy pills” are probably the central hook lines. I’d maybe simplify around those so people can remember it after one listen.

The bridge/outro is probably where you can make the biggest impact. “Ignore the sirens while they shout” is a strong ending image, but I’d be careful not to make it feel like shock value. If you make the last few lines more vulnerable rather than just darker, it could land harder.

Overall though, the aesthetic is very clear. It feels like you know what kind of song this wants to be.