Archive for Learning Curve

Learning Curve: How To Get Funding as a Canadian Artist

// November 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Blog Post, Learning Curve

What musician doesn’t want some additional funding to help them record, tour, make a music video, make a website, or do any of the other things that are necessary to get ahead today? You may have already heard about people appling for government funded Factor grants, but are still unsure of how to do so your self. The fact is: if you aren’t perusing some of these grants, or similar ones, you aren’t hustling hard enough. We do a lot of FACTOR funded recording here at Creativ. You should be getting in on our government’s willingness to help out Canadian musicians. Here’s the main avenues, via @musicbc:

RECORDING:

If you are a recording artist looking for help in the application process, please contact me and I can help get you pointed in the right direction.

FACTOR

Demo Grant

http://factor.ca/ProgramDetails.aspx?ID=24

This program assists new artists, professional songwriters (songwriters that are members of a performing rights organization) and publishers with the production of their songs on a high quality demo recording, as well as basic press kit expenses, to enhance their career.FACTOR may provide a contribution of up to a maximum of $2,000 which represents 75% of the total eligible recording budget. (more…)

Blog Post: 4 Tips For Saving Money In The Studio

// March 10th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Blog Post, Learning Curve

For any musician or record label, having projects completed on time and within a set budget is crucial. Proper planning and due diligence are the only ways to ensure this happens. Here are a couple of universal tips based on my experiences in the studio.

1. Come prepared

Excuse me for being so obvious. Coming prepared to the studio is the number one way to save money, because you are saving time. Having your parts worked out and songs properly arranged before coming into the studio is crucial. Not only does it save time, but it lets you focus your efforts into finessing the finer points that make good songs sound great. It is also recommended that you (more…)

Blog Post: Recording Schools – Are They Worth It?

// March 5th, 2010 // 11 Comments » // Blog Post, Learning Curve

As someone making a full-time living engineering, who has completed a “Digital & Analog Recording Arts” diploma from a local recording school, I wanted to share my feelings on the subject of education in this field. Audio engineering is an amazing career with incredible appeal to those interested in music and technology. There is a big niche out there to provide training to those looking to get into the field. The question is: is it worth it? Here are my two cents, and some important questions to ask yourself before enrolling.

These schools are far from cheap. The program I enrolled in cost over $10,000 for a full-time, one-year course.  Some comparable institutions charged up to double that. As with most post-secondary education, that is a lot of money. What exactly are you getting for your five-figure tuition fee? (more…)

Learning Curve: 5 Quick Tips For Great Vocal Recordings

// February 23rd, 2010 // 4 Comments » // Learning Curve

Though tracking vocals is one of the most straightforward recording tasks, it is also one of the most important. I often get asked questions about getting a good vocal sound. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your vocal recordings:

1. Microphone Placement

I am putting this one first, because it is the most important AND the most overlooked. The position of a mic relative to its source can have as much, or more impact on the tone of a sound as liberal amounts of EQ. For example… (more…)