Recording Vocals Using FL Studio 10

Recording vocals using FL Studio 10 is starting to become more and more common amongst many up and coming music producers. With all the sites and videos showcasing "How To"s on the internet it has become clear that FL Studio 10 is establishing its mark as far as recording vocals goes. With its initial release back in 1997 the program FL Studio has evolved tremendously up to this point. Especially for recording vocals it has proved itself.

I started using the program back when it was version 8 and, granted at the time, it wasn't all that great to record vocals with, it was capable then but was a pain to do. Then when version 9 came out the developers set the bar on focusing on upgrading its recording process for vocals and/or lives instruments.

It has always been a great, user friendly, beat making software machine but it's capable of so much more. I am a testimonial of that fact. With the sessions I have with artists they can root for the program's greatness and mad potential as I make it evident that great projects can be completed with it. Many would argue that it's not for recording vocals which is not true at all.

With the right plug-ins, the right set up, the right knowledge, and the right producer the software can be utilized as good as the pros utilize other programs. Commercial quality can be achieved by almost any non-popular recording D.A.W. (Digital Audio Workstation). Ones that are too straight forward without an effects chain integrated in its mixer are the ones you need to steer clear from if you want to be serious about music production.

When I record I always set up a dedicated mixer track with 3 processes in the chain then have that mixer track reroute to the main track that will record all the takes that is not the master. As far as the 3 effects in the chain go I start with a Gate plug-in, then a compressor plug-in, and then (this is optional) a stereo image effect or phase effect of some sort. The Gate helps to keep that audio signal clean, the compressor helps balance out the vocals in real time recording, and the stereo image effect or phase effect I toggle on and off for vocal ad live or layer takes.

When recording vocals I have the instrumental in its own separate mixer track that I in turn bring down the volume to roughly -10 dB give or take. This helps to avoid unnecessary digital distortion and gives head room for me during the mixing and mastering process. Plus it helps for the artist to hear themselves better to gauge clarity during real time recording and play back.

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Using Music As An Emotional Guide

As part of life, there are countless little sayings that people use to make a point or help describe their mood at the time. These idioms, as they are sometimes called, are useful tools if used at the right time and in the right way. Likewise, music can have the same effect. Think about a situation where you felt a certain way and jumped in the car or slapped on the ear phones, then cranked up the tunes. You looked for a song that matched your mood, one that said it all, in so many words. This is a natural reaction, and one that seemingly a lot of people have as well.

What lies behind this behavior can have many interpretations. But, without getting too empirical about it, there are emotions and feelings that are tapped into causing a feeling of accomplishment. For example, you may want to feel a certain way at the moment, therefore, you seek out a song that speaks for you; it validates your mood. Once you achieve this state of mind with the support of a song, you have accomplished what you set out to do. It may sound a little far-fetched or somewhat outrageous, but you will find that it is more true than you may think.

For most of my life, this has been something that I really paid no attention to, until I started noticing that my emotions were directing my actions. While this is not a healthy way to make decisions, letting my heartstrings be the puppeteer, there is some therapeutic value to not holding in anger, frustration, or some other self-defeating feeling. Letting go of such emotions does wonders for relieving stress and any anxiety that may exist.

Of course, this is not advice or a prescription for solving emotional instability. These thoughts are just expressions of personal observations and ideas that apparently had some impact on my personal experiences. Even so, I have seen this same response to how other people were feeling and then relied upon music to do the rest of the work. Why does this occur to anyone when they seem to be experiencing certain heights or elevated emotions?

Research along several fronts shows that music has effects on parts of the brain that may help or hinder certain process of thinking. Music has shown tremendous influence on students and how they learn. Injecting some information on learning styles, music is one aspect that can help learners that require some form of sound to help them concentrate. Not all music will help in this respect; it usually will be a certain genre that has the best and most productive impact. Even at special events, especially music for wedding parties, all kinds of thoughts and feelings will be overflowing within the bride's heart.

Musical influence has its benefits and its downfalls. Obviously, if someone uses some radical or negatively motivating notes to encourage and enhance negative feelings, this is not a good use of music and its infectious melodies. In essence, choice is key for this situation. As in all things pertaining to life, the choices made by any individual will be the ultimate guide to their destiny. Thus, in this case, the music selection, if made based on emotions, is significant in its contribution to the emotions you may feel during times of sadness or happiness.

By James R Eberts

James is a research and creative writer for EverDream Web. James specializes in educational and informative articles that are readable and have contextual integrity.

Counterfeit Music Company, the best live band based in Denver, Colorado, giving the most impressive performances where everyone will want to dance the night away!

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Ar You Using This Technique Which Helps Eliminate Mistakes in Organ Playing?

Although attention to detail is crucial in practicing your organ music, it is not enough to be able to play without mistakes. You need to have a special kind of mentality. Here I am referring to the focused mind which can help you to reach that optimum performance state which in turn will empower you not only to play without the mistakes. In this article, I will explain this mental technique and how to achieve it.

The mentality or the mindset of a world-class organist is similar to the state of mind of an athlete or a martial artist. Athletes refer to it as "Being in the Zone". Martial artists say that "their body should be relaxed but the mind should be on fire". In other words, they have an alert but clear mind. They have to throw all of their thoughts, insecurities, and mental blocks away and simply be in the moment.

Various traditions have different techniques which can help you to achieve that state of mind. Some of the most popular are breathing, meditation, or prayer. In organ playing deep, regular, and slow conscious breathing from the lower abdomen will help you to improve your mental focus.

If you do the same in your piece, you will start to notice some really interesting things over time. Try to stay focused on your breathing and notice how your mind gradually calms down, your body relaxes, and you are be able to control your movements much better. In turn, the risk of hitting the wrong note by accident is much lower.

If you do play an incorrect note or two during your performance, let it go and force yourself to stay focused and not keep your thoughts on this mistake. Very often if we make a mistake, we think about it for a while when we are playing, we lose focus, and consequently make more mistakes. So no matter what went wrong you have to try to stay focused until the very end.

It is interesting how we can make mistakes even in a slow tempo in an easy spot. This is how it may happen. As we are playing, we might be aware how well we play or how easy is this particular episode and again, we may lose our focus. The solution is to keep your focus until the very end.

I understand that for most people it will be hard to achieve this level of focus on the organ. However, if you consistently practice slowly, work in fragments, give a great attention to details, and keep your attention on your breathing, eliminating mistakes actually is not too difficult. Simply change your focus from how not to make mistakes to fulfilling the musical needs of the piece, be in the current measure, and your performance level will improve dramatically.

By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide "How to Master Any Organ Composition" http://www.organduo.lt/organ-tutorial.html in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.

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Ableton Tutorials - Learning Ableton Live for Free Using Video Tutorials

Beginning the process of becoming a music producer is an arduous one - there is ton of things that need to be understood at a fundamental level to be successful: music theory, composition, recording, production techniques, software, etc. Fortunately, there is an incredible amount of material available on the internet for aspirating music producers. For users of Ableton Live, a simple search for "ableton tutorial" will yield thousands of videos of content showing how to do various things in Ableton Live, from setting up an introductory track to doing final mastering.

The easiest way to become skilled at creating full, complete tracks in Live is to become good at each individual part of the track creation process. Okay, this sounds obvious, but it gives us the basis for what you need to learn. In Dubstep music for example, three main parts have to be done well in order for the track to sound good: Kick Drum, Snare, Bass Wobble. Therefore a person with the desire to become a dubstep producer should spend large amounts of time understanding each of these first individually. This means watching many video tutorials of how different kick drums are created, including the effects that are used for the final product like compression and limiting. After understanding kick drums through and through, the learning producer can move on to snare drums and bass wobbles. Beyond learning the basics needed for the track, the additional parts need to integrated - additional drums, pads, background synths, sweeps/rises and more. Learning how to include this without "intruding" on the original audio takes practice. Finally, the producer can move to understand how to mix all of the individual parts together. This is the hardest part of the process.

Like many things, to become an effective music producer the process of: learn a little, practice a little, learn a little, practice a little, etc. is very effective over time. This can be done in a classroom for the big money that music schools ask for, or at home with a computer, a pair of monitors, and some YouTube Ableton Live videos. It's important however to find some resources that offer pointed and helpful tutorials and advice, as there are many free videos on YouTube by inexperienced producers who sometimes offer bad advice! A particular example I can recall was of a guy who applied saturation(distortion) and equalization to a clean acoustic guitar recording and ended up with it sound much worse in the mix. If someone just learning Live were to watch his video, they might think that this was normal for music producers to do. I recommend finding resources that offer expert advice, so you know you're not wasting your time or working in the wrong direction.

Good Luck Producing!

Tyler Roth is an electronic music producer from Denver, Colorado. For helpful Ableton Live video tutorials, please visit Ableton Production Tutorials.com

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Tips for Using Same Foot Pedaling in Early Organ Music

Although alternate toes technique was the most popular type of pedaling used in Renaissance and Baroque organ music, quite often we have to use the same foot technique as well. If you know in which type of passages playing with the same foot is the best choice, you will quickly learn to see the familiar patterns in your pedal lines. In this article, I will give you two instances of using the same foot technique in early organ music.

Same Foot before Changing Direction. On passages in quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes sometimes we use same foot instead of alternate toes technique. Here applies the general rule: use same foot before changing direction. This means that in a passage like C D E D we play with the same foot notes D and E because after ascending notes D and E the melody changes direction downwards. So the entire passage, such as C D E D E F G F G A B G would be played left, right, right, left, left, right, right, left, left, right, right, left, and left.

Same Foot on Long Note Values in Extreme Edges of the Pedal Board. In Baroque and Renaissance organ music, chorale-based compositions often employ cantus firmus technique - placement of the chorale melody in long note values (half and whole notes). Cantus firmus method can be used in any voice. Instances of cantus firmus in the bass were especially common because they could be played on a separate pedal division with a different sound color. Moreover, if cantus firmus was used in any other voice, it could still often be played with the pedals. The normal way of pedaling such melodies was alternate toes technique. However, in extreme edges of the pedal board one could play long notes with one foot because the traditional alternate toes technique is uncomfortable.

I recommend that you write in pedaling in every piece you play on the organ, at least in the beginning. This will prevent you from making accidental pedaling choices which will not necessarily be correct and efficient. With experience, however, you will start to notice familiar patterns in pedal lines of your organ music and gradually your pedaling choices will become automatic and natural. In other words, if you practice writing in the correct pedaling regularly, with time your pedaling will become instinctive and you will not need to write in any of it.

By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide "How to Master Any Organ Composition" http://www.organduo.lt/organ-tutorial.html in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.

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Effects Pedals and Processors - Using the Effects Loop

When I first discovered the coolness of stomp box guitar effects, I think I was 11. I would venture down to the local music store where the gentleman that owned the place, Bill, would greet my friend Jimmy and I at the door with the resounding "How's it going there gold dust?" Bill was a great guy and we would literally visit his shop every Saturday without exception. He was great about letting us pull guitars off the rack and cranking up the noise, as a matter of fact he encouraged it! It was there that Bill showed me a Harmonix Bad Stone Phase Shifter, the first guitar effect I had ever seen. He showed me how to hook it up, and from the first note I hit with that bad boy on, I knew I had to have this thing. It's what started my endless obsession with tone, and overwhelming desire to match it up correctly with the piece being played. I'm not the only one though. This is pretty much what comes with the territory when you decide to play guitar seriously. Now days of course there are so many choices and different directions you can go to carve out that perfect sound, that sometimes it can get overwhelming. Over the years there been a few consistent discoveries that I have found to narrow down what my preferences are. These of course are my thoughts presented in an editorial context and may or may not reflect your own feelings.

To start with, the style or genre of music is important when deciding what effects will be needed. The second decision is whether to use an all in one processor or to use separate effects chained together. There are some pros and cons to both, and I will go over some of those. My own experience with guitar processors starts with the first time I bought one. It was the Line 6 "kidney bean" POD. This was the stuff when it came out. It acted as a direct box and guitar amp modeler. I could make my amp sound like a number of different top-notch set-ups. It also had some effects built-in, chorus, delay, and reverb. After a while I graduated to the POD XT Live, a stage version that had more bells and whistles. It had a wah pedal, more amp models, effects and options, all in a unit that could be set in front of you while on stage. I used that for 5 years playing gigs, and it worked great until I broke the wah pedal in the middle of a show. I had it repaired, but it was never the same. I wanted to go a different direction anyway with my sound so I started experimenting with single effects pedals. There are a lot of individuals that will just string together the effects with chords, plug the last output into the input on their amp, and their guitar into the input of the first effect in the chain. That will work for some effects, like distortion, compression, and wah pedals, but they don't work so good for ambient effects like chorus, delay, phase shifters, signal boosters, and flangers. For those, you need to run them through the effects loop, usually on the back of the amplifier. You simply connect the effects together as you normally would, with the outputs connected to the inputs, and run a chord from your "effects send" jack to the input on your first effect. The "effects return" jack should be connected to the output jack of the last effect in the chain. There is usually a control knob for the effects loop that controls how much effect from the effects loop gets put into your sound. This set up will give you the distortion, wah and such before the signal is amplified, by running them in the front of the amp, and the ambient effects for the signal after it has passed through the amp on its way to the speaker. As an example of why this is the way to do it,, try running a power boost, like for instance a Boss GE7 EQ in front of the amp. When you step on the effect, which has a 15db boost (or cut) it won't do anything but muddy up the signal. Put it in the effects loop, and viola, you get a killer boost that will help you cut through the mix during solos.

So in conclusion, the pros with a processor, they are all-inclusive in one unit and generally cheaper than a properly set up effects array, and they generally have a lot of options for amp models and tone. The cons? You can't run the ambient effects through the effects loop, nor can you control the order they are set up in, and that can make a big difference. The pros with an a la carte effects set up, are complete control, reliability, and versatility. The cons? They are much more expensive to set up. To do it right you'll need to mount all of your effects on a powered pedal board, so that you can just open it up, lay it in front of you, and plug the chords in. My personal set up was over $1100, and I have just 6 effects. They can also hum, although you can eliminate that with a simple filter.

When looking for a qualified teacher many things come into play. For more information on receiving premium guitar lessons from a long-time industry professional, go to http://www.cyberguitarman.com/ Excellent online guitar lessons are offered, as well as instruction on every phase of becoming a professional, from set-up to sound engineering.

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Registration Changes for Organists: 3 Ways to Practice Using Toe Studs

Changing stops on the organ while playing is not easy. Quite often assistants are needed to help with registration changes. However, organs equipped with stop combination system make the task of changing the stops so much easier. Special buttons, called pistons can be pushed by the hand or by the foot. If such button is located near the pedal board of the organ, it is called a toe stud. In this article, I will show you 3 ways to practice changing the stops by using toe studs which will make this task quite easy even for the beginner organist.

Prepare in advance. Just like in pedal playing it is best to use pedal preparation, so you should prepare for pressing toe studs before the actual spot where registration change is needed. Try to place the foot intended for registration change on the specific toe stud as soon as this foot is free to move. In other words, as you release the pedal with that foot, move it on the stud in an instant. Such preparation will greatly facilitate registration change and you will not have to think about it when the actual moment comes.
Practice repeatedly. Any registration change must be practiced over and over until it will become automatic. Take a short fragment, like one measure before and after the change and play it in a slow tempo 10 or more times. Omit the hand part first and practice only the pedal part. Later, play the entire texture in a similar way.
Imagine the toe studs and practice. If you intend to perform your composition on an organ with toe stops but only have a small organ available for practice, you can imagine the toe studs on your organ. Pretend that the toe studs are located either on the left side, right side or the middle. Make appropriate movements with your feet regardless whether or not they actually exist. The sound is not important here but your physical movements are, so that when the time comes to perform your piece on the organ with the toe studs, you will be ready.

If you follow my suggestions and incorporate registration changes using toe studs in your practice, this task will not be as difficult as it might appear at first. One thing that it is becoming apparent here is that we cannot take the registration changes for granted and hope that when the time comes we will successfully press that toe stud. The skill of changing registration, like hand or feet coordination must be practiced as a drill until it becomes automatic. If you achieve the level of automation, you will have no difficulty changing registration by yourself.

By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide "How to Master Any Organ Composition" http://www.organduo.lt/organ-tutorial.html in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.

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Using An iTunes Organizer To Sort Out Your Music Files

The digital media player created by Apple, known as iTunes, has been growing constantly in popularity over the years. It has become the most used music players on the planet, even overtaking top players such as Windows media player and VLC. It is used by millions of users all over the world, and it's due to this popularity that the iTunes organizer was developed. Using an iTunes organizer allows you to automatically manage and organize your library and playlists in just a few minutes, and with minimal effort. Features that are included in most forms of iTunes organizer include:

1. Find and correct misspelled song and album titles.
2. Fill in details that are missing such as; genre, year of release and artist.
3. Locate and add missing album artwork.
4. Scan the library for duplicate songs, deleting the lowest quality versions first.
5. Download new music without any problematic files.
6. To edit tracks without having to edit a full album.
7. Create new library options for all of your edited music.
8. To be able to synchronize with other media devices.

Most music organizers will contain either most, or all of these features. This however will strongly depend of the price that you will be willing to pay, whether you'd want a free trial to start with, and most importantly, whether the software that you're downloading is designed specifically as an iTunes organizer.

Where Can I Find An iTunes Organizer?

There are a number of different music organizers out there. Some are available as freeware,whilst others are available as commercial software. Although they are all designed to perform the same function, the commercial software usually has an edge over the freeware.

All of the different mp3 organizers are very similar to each other in how they actually work. Each program requires the internet to operate, where they will be connected to a music bank that contains almost all of the commercially available music in the world. The software is able to compare the binary code of a song that is stored on the computer with what is contained inside this music library. When the software detects an error in the binary code it will then replace it with the version that is found online.

What iTunes Organizer Shall I Use?

The most well known mp3 organizers that are available online are; Rinse, Media Monkey and Tune Up Media. Rinse was developed by Real Networks, and is the only freeware iTunes organizer that can be downloaded. The Rinse software is known for being easy to use. Once the download an installation is complete then all the user needs to do is press a button, and then the software will scan the entire library looking all of the features stated above. Once the scan is complete, and the errors are found, then the software will ask the user for permission for correct all of the problems. Using software like Rinse can be a great way to solve issues quickly. You may even be able to find problems that you didn't even known existed!

Looking for an iTunes organizer that actually works? Visit: iTunes Organizers.

Fixing all of the problems that can be contained in your iTunes library can be a very difficult task. Using software can save you a great deal of time, effort and stress.

Want to find the best iTunes organizers that are available on the internet? Visit: iTunes Organizer.

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5 Tips For Learning How to Play Keyboard Using Online Resources and Music Courses

You can use a hobby such as playing keyboard or piano to break the ice with someone new that you meet. People are always interested in other people's hobbies and pastimes.

If you talk to someone whether it be on the way to work sitting on the train, walking to the bus stop, walking the dog, as soon as you tell them that you play keyboard, it will instantly make your conversation more interesting and people will be interested in what you are going to say.

Sometimes after talking to people who play keyboard, it gives other people the courage to take up their lifetime dream of a hobby which hasn't been achieved as yet.

It is never too late to learn, and with modern technology developing everyday there are endless opportunities to take up your dream of being a professional keyboard player.

If you have taken the challenge to buy a keyboard and have decided this is your new year's resolution to teach yourself a repertoire of songs within the next six months, then what better way of learning than to use online resources and an interactive music course on the web to develop your studies.

Below are five great tips for learning the keyboard online and making the most out of these modern music courses which have evolved: -

- Follow the video and PDF document that shows you how to use the course and how to make the most out of all the facilities provided.

- Download your first song carefully selected by your tutor who designed the course. This will be designed for the complete beginner.

- Print out your PDF that supports the video so you can read this through when you're not at your keyboard and have it to hand anytime you need it.

- Use the audio tracks supplied which are a recording of the song, stop start and listen to this carefully to help you progress with learning the song.

- Sign yourself up to the interactive forum where you will be to chat with other keyboard players who are starting out just like you! It's also the place to ask any questions you may have, plus there will be lots of useful tips to get you started and advice on each song supplied in the course.

It can take many years of practice to reach the standard to be able play your own one hour song repertoire on piano or keyboard.

Why not try learning how to play piano or keyboard yourself?

There are two very good online courses that will have you playing piano or keyboard in no time at all:

Check these out:
Play Keyboard & Piano
Sing & Play Keyboard

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Are There Advantages of Using Piano Lesson Software?

Learning how to play the piano is one of the most rewarding past-times one can ever engage in. From adults to kids, learning the piano is both fun and fulfilling. It used to be that there were predominantly two ways to learn how to play. One was simply finding a piano and then teaching oneself through rigorous practice. The other way was to enroll in piano school or hire a piano lesson instructor. But with new technology, there is now piano learning software that can walk one through how to play even the most complex tunes in no time at all. But are there any advantages of using piano lesson software over the traditional method of simply enrolling in class?

Convenience

Learning how to play the piano can be grueling especially if you have to go to class on a daily basis. This means incurring transport costs on top of the cost of paying for the lessons. By simply purchasing piano software, one can install it on their PC or Mac and begin their lessons in the comfort of their home.

Overall Cost

Traditional schools and centers that teach piano can be costly. It is not unusual for lessons to cost upwards of $100 an hour depending on whether they are private or not. Purchasing software that teaches piano lessons can cut down on the cost of having to pay an instructor per hour. With software, there is just the initial investment of purchasing the package and the plugins and that basically all there is to it.

It is easier to learn

Sometimes, playing the piano under the supervision of someone can be tedious especially if that person is impatient. With piano lesson software, you can learn at your own pace, make as many mistakes as you can and correct yourself. Furthermore, new software in the market today gauges the keystrokes and logs the tunes to ensure maximum accuracy. This means that the program works with you and ensures that you learn how to play even the most complicated tunes in a very short time. It is not unusual for students to successfully play tunes in less than 30 days after they began their software-guided lessons.

Fun

There are piano software programs out in the market today which mimic video games. This makes it easy and thrilling for kids and adults alike to learn how to play. No longer do the lessons need to be a boring drag.

These are some of the advantages of using software to polish up on your piano lessons. While there are those who insist on sticking to the traditional methods of having a human tutor, technology has made it so much easier to learn how to play the very best piano tunes.

Irene James is a consultant who specializes in piano lesson software and she recommends this program to help you learn to play the piano in 30 days or less.

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