LITTLE CRICKET

What a Little Cricket Session Looks (and Sounds) Like Right before I Record Vocals

Here’s what I accomplished throughout the week and a little bit about how and why I planned my week this way.

I try to do something music-related every day.

Sometimes you don’t need to break the mold, structurally, to make a great song.

Let’s look at a song called “Drink It Down” from our final EP, Fingers, and break it down structurally.

I decided to revisit the mix over the past few weeks.

This is the perfect pop song to break down.

I'd like to spend the next few blog posts breaking down a few pop songs part by part.

To me, art is about finding a compromise between the novel and the familiar. Creativity alone isn't enough to write a great song.

The outro might be the most underused part of the pop song, but it should always be at least available in a good songwriter’s toolbox.

A good songwriter will recognize this as a ripe moment for the “bridge.”

Often the loudest, catchiest, most lyrically memorable part of a song, the chorus is, in many ways, the centerpiece in most pop music.

Sometimes, however, there is an additional part that gets sandwiched between the verse and the chorus.

The verse usually plays the lyrical role of telling the story and setting up the chorus or leading to the pre-chorus.

Like novels and films, all pop songs have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

By categorizing these smaller components of a song, I can better keep track of my work throughout the production process.

Creative people tend to thrive on spontaneity. This makes for good art, but poor time management can be a huge barrier to productivity.

Vocals, though usually the main attraction in a pop song, can play many roles.

Sampling is the use of recorded audio as instrumentation.

Software synthesizers are some of the most accessible and versatile compositional elements available to a bedroom producer.