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Importance of a killer Demo

If you are considering building a career in songwriting, you will need to learn how to properly produce and present your work. The quality of your demo is often the deciding factor that makes a difference between winning and losing in the music business.

How Good?

Your demos should be cut and carefully prepared, in a way that they sound like a finished record as much as it is possible. You may even consider producing a demo record in your own home-made studio, or in someone else’s, despite the fact that it may seem difficult to you at first glance.

Going through the hassle is well worth it, as it will help you to become better at what you are doing in the long run. It is not enough that you write a song. In order to succeed, you will have to learn how to present it in a way that will persuade others that your song is a hit, and that can only be achieved by presenting a strong Demo.

Real Life Presentation?

Even if you manage to present your song in-person to a publisher, it is a practice that you should avoid. Rare are the situations where your live presentation could yield the desired result as most of the people in publishing business tend to avoid the psychological discomfort of having to express their critics directly to an eager artist.

Your chances are much higher if you hand in a demo record, as the publisher can then listen and re-listen the recorded material, letting it to sink in and envision production possibilities. Not to mention that, with a demo, you have all the power to embellish your own work and present it in the best possible light.

Different Genres

You can make a demo to be simple and sparse, or worked out to the thinnest details, meriting a master release. Generally, the approach to your demo should be taken in dependence on the kind of the song that you’ve written.

For example, if you have written a beautiful ballad and you got it performed by an excellent singer, it may suffice to present a demo solely based on a piano and voice. When ballads are concerned, melody and words should be heard in their full clarity. Piano however, needs to play the role of the whole orchestra, and to have as many dimensions as it is possible.

Who?

A demo presented with a guitar and voice is another simple approach, which can be used if you feel that you have written an outstanding melody or lyrics. Guitars are especially good at accentuating country or blues feel as they sound naturally funkier than piano keyboards.

The most frequent demo setting is the voice of the powerful lead vocalist covered by the experienced background singers and accompanied by piano, bass, guitar and drums. This combination will enrich your demo with simple and clean strength, giving it the needed groove.

When preparing a demo, rely on your own opinion what is it that you should accentuate the most, as everyone has some different idea about what is the most important aspect of a demo. However, one of the aspects that really is important, is choosing the appropriate singer.

More often than not, writers are too careless when it comes to singers and many excellent songs were rejected due to inadequate vocal performance. When picking a singer, live performance is not that reliable, as visual impression and impact may overshadow the sound of the voice, even to the keenest of ears. You should always insist on being provided with the recorded tape or a CD with the singer’s voice.

It is important that you carefully choose the musicians as well. There are many things that can misguide your evaluation, as some musicians play amazingly, but they don’t know how to read music. Some will read and adopt their parts instantly, but will lack ability to improvise and any creative ideas on their own.

Some will request to be provided with full lead sheets, while others will be happy with just chords. If possible, it is always advisable to select the musicians who have played together before, as it will save you much time, not to mention the benefit from the fluid communication and chemistry these musicians have already established among each other.

When searching for musicians for your demo, you can always check your local union of the musicians, where they will always be happy to suggest some quality people. You can also get recommendations from recording studios and you can use opportunities to visit clubs and get the tapes of performing musicians.

The good idea is to always check the backs of the CDs you liked for the musicians’ names and their specialties. There you can often read additional info about guitarists, drummers, synthesizer players or any other musicians who have contributed to that record.

After the Studio Session

Once you have made a demo mix, it is important that you don’t settle with the first result. The studio effects and surrounding may often mislead your ear, so you should make several mixes and play them in different locations – in your vehicle, at home on a tape player, or on your computer. In different environments you will notice more easily such irregularities as too buried or too loud vocals, or drums that are overshadowing delicate parts, such as playing of the flute.

When your demo is finally ready to be presented to a publisher or producer, make sure that your lead sheet appears neat looking and professional. Any sloppiness will leave a bad impression. When you write notes and lyrics, you need to be meticulous, especially in notating chords, melody and rhythm, while making certain the notes are not written too close together.

You shouldn’t select a key which demands many ledger lines, and make sure that your lyrics are written precisely under those notes they belong to.

If you feel insecure about writing the lead sheet, you should consult a professional who will help you to do it properly. Also, don’t forget to include the information about copyright. Put the song you believe in most to be the first one the listener will hear. Your overall selection of the songs for the demo should be strong and you should be truly convinced that your songs are of highest quality.

Today, as an emerging artist, you are required to also be an arranger and a producer, someone who is capable of creating the whole music palette. By showing and presenting the most of your song, you will get much more aware of the rhythm, vocal parts, figures and arrangements, learning all the finesses required to put one song together.

This creative requirement of the music business nowadays, will also ensure that you continue to grow as a lyricist, composer and musician overall.

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