Listenability

With modern technology, it's easy for anyone to write music. This doesn't mean that it will necessarily be good or salable music, but it is possible for people with little to no training to put something together with little or no trouble. Your simplest keyboards have rhythm and bass tracks written in so that all a person needs to do is choose the genre or sound they want, choose a rhythm track, and the keyboard will take off on its own until keyed to stop with the player merely having to push one note at a time to create a chord and chord change. Writing a song that your friends can bear to listen to is another matter entirely, and this is where that elusive animal, listenability comes in. Here are a few ideas you might try if you find even your dog doesn't want to be around when you start to play.

VOLUME

This is often the main reason many folks don't want to listen to songs. If you've never at least been in school chorus or band, you may have no idea how to play along with a group, or how you sound when you are in the midst of playing. If you are just so into your playing that you can't hear the other instruments on your tracks, you might also find you have problems getting other musicians to play in bands you are in-Most folks don't appreciate being blasted off the planet. Turning down just a notch might just be the ticket to getting your demos picked up. Along the same vein, if the vocals are too deep in the mix so that the rep can't hear the lyrics, your song might never get heard to the chorus, but don't put the vox too far out front, either, for the same reason. If you really aren't sure which to do, have a friend who knows nothing about music but who listens to albums and/or the radio a lot, and get their opinion. Sure you can have a producer just mix your songs, and if they are good, that is worthwhile, but I've seen rock producers sink vocals too far down to get a demo signed and demo producers put the vocals so far out front that the album sounds totally wrong for radio airplay. Find out which is the appropriate volume level for different instruments and overall sound for the genre or intended use before you do the final mix and go for that idea. You will have spent your money wisely, and not end up with a demo or album cut that will never get the attention it deserves.

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