Let’s face it: for Singer / Songwriters and other creatives, dealing with technical issues can be a nightmare.
We just want to log on, tune in, and create. Nothing is more frustrating than getting into the zone, only to be interrupted by the blue screen of death, or some other ominous error alert.
All too often this happens to me (which is why my songwriting tools of choice are my guitar (D’Addario strings if you want ones that last a really long time) and just the voice notes app on my phone, along with a good song idea labeling system).
Let’s look at some common Ableton issues, and how to fix them, below.
(Btw having trouble with Ableton? Comment your issue down below and we’ll try to help you out!)
Ableton audio clip audio cuts off after a few seconds / Playback sounds randomly cuts out
SOLUTION:
Try turning off the last plugin you used, for me it was because Melodyne imported the audio wrong.
I tried switching in between a few tracks, and moving the “loop” feature, and that worked for me.
Why is Ableton playing clips / tracks that are deactivated and turned off?
I’m debating between 2 different vocal lines at the end of my song, and have multiple voices layered.
But when I turn off all of “option b” vocals, and just want to hear “option a”, it’s still playing all of the “option b” ones, even though those clips are disabled.
When I solo the deactivated tracks, they’re still playing.
I’ve restarted Ableton and still get the same thing.
Never had this happen before. Anyone knows what’s going on?
SOLUTION:
I turned off Melodyne in the chain, and it stopped playing the deactivated tracks during playback.
How to Stretch or Lengthen an Audio or Vocal Clip in Ableton, without it Clipping / Warping?
Check out my video on how to Stretch an Audio clip in Ableton without it warping.
Just follow these simple steps:
1. Make sure the Warp Mode is set to “Pro”. (If you want natural sounding vocals. If not, play around with the different Warp Modes for different effects).
2. Hold down the “Shift” button (on PC. On Mac might be different?)
3. Drag the audio clip to the desired length, while holding down Shift button.
[Melodyne] – Why are notes snapping to half-notes in Melodyne, even though “Key Snap” is activated?
Not sure… couldn’t solve it. Just turned off “Key Snap” and manually moved them into position, then turned “Key Snap” back on again.
NYC – Home of the Englishman in New York Photo: Michał Ludwiczak @ Pexels
A great song that isn’t too difficult to play. Originally released in 1987, back when NYC was a very interesting (and more dangerous) place to live.
It’s in the key of Bm, and switches to it’s Relative Major of D.
Scroll down to the bottom to understand the music theory behind the song.
Chords
Verse
Em | A | Bm | A
ivm7 | VII7 | im7 | VII7 (Key of B Minor)
iim7 | V7 | vim7 | V7 (Key of D Major)
Chorus
Em | A | Bm | A
(same as Verse)
(Note: Verse and Chorus don’t always play the last A chord, in the sheet music, when I play it I just omit it by feel, usually when there’s a lot going on with the singing or I have to make a quick chord change.)
I don’t drink coffee I take tea my dear I like my toast done on one side And you can hear it in my accent when I talk I’m an Englishman in New York
See me walking down Fifth Avenue A walking cane here at my side I take it everywhere I walk I’m an Englishman in New York
I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien I’m an Englishman in New York I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien I’m an Englishman in New York
If “Manners maketh man” as someone said Then he’s the hero of the day It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile Be yourself no matter what they say
I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien I’m an Englishman in New York I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien I’m an Englishman in New York
Modesty, propriety can lead to notoriety You could end up as the only one Gentleness, sobriety are rare in this society At night a candle’s brighter than the sun
Takes more than combat gear to make a man Takes more than a license for a gun Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can A gentleman will walk but never run
If “Manners maketh man” as someone said Then he’s the hero of the day It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile Be yourself no matter what they say Be yourself no matter what they say Be yourself no matter what they say Be yourself no matter what they say Be yourself no matter what they say…
I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien I’m an Englishman in New York I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien I’m an Englishman in New York
I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien I’m an Englishman in New York I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien I’m an Englishman in New York
Music Theory behind “Englishman in New York” by Sting
Key is Bm, and as Sting often does, alternates to the Relative Major key in a different section (in this case, to D, in the Bridge instead of the Chorus, however).
(Note: Relative Major is 3 tones up from Relative Minor, so B –> C –> C# –> D. B is the Minor Key, D is the Relative Major key).
At first glance I thought this song was in the key of Em, however when looking at the chords it wouldn’t fit into the keys of Em / G.
Bm is a minor key (which is the same thing as saying it’s in Aeolian). Let’s take a look what the Aeolian mode looks like:
Let’s look at the Bridge, where the most chords are used. Typically a song is going to be in one key (and commonly switching between it’s Relative Major or Minor). It’s not always the case, but for most songs, this is a safe rule to follow.
Bridge: D | A | Bm | F# | G | A | A#dim7 | Bm
Alright, let’s try to write out a few keys that we can guess that the song is in, and see if the chords match. Since I only see one sharp (F#), I’m guessing it’s either in the key of G, or D (A#dim7 is a passing chord, we can ignore it, since there’s already an “A” chord used earlier).
It’s not in the key of A (3 sharps: F, C, G), because we have a G and not G#. So it’s either in the key of G (1 sharp: F) or D (2 sharps: F, C):
As we can see above, D is a better fit. 5 chords in common, and in G, A is minor, and not major.
Interesting Note on the ii – V – i
If you look at the Verse and Chorus in terms of D Major, it’s a ii – V – vi progression.
The vi chord is a tonic chord, just like the I and the iii chords. It has a similar feeling.
The tonic chord families are Tonic (I, iii, vi), Subdominant (IV, ii) and Dominant (V, vii).
It’s interesting to see how Sting switched out the I tonic chord, for the vi which is in the same family. To keep it different than a normal ii – V – I progression, but still have a similar feeling.
Chords Deconstructed
Let’s deconstruct the chords on the guitar, and see every note.
This helps to both learn our guitar, and internalize the music theory behind each chord.
The “Poor-Man’s Copyright” is a myth, and doesn’t work. Neither does showing timestamps on your DAW project files, to prove you created a song. Registering your song with the U.S. Copyright Office has always been the gold standard, and still is. Photo: Joel Moysuh @ Unsplash Header Photo: Tingey Injury Law Firm @ Unsplash
Why copyright a song (with the U.S. Copyright Office) before you release it to the public (publish it)?
Because sometimes you might want to sell the song to another artist, or show it to producers.
You still want to protect your work, yet at the same time aren’t ready to release the song as a Published Work.
By registering your song as an Unpublished Work, you are granted the following rights, under U.S. Law:
The Right to Litigate, if someone infringes on your song (uses it without your permission, copies it, etc.)
The Right to First Recording, which you can charge a premium for, if an artist likes your song and wants to perform it first.
Songwriters often compose songs that might not fit their own brand, or they might not want to perform themselves. Some songwriters never perform their own songs, and prefer to write for other artists. They just like to focus on the creation aspect, and perhaps don’t want to deal with the fame, or all the work associated with getting your name and music out there. They’ll write songs for other artists in the hopes that they’ll get picked up, and possibly turn into a #1 hit, leaving them with a nice stream of royalty checks.
Or, for example if a Country singer likes making Hip-Hop songs, and is good at it, but doesn’t necessarily want to perform them him or herself. Those Hip-Hop songs don’t have to just sit around on a hard-drive somewhere, aging into obscurity – that artist can sell them and make money off of up-front payments and royalties, if another artist wants to perform them.
If the artist wants to protect their work while showing them around to different artists or producers, or just wants to protect their song (for any reason), before it’s released to the world, they should register them with the U.S. Copyright Office, as an Unpublished Work.
How to Copyright an Unpublished Work / Song
To copyright an Unpublished Song with the U.S. Copyright Office, you will use the Standard Application
Click “Standard Application” on the left hand side, under “Register a Work”. Click “Start Registration”
Select “Sound Recording” if you’ll be copyrighting both the actual song recording (final mp3/wav that’s engineered, mixed and mastered – i.e. “SR”), and the Publishing (the lyrics and the melody, i.e. “PA”). If you only want to copyright the lyrics and melody, select “Word of the Performing Arts” (i.e. “PA”)
On “Title” screen, click “New”. Select “Title of work being registered” from the dropdown, and enter your Song Title. Click “Continue”
For “Has this work been published?”, select “No”. Enter Year of Completion. Click “Continue”
Enter Author names. Click “Add Me” to enter your own info. For any other authors, if there are any, click “New”
For each author, describe the authors contribution. If just the Sound Recording, check “Sound Recording”. If more, like lyrics and melody, check “Sound Recording” and fill out the “Other” field, with a description. (For me and my co-author, on a song where we used a pre-existing instrumental, I put “Lyrics, vocal melody, vocal performance, and vocal effects”. For “Is this a Work for Hire”, select “No”, unless otherwise applicable. Click “Save” and “Continue”
For the “Claimants” section, click “Add Me” and enter your information, or “New”, if someone else is a Claimant.
Note: Whatever information (address, phone number, etc.) you add here will be viewable to the public. So consider a P.O. Box / 2nd phone number / etc. (I personally recommend Anytime Mailbox over a P.O. Box, since they give you an actual physical address that looks like a street address. Some services / companies don’t allow you to sign up with a P.O. Box address. Also, it’s cheaper than a P.O. Box, and they scan your letters so you don’t have to drive to the post office whenever you get mail, along with other benefits).
For a 2nd phone number, I use Google Voice, since it’s free.
Click “Continue”
For “Limitation of Claim”, if you wish to exclude anything from the copyright claim (such as an instrumental / beat you used, which isn’t yours, enter that info in the “Other” field. For me, I used an instrumental that isn’t mine, so I checked “Sound Recording” and in “Other” I put “Instrumental (beat) is excluded from this copyright claim.” Enter New Material Included. For me I wrote “Lyrics, vocal melody, vocal performance, and vocal effects.” Click “Continue”
Continue filling out all necessary information, which are contact addresses and such. When you are finished, review your submission, and confirm everything is correct. Then click “Add to Cart”
Click “Checkout” to pay. (Note: You’ll upload the song at the very end of the process. You have to pay first.) Pay with credit card or bank transfer. Click “Continue” once paid
Upload your song. You only need to upload the mp3, even if your song has lyrics. You don’t need to upload a separate PDF file for the lyrics
Questions Regarding Registering an Unpublished Song, if I Didn’t Make the Underlying Beat (Form PA? Form SR? Etc.)
Copyright is confusing. Here’s a Q & A with the U.S. Copyright Office that might help clear some things up. Photo: Camylla Battani on Unsplash
Question: I have a song I co-wrote the lyrics and melody to with my friend, though the underlying beat (instrumental) we used is from a producer we haven’t yet spoken with about clearing the instrumental.
We want to register it as an Unpublished Work before showing it to the producer, and possibly working with him on shopping the song to other artists.
1. Should I register both the SR (recording) and PA (lyrics and melody) together? Or just the PA (lyrics and melody)? Since I don’t own the rights to the underlying beat (instrumental?)
Answer (U.S. Copyright Office):
1. The SR is for the mixing, mastering, and engineering… so it just depends on you if you want to register that.
If you don’t own the instrumental (beat), just state that you’re excluding the instrumental on the registration, under “Limitation of Claims”.
So it’s really up to you if you want to register only the PA (Work of Performing Arts, i.e. lyrics and melody), or both the SR and PA. Just make sure to state what you’re excluding under the Limitation of Claims.
2. Can I register one song as Unpublished? Or can you only register a group of Unpublished Works (GRUW)?
Answer (U.S. Copyright Office):
2. Yes, you can register one Unpublished song you wrote with a co-author, for that use the standard application. Choose SR to register both the SR and PA together… there’s a box labeled “Other” where you type in “Melody and Lyrics”.
3. Do I just upload the file of my song (mp3 or wav)? Or should I also upload the lyrics, separately as a PDF or DOCX file?
Answer (U.S. Copyright Office):
3. You can just upload the mp3 with the lyrics already on it. You don’t have to upload a separate PDF with lyrics on it.
4. Is there a specific way I should name my files?
Answer (U.S. Copyright Office):
4. File name should coordinate with the title on the application. Doesn’t have to be exact. Just basically the same title as on the registration, so the workers at the U.S. Copyright Office know it’s the same song.
When registering group works, it matters, and it’s written out in the instructions for the GRUW.
Conclusion
If someone releases your song without your permission… having a registered copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office will give you the most legal power to pursue a claim against them. Photo: Markus Winkler on Unsplash
It would be a shame if you showed a song around to various artists and producers, and someone decided to cut it and publish it without your permission (or paying you, or even crediting you).
If you’re a small artist starting out, and the person who stole it is a big player in the industry who will blackball you if you decide to speak out against them, with a big budget for lawyers… you might have the fight of your life in front of you, if you didn’t register your song copyright.
I’ve heard of this happening… a bedroom producer showed sent a beat to a key music industry person in his city, and a few months later he heard his beat on a prominent mixtape. He wasn’t credited, and decided not to pursue action against this industry player, for fear of being blacklisted in his local music scene. He just decided to take it as a loss and move on.
To pursue legal action, you need a registered U.S. Copyright for your song, either as an Unpublished Work (before it’s released), or as a Published Work (if publishing it, e.g. uploading it on Spotify, Bandcamp, selling CD’s, etc.).
If you don’t have the money to register with the U.S. Copyright Office, you can register with a 3rd Party Service, such as Songuard, for $3.95 per song. This at least will establish: 1. Authorship and 2. Date of Creation, which you can then use as proof you are the original author, to then register it with the U.S. Copyright Office, if anyone else is claiming they wrote it first. And once you have that registered copyright… THEN you can litigate and seek damages for your song.
You can also register your songs with 3rd Party Services, such as Songuard, which will provide certified song files showing that you created the song first (Authorship and Date of Creation). Usually showing such a certified 3rd Party Document is enough to get the infringing party to back off, and you both can settle outside of court, and reach a win-win situation.
The other side most likely also doesn’t want to get into a costly, lengthy legal battle. Remember though, if the song really takes off, and is making the other side a lot of money, they might want to fight for it and take it to court. Which in that case… you’ll need a registered U.S. Copyright sooner or later… and it’s much cheaper to just get one up front.
Also remember… sending yourself a copy via physical mail (e.g. Poor-Man’s Copyright via USPS), or showing timestamps on a DAW project file, has never been admissible in a court of law. It just doesn’t hold up as evidence, and never has, as both methods can be tampered with. These two methods are myths, and provide you with no legal protection.
POV: That feeling when a certain song comes on at 2am on the interstate that changes you’re whole worldview. These types of songs typically take some time to finish. (Photo: Evgeni Tcherkasski @ Unsplash)
Rome wasn’t built in a day. People don’t achieve greatness the same day they’re born. Songs can, but it’s rare. The great songwriters of modern music have taken years to finish great songs sometimes, per their own admission.
I recently listened to some of my unreleased songs after not hearing them for 6 months, some after 12 months. Here’s what I realized:
As someone who writes songs in different languages (namely English and Spanish), I was wondering whether I should register my Spanish-language songs with INDAUTOR in Mexico (Mexico’s Institute of Authors Rights), since those songs I’d mostly be promoting within Mexico, and possibly working with Mexican music producers.
I’m based in the US, so wasn’t sure if I should register with the US Copyright Office, with INDAUTOR, or with both. In this article I go over what I learned regarding this topic.
If you’re like me, thinking of a gift idea for a loved one can be quite draining around the holiday season (or birthdays). It can be really frustrating, especially if that person doesn’t know what they want… OR you might want to surprise them with something really special.
I made this list asking my musician/producer colleagues the question:what piece of gear really helped with your musical creativity / output? Here is a list of some of their responses, coupled with some gear that I really like to use as a musician myself… (and some gear I one day hope to get!)
Most any item on this list will be sure to put a smile on your beloved musicians / producers / songwriters face!
There are movies and TV shows that have been shot purely on an iPhone. A great tool to make music videos on a budget. (Photo: Jan Kopřiva)
1.55x or 1.33x, for Cinematic Video?
I decided to go with the Sandmarc 1.33x for the iPhone XS. One of my favorite 90’s movies, Leon the Professional, was shot with a 2.35 : 1 aspect ratio, and according to Richard Lackey, a 1.33x anamorphic lens will result in a 2.39 : 1 aspect ratio. Comparatively, a 1.55x lens will result in a 2.76 : 1 ratio.
For a successful cover video or livestream, you need more than just a good camera. Lighting counts too. (Photo: Kobu Agency)
Part of my own plan is to record myself playing acoustic guitar and singing, both my original songs and covers, to post to YouTube / Instagram / etc.
Also, to pay the bills, teaching online (with a webcam) is necessary. Good lighting offers more professionalism and a better experience for the student in this situation. Or anyone else on the other end of a Zoom meeting (for potential music industry meetings, etc.)
Lighting is important because although you can have a good camera, with bad lighting you might as well have used a potato.
I spent a lot (read: too much) time researching lighting for videos… there’s a lot of misinformation out there, and for a good while I thought I needed one of those “ring lights” to record myself.
Those aren’t a bad choice, but after digging around, I realized 3-point lighting should give the best effect, and during the day just opening the windows covers one of those points. It isn’t too hard to achieve, you just need 3 sources of light strong enough to light you up. And they should be more or less the same color temperature.
