Re-recording songs is sad

[slumbering]

I spent all month trying to re-record October. Because i feel that it's my best song that i have ever written yet i know that the recording of it was not technically very good. It was the second song i ever recorded on a computer. I had tried remixing it a few times, a few years ago, which was painstaking. I went through and cut out a lot of noises and tried to tone down plosives but there's only so much i could do. I had already been shown how i needed to improve my vocal recordings and even though i never went back and fixed what i'd already done, i did get a condenser mic and filter, and tried to do better for new songs. And i thank, especially Boris, for pointing it out because now i have at least a few recordings that i don't think need to be re-sung.

Doing the remixing, i did learn a lot about how to record in the future. There was only so much i could do to most of the tracks because i had recorded most as "real" instruments, even though it was still all from a keyboard. And once you have a drum track that's a real instrument, there's not a whole lot you can do but add effects to change the sound, which i did. You can take clips and chop things but there's a tempo issue that can happen that can drive me crazy. (Well, that's because i never followed the tempo before, i had recorded the drums straight from the keyboard so that the tempo did not match the tempo in GB, it was off just enough to match at the start but then not match, worse and worse as it went on. I now do almost all my drums with the software instruments because i can change beats, take beats out, change tempo, etc., plus chop a lot without it affecting tempo. Strangely, i could never play real drums but i think i do put a lot of effort into my drums in my recordings (i mean, the ones after i figured out how to actually use GB properly).

Anyway, i got quite a lot done for October in just in the first few days and was feeling good about it. I started completely from scratch. I decided on a different way of doing the beat and got the strings parts done and most of the instruments in the song, except for the piano and vocals. But then we had plumbing problems and my project was delayed as the bathroom floors had to be completely restored due to water damage and there was all sorts of noise that prevented me recording vocals with the mic. And basically prevented me from living. I have been holed up in my room and my hair is awful.

Then i did most of the vocal tracks and they are more complex than i had realized, so i had to go through and listen to individual vocal tracks from the original version.

Well, to get to the whole point of this post, i'm just very disappointed with it. Technically, it does sound better, it sounds "cleaner." But on the whole, it's like the "magic" isn't there or something. It's not free. It's got me very depressed because i really would like to have this song sound full and atmospheric, so that it will be like going to another world.

I guess i was inspired and motivated by hearing Rebsie Fairholm's new album. It just draws me in and takes me to another world. I wanted my song to have a beautiful sound like that.

And after that, i was going to try to re-sing a few of my other earlier recorded songs. But i feel sad and defeated by my attempt at October and have basically given up on it all.

[toots]

I think Rebsie had a lot of help from other people, specifically Daniel Staniforth (as much as I sort of don't care for his style at times, he's a talented musician) on her new album. This is one thing that is an unexpected benefit of working with someone else on some level on trying to refine a song; it helps to have some additional input to keep the focus and the edge. Did you get any input from others on your re-recording? Maybe you are too close to it, and it's actually better than you think? If you post it here you probably could ask and get some great input from your friends. Or just email it to me...
Don't get defeated by this obstacle, as it is pretty common. I spend a lot of time failing to make an old song better. It happens. "Jim, I'm a doctor not a magician!" is what I'm always telling myself!

[cStu]

ditto that ^^

one of the difficult things about this is that you are trying to make it different (better), and have it be the same, at the same time.

And you are comparing it to the existing version (which IS magical), and you have stopped critiquing that version and now you are critiquing the new version.

toots is right. It's too much for one head lol

[Tall J]

I like to go back and redo my favorite songs. I have six versions of my song Liturgy. Sometimes I like the newer versions better. Other times I can't replicate whatever it was I liked about the earlier recordings. I think that is the case with ANY musician. We got an advance copy of a new R.E.M. album at work that is live versions of 39 old songs. The new versions of old classics sound like pale imitations when I think about the versions I grew up with.

As long as you are learning from what you are doing that is all that matters as far as I'm concerned.

[madduane]

Hey, Mir. I have never rerecorded anything. Sometimes I think it would be a good exercise. I think you should folow Jim's advice, though. Get another set of ears to hear it & get their perspective. Also, in listening to your new version, maybe you should try to forget the other version exists when you listen to it. Let it stand on its own, if you can, don't bring that other set of expectations into it at all.

[rcandrews]

Technically...

music judged in such a manner never amounts to much save to the composer / critic and wtf do they know

For what it is worth the best produced songs are the ones that ain't

[slumbering]

I just wrote a whole post thanking you all for your input and advice, i was already logged in, then it said i needed to log in, then i lost the whole post. And i don't remember all that i wrote.

Anyway, thank you all. Everything everyone said makes sense.

I can't remember what i wrote but it had something to do with that i found everything you all said to be true, even though it might seem strange. For example, that Jeremy re-records his songs, while Matt doesn't, yet both ways make sense and i guess that's part of why i tend to get so immobilized by my own confusion.

I wrote a lot more but i guess it's just as well.

[cStu]

rewriting lost posts is sad ...

but you're welcome ;-0)