What goes into releasing a music single? It’s easy enough to do a quick video capture of a song you love to sing with ukulele and post it on YouTube or Facebook, but what do you need to do to release a song that will be available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.. More importantly, what can you do to see that the song has a small chance of getting downloaded amid the millions of other selections out there?

These are questions I’m still answering for myself, as I have a goal to release more ‘produced’ singles. Though I’m fairly comfortable with live performance and quick video captures that don’t involve multitracking, I’d like to produce ‘fuller arrangements’ that use some or my other instrumental skills along with my ukulele and voice. However, I keep getting bogged down in the process, stuck in a perpetual loop of rehearsing songs I plan to record (always next week). If this sounds familiar, keep reading.

I sat down last night for a couple of hours and thought about what’s holding me back and how I can streamline the process of producing and releasing a single with an accompanying music video (something that seems essential to me in today’s visually oriented society). Here is a flowchart I put together this morning that outlines the process of working through releasing a single:

I’ve left a blank spot at the top to put in the name of the song you’re working on. From there it divides into two categories, the audio and the visual. Let’s talk about the audio first.

Audio Workflow

• Choose a song or write a fresh one.
• Arrange: If you’re just arranging for ukulele and voice (or an ukulele instrumental), you’ll still need to commit to what strums, fingerpicking, licks, tabs and leads you want to include in your song. If you want to add bass, percussion, keys or a separate lead instrument (pennywhistle, trumpet, flute: whatever you or your friends play), this is the time to write it out (let’s set improvisation aside for this discussion).
• Rehearse: Now that you know what you want to add to the song, it is time to rehearse all the individual parts (or get other players to rehearse them if you’re collaborating).
• Record: Once you feel really comfy with your arrangement, it is time to start recording. Recording freaks me out. One of the problems that has set up blockages for me is the process of setting and monitoring levels. My voice has a very wide dynamic range (meaning I can sing very soft and very loud). I can’t tell you how many recordings I’ve ruined by just singing a little TOO loud (which causes digital clipping … a less than pleasant noise that renders tracks useless). Finally, I bought a Zoom F6 field recorder with 32-bit float point recording with which setting levels and digital clipping are now a thing of the past (thank Heaven!). I’m now able to record without worrying I’m going to ruin a take by not constantly monitoring my levels and just concentrate on making music.
• Mix: After recording all the individual parts (with a metronome or click track) it is time to upload your tracks into a DAW and mix (I’m a long-time user of Sonar, which is now free for you to use!). I’m fine with mixing, if I can just get over the recording hurdle it is all downhill from here. Mixing usually involves getting the levels balanced, making sure the vocal is not buried, panning tracks, and maybe adding a little EQ here and there. This is also the chance to add reverb or other effects.
• Master: This is the final EQ and sweet spot massaging that the mixed recording gets. I’m not a mastering guru. Thankfully, there are quite a few options out there on Fiverr (many which include mixing), as well as automated services that aren’t too expensive. It’s good to know your limitations and hire out when you need to.
• Upload: Once you’ve got your mastered track it is time to upload it to a distribution service, which will send your track out to the world. Amuse has a great breakdown of music distro services out there. NOTE: To upload your track, you are going to need your cover art ready to go.

Tune in next time for a breakdown of the visual component of music distribution and why it is a good idea to add visuals.

Post filed under All UkulelePlay! Blog Posts.