I have been performing for the senior circuit for the last 10 years. I make a pretty good living, but something has been gnawing at me. When I was in my 20's and 30's, I spent countless hours crafting songs. I got great feedback from friends, but I did little to market them.

This year, I'm going to record at least one CD and, instead of saving money for retirement, I'm going to invest in my dream. I'm going to attend songwriting conventions, send my songs to anyone who can help launch my career. I might try to perform them acoustically in the Chicago area. I wish that I didn't wait until I was 46 to pursue my dream, but it's better late than never.

Unfortunately, with my busy schedule on the senior circuit, I don't have so much time, but I will burn the midnight oil to achieve my dream of being a professional songwriter.

BTW, when I recorded a few songs 7 years ago using Cakewalk Sonar, I learned how to do something that I forgot:

I recorded myself solo on piano. Then I beat a note on my piano on another track to map out the beat. Then I launched a style on my PSR-740 (now I play the PSR-S900), and I had the computer control the tempo. This way, the tempo breathed with the song instead of like a drum machine. Does anyone know how to do this or where I could get the answer?

Happy New Year!

Beakybird

Hey Larry ,

I'm right behind you.... Best of luck with your goal and best of luck to you in 2009.

Dan O'

Best of luck, Beaky....

Maybe while you are networking, you can find maybe a guitarist songwriter, or a rhythm section writing team, and do some trading off of playing time?

I've done a fair bit of work with pro songwriters (a friend of mine was a house writer for Curb Records, several friends have had big hits at one time or another) and one thing ALL of them put down was arranger based demos. No matter how good, they all have that 'sound'. A simple demo with REAL players on can bring something unique to a song. But pre-canned arranger backing can detract unless used VERY sparingly.

Rather than put up with the expense of getting demos produced with session players, keep an eye out for like-minded writer/players on your rounds. It might go a long way to getting picked up having a few real tracks, even if mixed in with some sequenced. Trade a bit of YOUR time for a bit of theirs...

BTW, there are several ways to get the 'floating' tempo thing going, tapping along with the audio, 'elastic' audio, etc.. But I'd be VERY cautious about it. Little music is getting signed these days with unsteady tempi. It's just the way things are. PERHAPS you can find something really unique that changes everything, but a safer position, especially for a pro songwriter, is to look at what is getting signed NOW, and at least stick to the format...

But best of luck... never give up on your dreams