What’s the deal with Demos?
It comes up a lot here locally and I’ve seen conversations online about how to make demos. As someone who helps folks turn their demos into final products, a demo only needs one thing; vibe.
The more you throw on a sketch, the more it looks like a painting. If you want someone else to do color or something, don’t step on their toes. Many, many folks bring near completed mixes to the studio or for feedback, all I hear is a nearly completed song. Most of our demos are one acoustic guitar if there’s vocals. If no vocals, 2-3 piece. I do not apply mixing or mastering, and I’m happy to record them on my phone if the vibe is done with just me playing guitar and me and Keri singing. It’s a demo. All it needs.
What happens is folks get into the habit of showing these nearly done mixes to their friends. If their friend doesn’t have music intuition, they do not hear the same thing the artist does. The jank, quality, or pitch, or fill-in lyrics, or any number of things, keep them from experiencing the vibe at that point. It’s doubly bad considering now they’re sour on the tune and it isn’t finished. What if they’d have liked it then?
I’m not saying don’t share your demos, but it is important to be aware that isn’t what they’re for. They’re for people like me who want to help them become great songs. If I get a demo with a vibe, I’m rolling. You’ll be sharing it in no time, how it was meant to be.
Don’t sweat demos if there’s a vibe on there. You can be playing into your phone in the bedroom. A good song is a good song. The producer you’re looking for will hear it, hopefully. Good luck.🍀
I like doing lo-fi trip hop. Hit me up if you’d like to make something along the lines of this. Thanks!🙏
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