Does it sound good unplugged?

In the modern era of music we, as songwriters, have an infinite amount of tools, plug-ins, instruments, editing tricks, and effects to make any kind of sound we like. Often I find many bands and songwriters will rely on effects to make their music. Something I often wonder is “Would it sound good unplugged?”

It’s an important question to ask. How good is your song if you turn off all the effects and just hear it with a voice over an acoustic instrument such as a guitar or piano? For some of you out there you may be thinking, “Why does that matter?” and I would challenge you to consider why it does matter.

Foundation is everything

When you are writing a song and want to weigh its strength the first thing you should ask is, “How strong is the foundation?” I firmly believe that a song should be able to be stripped down to just its basic chord progression and vocal melody and still sound pleasing to the ear.

You can take any pop song on the radio, take away the beat, the synths, the electric guitars, and bring it down to a chord progression on the guitar with just vocals being sung over it and you will find that they still sound good. If you don’t believe me just look up any song you like on the internet and search for someone playing an acoustic version of it. Odds are someone out there has done it and guess what? It still sounds like a good song.

That’s what a strong foundation means to me. The progression and melody alone are strong enough to carry the weight of a song without the need for production. If your foundation is strong then you can build up from there. Your only goal will be to make the song better at that point and if all else fails when going overboard with instruments and effects you can stand confident in knowing your foundation is strong enough to go back down to the basics to try again.

Song design

You can think of it just like the foundation of a home. Built well, no structural issues, good square footage, and an awesome floor plan. Now you get to design it! What color should the home be painted, how do you furnish it, landscape it, and give it that flair that is uniquely your own?

The same applies to songwriting. Once the song sounds great at its most basic application then you can design it to be exactly how you want it. Reverb on the vocals, multiple vocal tracks, harmonies, and other effects. Electric guitars, tremolo, chorus pedals, and delay. Driving drum beats, groove beats, or soft, focused drum playing. Synthesizers, keyboards, odd nature sounds for flair. Whatever it is you have in mind, you build up from your foundation. And once you’ve lost your head in the madness of production you can go back to your foundation and see if you are really heading in the direction you want with the music. You have a home base and it’s a good home. One you can always rest your head in.

Live performance

One of the biggest let downs in life is going to see a band you’ve been really excited about and realizing that their live sound sucks. That song you’ve been listening to over and over again on Spotify by them was all a produced and manufactured illusion that they can’t pull off live. They relied on all the fancy effects, 4 guitar tracks, a synth, and multiple vocal tracks. Now you are there watching 4 people play and the vocals sounds dry and thin, there are missing parts from the track, and nobody is playing as tight as they did on the recording.

My point is these bands usually didn’t make sure their foundation was good enough. They relied on production tricks to get the music sounding good instead of making sure they and the foundation of their music were rock solid.

If you are a successful band and have all the production tools in the world at your fingertips then go ahead and get crazy with the recording of a song because you can afford the team necessary to replicate that live. The rest of us need to sound good live! Anytime you play live you have an opportunity to sell records, create new fans, and provide an experience for people that makes them want to come out and see you again. Don’t mess it up by overcomplicating your arrangements and make sure your music sounds good at its core.

Pop up gigs

The best thing about having a song good enough to play unplugged is you now have an opportunity to showcase your music anytime you want. You are free to sign up for open mic nights and have confidence that your rock song still sounds good unplugged if you need it. You can play for small groups of people on the street or around the camp fire. You have the ability to play your music and express yourself anywhere and anytime. This is a good way to get people interested in coming to your shows too where you might play with a full band.

It’s becoming more and more difficult to get heard through an internet algorithm and record labels aren’t seeking out talent like they used to. The only way to get your music out there is to go physically get it out there. When people come to see you make sure you sound as good as you possibly can. Make sure your material is sturdy enough that it can stand on its own without crutches. Make sure you can pick up that guitar and just sing it to a random soul and still be proud. If you have that then the arrangement will transfer over to a live band setting sounding better than you could ever imagine.

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How I record 8 track demos live