The song- writing process : a song is the result of months or years of hard work, sacrifice and discipline.

The song- writing process :

A song is the result of months or years of hard work, sacrifice and discipline.

2018 11 18 - The Islington - Stella Wembley - (30)

I have the inspiration, first.
Usually it comes in the evening time , or when I am alone, at my place.
I can write on the notepad on my phone, or on paper. Usually if I write on my phone, I send the lyrics to my email address or I write it again on paper.. because I don’t trust technology!
For me, everything is “virtual” it is temporary, and might fade away.

Sometimes, I can write the lyrics in a couple of hours; or I have to adjust it in the following days.
After writing the lyrics, I start thinking about the melody , well I don’t think about that I just start singing and usually, unconsciously, I write in the same pitch ( A minor, C minor , G minor) .

I use to play a line on the synth, some chords on the guitar.
When I am happy with the melody , I record the first demo on my pc through the Digital music software Cubase , which I use for recording, mixing and producing my music.
I record the demo capturing the live performance , playing the synth or the guitar while I am singing.

I record the vocals with a mic condenser (magneto se) or, sometimes , I use the dynamic one ( shure 58).
I record the synth through an audio cable which goes into my PC and I listen to the whole thing in studio headphones.
When I record I use to add some effects , even if they are not set up for the final mix, just to get the right vibe when i am performing.
For some reasons I can’t record 2 tracks separately at the same time ( The thing is too technical and would be too much boring I guess)
So I record only one track , anyway it is only a demo which I will use to build the rest of the song.

I always decide which is the tempo first, and I record everything with the metronome or on a beat on time.
If I am happy with that, I start trying different sounds for orchestration, synth pad, guitars and drums.
Drums takes a long time ,I guess because it is an instrument I have never played and it is a bit weird playing it on a virtual instrument ,or maybe it is not really my thing !
I love working with different filters on them , to get the sound I want .
Synths are the most exciting part!

I use to have the same track on different pan , to get a stereo effect ,for example: Synth 1 on Left 45,Synth 1 on Right 45 ; Synth bass on left 60, Synth bass on Right 60, etc.(and It is probably why I end up having 50 tracks..)
I can play hours and hours on my analog synth, and build a sound,then I play it live again and again , until I am satisfied with the recording.
To me is easier to record again rather than playing in midi and then record the sound from the midi . I have so many cool real sounds on my synth, why should I use the virtual one?
I do use them sometimes, like for cellos ,and other instruments in orchestra that are hard to reproduce live.. When I record the guitar, I use to reamp it, and I record the sound from my Fender amp.

For some guitar lines, I use plugins.

And how long does it take to write, record and produce a song?
To write all the parts, it takes from 1 week up to 1month.
To record everything good, it takes from 1 month to 4 months.
And then there is the mixing/ editing process, which can take from 1month to 3 months.
The longest process for ne was the one of ” All That I Need” which it took a year and a half, including the music video .

Stella cover All That I Need

Images of Death took ” only” 4 months.
A song is the result of months or years of hard work, sacrifice and discipline.
So please support music and artists , buying the cds and gadgets. Thank you!

Single996Atimes roman 2