Caleb J. Murphy is a singer-songwriter and music producer based in Austin, Tx., and the founder of Musician With A Day Job, a blog that helps part-time musicians succeed.
Lennon and McCartney. Richards and Jagger. Simon and Garfunkel (but mostly Simon). We all know these names as the power songwriting duos they were. Their stories show us how to go about co-writing a song — with a teamwork mentality. In this post, I’ll go through the benefits of co-writing, how to find a co-writer,...
You may be a good songwriter. But imagine if you knew some basic music theory. People say it can give your songwriting a serious boost. As a songwriter myself, I was curious. So I did some digging to see what music theory could actually do for me. And here are the three most compelling ways...
A common problem with a lot of DIY musician recordings is thinness. I’ve run into this with my own arrangements and mixes. You know, when a song just needs a little something, a little meat on its bones. That’s what we’ll talk about in this post — how to make your songs sound fuller. These...
Mastering music can seem like some scary voodoo magic. And that’s because that’s what it is. If you’re someone who’s never mastered a song, mastering might as well be magic. But if you can’t afford a mastering engineer or an automated mastering service, there’s a workaround. I’m not at all saying you shouldn’t master your...
It’s so tempting to “fix” a song with production or even mixing. But it can’t be done, not really. A good song is a good song. Period. And here’s why… Band-Aids Don’t Heal Gun Wounds Producing a song is meant to enhance the experience for the listener. It’s supposed to help convey the emotion of...
If you’re here, there’s still hope for you. You clicked on this post, probably via social media, because you’re curious. Or maybe you wanted to see how ridiculous the “quit social media” argument is. Welcome. Let’s begin. Here’s why you, as someone in the music industry, should quit social media. And let’s start with Dr....
I hate when people tell me what to think. So this post isn’t going to be an attempt at mind control. This post is meant to be suggestions for helping you succeed as a DIY musician. The DIY Mindset: Balancing Business And Creativity The DIY mindset is all about balance. If you want to be...
Money. It’s one of the biggest obstacles for indie musicians. There’s not enough of it. And you need it to do things, like record music. But recording equipment can tend to be expensive, especially for DIYers. So here are four ways to save money on recording equipment. Scour Thrift Stores Hey, don’t write this one off....
A good sample to a music producer is like candy to a kid. It’s tasty and it gives you a headrush. A sample with great potential changes everything. It can become the hook to a song. Some would argue that a great producer can take a mediocre sample and make it great, make it their...