How can you create professional-quality demos for your music?

I agree that software is very important. However, I believe the first step needs to be focused on the purpose of the demo and an overarching plan. There are too many trailers and demos out there which never get noticed, or get rejected by prospective clients and collaborators after 3 sec. of viewing. Not because the software is bad, or the vocals are not up to par. But simply because the WHOLE demo doesn’t fit what the prospective clients are looking for. I recommend starting with learning your audience. Who do you aim to impress? Who are these people? What are their businesses? What is THEIR audience looking for? What do you want to be hired to do for them? Research your audience, look at the samples of their productions first.

Hot take: Don't record a whole song, just do your favorite chorus or verse and chorus. You'll be doing lots od takes for your first project and this makes it more manageable, especially in the editing process. Long, full-length songs are rarely watched these days.

This is such a broad topic with so many variables. But what I will say is this. Jumping into being able create a demo on your own can be done relatively easy. You can find open source software that will let you perform recording tasks with ease. Software usually fits a few different categories. Free or open source software is available. Sometimes these types have limited function. There are paid programs available that have more functionality and also subscription based programs. Usually choosing which program you use may depend on what you want to do or if you plan on collaborating with others that use the same type of software. For beginners an open source program may offer some hands on opportunities.

Demo needs to be clear, what you want to deliver with it. You story, vibe and the genre should comply with your demo. Clean mix is required even if there are a few layers. Heavily production is not required yet noisy is not recommended.

One thing to understand is that the 'gear' doesn't make the "magic" happen. The magic happens on top of the basic track. What mean 'basic track' can b just a drum loop on different sections of the song; maybe on a verse, or chorus, then maybe not. How big do u wanna pound the hook into somebody's head is totally up 2 U. It depends on the song & the vocalist or band. Maybe u wanna soft pedal the hook? It's not about the 'plug-ins'!

An example of using your current living environment as a place to record vocals would be using your closet as a vocal booth. I’ve used this many times for voice overs. I would open my closet door and place the microphone near the clothing garments that are hung. With the door open I would hand a folded packing blanket that I keep for this purpose over the door and somewhat close it slightly. I do have a pop filter that is used also. This cost almost nothing and yields great results.

Wichtig dabei ist, dass Du Dich an dieser Position wohl fühlst, und Dich frei bewegen kannst. Das kann Einfluss auf Deine Stimme nehmen und Du m?chtest ja das Beste Deiner Stimme pr?sentieren.

In my experience I had a home made studio in a basement that was very echoing and it made capturing and editing vocals a task. One thing you can do it get a shield and put foam up around the area of the microphone. Also hanging a blanket behind you to capture the sound in one area and prevent echoing and room reverb. You could even tape up egg cartons. If it a square or rectangle room putting up foam in every corner also helps stop sound from bouncing around. Another cost effective way to soundproof ur recording areas is to run out the Mike in the closet stuffed with blankets and hoodies.

Know what you’re going to do before you hit record. Have a game plan. When you’re recording is not the best time to learn a song (recording vs songwriting). I would also urge you to learn about gain structures as it relates to audio recording. Google and YouTube have some good info on this topic. You want to record as cleanly as possible. Free of unwanted distortions and noise.

The great thing about recording is that you can record multiple 'takes' and use the best one. This is called 'comping.' However, be sure take your time learning your song and practicing it in advance. Don't underestimate the power of warming up and taking vocal lessons. If you're planning to record a song even if it is at home, consider getting help from a voice expert. Voice coaching won't change your natural Voice but it will help you to refine what you're doing and spot any areas that could be problematic. You can improve your performance with the right tools and feedback. Don't rush into recording if you haven't put in the prep work yet!

Bleibe bei allem v?llig natürlich und Duselbst. Fühl den Song und lass den K?rper auch vor dem Mikro mitgehen. K?rpersprache ist ein Unterstützer der Stimme.

This is true as well. But to expand on the topic of getting vocal ready for your recording. You want to for at least a week buckle down in your vocal training. Massage the neck massage the throat (YouTube can show you how shawnmendes has a great dr that shows you great massages) during this time drink tea hot sugarless maybe a hint of honey for the whole week ur buckling down. 2 sessions a day. One good one in the morning. And a very light one followed by massage in the evening. Then tea no talking and rest. The day before your session keep talking to a minimum and massage and tea. Day of in the morning make sure you massage drink tea and go through your whole vocal training routine. voice rest for about 3 hours. One more tea and record

Yes, it should convey the emotion and the feel in demo. Which can be achieved by good sound selections and a clear mix. Vocals should sound clear at any cost.

Once you've recorded your vocals take some time to feel for the emotional content of your performance. Sometimes a less polished take my convey more of the emotion that you want to convey. Don't rush this part. If you didn't guess the tone or quality that you really wanted then consider recording the vocal again. It's 100% worth getting right. If you're unsure ask a trusted friend especially one that works in music for their opinion.

Ah yes the meat and potatoes. Okay so everything that was said is true. Also some other things that might help with mixing and mastering is and this can be done with logic and pro tools but I recommended logic, as a cost effect but industry standard and professional software. The thing I’m going to explain is called “COMPING” what it does is allow you to take as many times as you want in the same spot and highlight the best parts of each take to make me master amazing sounding take before you even get to really editing. Almost 100% of your fav artist this day and age use this technique. Then auto tune and after they run it through logics makeshift melodyne to really get it perfect. Best used on the lead vocal. YouTube is your best friend.

Recording a demo can be a simple process. But it can lead you down the path of being poor like me. Really good mics cost money. Really good monitors cost money. But the “learning” part can be an integral part of the journey. A friend of mine used to get on to me when I’d complain about using gear that I thought was inferior. He told me that if I would put the effort into learning the gear and squeezing out every drop of performance out of it then that knowledge is something that would follow me when I was able to get better gear. For better or worse I know how to solder electronics very well and repair microphones and other music gear because I had to learn early on to make the gear I had do what I needed it to do. Good luck!

You need an external unbiased set of ears. Someone who can point out things which you are too close to the demo to see. That might be in terms of arrangement choices (and what’s ‘cool’ and what’s not) it might be in simple mix terms - voice too quiet in the verse etc.

If you don't have the equipment or the expertise that you need to record yourself, don't despair. There are many students in music college studying sound engineering and music production who may be interested in helping you with that part. I was lucky that my first producer was a good friend who had skills that I didn't have. In the end making music is often a team effort. If you find a really great producer don't underestimate the benefit of that. Many artists rely on a good producer to bring their vision into reality. Try not to be too precious with your vision and allow others to pipe in with their ideas also. Take your time listening and absorbing how your first demo sounds. Give it a week or two even and then go back and make edits.