Not sure whether this has been done before, but how about songs that aren't in 4/4? Or not in 4/4 from top to tail (this leaping immediately to mind). Additional kudos to whoever can handle the weirdest time signature. I was in a prog band millions of years ago that did a track - I kid you not - in 13/8. I still have nightmares. Another idea is to cover a track by a non-Western artist, maybe from a particular continent (Africa gets my vote). Something that might well have a rock and/or roll influence but which has a very distinctive non-Western flavour.
posted by Hoops McCann at 12:31 PM - 13 comments

With this call to arms in mind regarding commenting on music posts, I wonder if we can make it harder for posts to slip through the net? [more inside]
posted by greenish at 7:45 AM - 15 comments

Now that I've had a taste of what can be done in a home studio, I'm ready to dive in and get my own setup. Help me build My First Studio. [more inside]
posted by rouftop at 9:26 PM - 4 comments

Looking for upbeat Instrumental music for podcasts. [more inside]
posted by leahpeah at 9:49 AM - 3 comments

Anyone using an iPad in their live setup? [more inside]
posted by sleepy pete at 7:13 PM - 5 comments

Apropos of this recent FPP, February's challenge is to record a version of a song, changing it from a major key to a minor one, or vice versa, turning (say) a murder ballad into a jolly polka, or a sunny pop song into a grinding death metal dirge. And hopefully improve it in the process. [more inside]
posted by unSane at 1:08 PM - 15 comments

Someone gave me an electric guitar. I only know how to play acoustic. Anyone have amplifier recommendations and/or advice? [more inside]
posted by topoisomerase at 1:49 PM - 11 comments

We've done it before (more than once), but maybe we can talk acoustic guitars again. [more inside]
posted by uncleozzy at 7:46 AM - 13 comments

The Yardbirds: I'm Waiting For My Man [more inside]
posted by Sailormom at 7:05 PM - 7 comments

Looks like someone did some random raiding of our content back in Fall 2010 for a (now seemingly abandoned) free radio site... [more inside]
posted by frecklefaerie at 4:52 PM - 1 comment

Would a thread of introductions be useful? I was thinking about unSane's soundcloud-pony and the Balkan kingdom of Music (or MeFiMu), and realized that I don't have a very good idea of who all is reading/listening here, whether regularly or not, except for a few posters, and even then I don't know much about them apart from a few tunes. [more inside]
posted by dubold at 1:31 AM - 23 comments

Aside from the basic physics of the speed of sound would there be practical upper limits to the number of musicians, assuming an infinite supply with the necessary talent and disposition, who could jam spontaneously to produce a united song without generating discord? [more inside]
posted by Blasdelb at 9:06 AM - 26 comments

here's a mixing question ... [more inside]
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 6:39 PM - 8 comments

A sort of call to arms. I well remember posting stuff here and getting zip response. A pretty disheartening experience for a newbie and one, I guess, shared by many toe-in-the-water freshers to MeFiMu (or as unSane apty describes it the kitchen*). So - let's all make the effort to listen to at least two or three new posts per week and give some feedback to all our colleagues earnestly entreating thier muses..... Waddyasay?? * I'm well up for renaming this part of MeFi the "Utility Muffin Research Kitchen" in honour of the late Frank Zappa. I never liked his music much, but his attitude - particularly in terms of his resounding "f*ck you" to the music biz establishment - was inspiring.
posted by MajorDundee at 4:21 PM - 16 comments

January is a split challenge - do either or both or none. Option A: Write a simple, catchy, singable ditty to replace Happy Birthday. Option B: Record a piece of music on the theme of the year turning. [more inside]
posted by unSane at 6:55 AM - 3 comments

Humidifier for my cello? [more inside]
posted by DMelanogaster at 11:03 AM - 1 comment

Xmas loot thread / What makes a good challenge? [more inside]
posted by unSane at 4:35 PM - 29 comments

Would people be interested in organising meetup/gigs with line-ups of musicians who are MeFites? (I'm in London, but it's also a general question, isn't it?) [more inside]
posted by Grangousier at 3:17 PM - 5 comments

In search of a Seattle MeFite to help me record a secret quonsar thank you song. [more inside]
posted by rouftop at 9:32 AM - 3 comments

Seeking constructive criticism of my current work in progress, "One Past Midinight". I can supply stems if anyone wants to take over mixing it or mastering it.
posted by Ardiril at 6:16 PM - 0 comments

How do you get a mandolin's lower strings to sound less buzzy? [more inside]
posted by topoisomerase at 5:00 PM - 9 comments

Looking for a Mefite Music track to put under a metafilter-related, not-for-profit montage of people talking, ideally upbeat/funny and instrumental. To keep it simple, only suggest your own tracks (or tracks of people you know who can get back to me quickly to ask permission).
posted by The Whelk at 9:24 PM - 9 comments

Korg iMS-20/MS-20 help for the (almost) utter newbie? [more inside]
posted by griphus at 8:52 AM - 5 comments

Am looking for musicians that can make J-Pop (Japanese pop) style music [more inside]
posted by aielen at 8:00 PM - 0 comments

What's in the box? [more inside]
posted by sweet mister at 6:02 PM - 6 comments

December's challenge is, OF COURSE, holiday music! Have at it. [more inside]
posted by unSane at 4:26 PM - 1 comment

Up to now I've always used stand-alone DAWs (Yamaha AW2400, for instance). Recognising the need to step up the quality of percussion in my recordings, I've gone with NI Studio Drummer (thanks to unSane for his ever-helpful advice). It's an exciting Aladdin's cave of goodies and I'm looking forward to it making a big sonic difference - sounds terrific. However......latency is immediately apparent and not something I've ever had to deal with before. Wondering whether running this software on a bog-standard Acer laptop in Windows is part of the problem? Any tips and fixes for latency anyone?
posted by MajorDundee at 9:54 AM - 12 comments

Be careful what you wish for! I'm now, for the first time in my life, in the position of fronting a band for which I'm the sole songwriter and I'm wondering what advice you have for me. [more inside]
posted by unSane at 9:33 PM - 3 comments

I'd like to _____ as well as ______ . [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:36 AM - 12 comments

Been thinking about getting a resonator of some kind - but never played one and I know fuck all about them in terms (a) of quality and (b) whether, for instance, the fully metal bodied ones are better than the ones that are wood/cone. They also tend to look a bit knocked-out-in-a-shed-by-a-geezer-up-the-road and might be a bit nasty to play - high action etc? Any advice/experience would be appreciated.
posted by MajorDundee at 12:25 PM - 7 comments

Music Talk Challenge! Name two songs: the saddest song you can think of, and the happiest song you can think of. Narrow it down to two. Even though there may be others, just narrow it down to two. That's the MuTalk Challenge.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:41 AM - 24 comments

November's challenge is to help create a MeFiMusic version of the famous intro section from Mike Oldfield's 1973 classic Tubular Bells, as famously featured in The Exorcist. Thanks (I think) to Major Dundee for the idea. Alternatively, create a piece of music featuring an augmented triad (for example, C-E-G# is C augmented). Tag your submissions "mefimusicchallenge" and "tubular" if you're doing the Tubular Bells challenge, and 'augmented' if you'd rather do the other one. As you might imagine there's a whole hunk of stuff beneath the fold. [more inside]
posted by unSane at 12:00 PM - 11 comments

Augmented Challenge [more inside]
posted by Wolfdog at 5:10 AM - 2 comments

So...we've done VU+N and OK Computer. I was just watching TV, minding me own business, nursing a pint and watching a BBC 4 doc about Chas & Dave, when it struck me..........Tubular Bells. Tub-u-fuckin'-lar-bellzzzzz....oh...yessssss. Obvious really isn't it? A loop with that unmistakeable figure and then, one by one, MeFiMoo-ers contribute the constituent parts.... [more inside]
posted by MajorDundee at 2:49 PM - 6 comments

I wrote this yesterday after reading about the debate. I can't sing or play anything, but maybe someone could find a use for this: [more inside]
posted by moonmilk at 2:11 PM - 3 comments

One thing I've noticed overall in the songs I've written is that the ones that have a basis in reality (ie direct personal experience) tend to be the best. [more inside]
posted by unSane at 8:29 PM - 21 comments

October's challenge is simple: produce a piece of music on the theme of "it Gets Better", for possible inclusion in the MeFi "It Gets Better" video, as described in this Meta thread. Use the tags 'mefimusicchallenge' and 'itgetsbetter'. I'm sure accompanying videos will be heartily welcomed and if you have any other questions or suggestions, feel free to post them in this thread and I'll make sure the organizer, jph, gets to see them.
posted by unSane at 5:45 PM - 9 comments

I'd like to expand my understanding of some vocal production tricks. Specifically, I'm very interested in the sound of the vocals in this song: On and On, by Justice. I hear slap back reverb, there's a bit of distortion, and that it is quite compressed at early levels of the effects chain, but what else is there?
posted by dobie at 9:42 AM - 13 comments

I had a pretty tough time with the mix of my most recent post here, and I'm considering it a first draft. I'd like to come back to it with fresh ears in a while and have another go, and I'd really appreciate any comments on the current version. [more inside]
posted by Wolfdog at 5:52 AM - 5 comments

This is a lovely interview with the disarmingly gentle, self-effacing Bill Nelson - erstwhile helmsman of Be Bob Deluxe, Red Noise et al. A terrific guitarist and gifted songwriter, I feel that Bill has been a bit underappreciated and is perhaps now almost forgotten. But he was a key inspiration for me as a budding guitarist (the tattooed imprint is still clearly there along with Ronno's) and this quiet Yorkshireman is one of my unsung heroes. Who is/are yours....?
posted by MajorDundee at 4:27 PM - 23 comments