By Jeff Copperthite:

When the idea came across to do The Laptop Sessions as a free video series, Jim started it all off by watching a video of Let It Be that was covered highly incorrectly, and Jim recorded himself playing it correctly. He wanted to put a good name to music covers on Youtube – especially covers of one of his favorite bands The Beatles. Also, in spirit of “The Bathroom Sessions”, which was a free music video series by two members of Barenaked Ladies, I helped coin the term “Laptop Sessions”, since Jim was using the camera on his laptop to record the video.

After the positive response to sessions that Jim put out, Chris and I decided to help Jim with the “Session a day” project starting in 2008. Initially, Jim enlisted Chris to put up one video between each of them, so that the site had a new music video each day. I had tried ten sessions in late 2007, but I had stopped doing them due to the low quality web camera I owned. In general, I was still new to the realm of video as well.

After nearly 60 new video sessions recorded for The Laptop Sessions this year, I have recording videos down to a science. Here is a typical rundown of what it takes for me to make each session.

1) Practice the song

This is the obvious one. As a songwriter, I know the more comfortable I am with the song, the better the video will come out. I grew up hearing a lot of music in the 90’s, so I tend to be most comfortable when I decide to do a song by bands such as Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, and Radiohead. However we do try to diversify our recordings across the years, and I know I cannot limit myself to alternative music bands. Therefore, some songs require up to a week of practice. Others I can learn and play comfortably in an hour or two. I will usually begin practicing the song regularly up to two-three days before I record it.

2) Set up the video recording station

Lately I have four common locations for my videos. The biggest problem I have is that I do not have a tripod for my camera (yet – I do plan to buy one). Therefore, I have to rest my camera on a makeshift stand. I also have to make sure there is enough light. Even during the day, I have to have at least one lamp on so the video doesn’t come out dark. After that, I position the camera, set the zoom, tune the guitar, and do a practice run of the song on the acoustic. Music tends to be easy for me – it’s singing and remembering lyrics that is the most difficult. For this reason, I have to put a small sheet of “notes” that remind me what verse or line to sing next. Sometimes, I have to include the entire lyric sheet, but that is rare. “Round Here” comes to mind as a song I just needed that entire lyric sheet by the camera for.

3) Record the video

When I am satisfied that I can record the song, I psych up for the performance. Lately, I have been able to record the song in about three or four takes. I don’t worry about what happens before or after the performance, since I can edit that out in the next step. As you have seen on our site, recording acoustic guitar video covers is real easy some days, other days you want to throw your guitar against the wall because something minor keeps messing takes up. “Jane” comes to mind with this (despite it being a piano cover). I had played it on the first take and was very happy to have satisfactorily made it through the song. That is, until I discovered the battery had died in the middle of the recording. I charged the battery, and then it took me another 20 or so takes to get it again. Other times, the performance comes so naturally you wonder why you practiced the song so much beforehand.

4) Edit the Video

This is probably the easiest step, despite it taking up to 30 minutes. I transfer the video to my laptop (as you can tell, I don’t own a laptop with a built-in camera, so technically I should be doing “The Powershot Sessions”). Once the video is transferred, I split the clip to the parts I want (usually this involves trimming out the beginning and end of the clip), then add on two title screens and a credit roll. Then, depending on the length of the performance, I render the video, which can take up to 12 minutes for long songs.

5) Write the description, and upload the video.

While the video renders, I write the Youtube description and tags. Usually I will comment on the song I chose, why I chose it, the album it is from, and any comments on the performance itself. I will also usually throw in some current news and other tidbits of info. My descriptions tend to be at least 100 words long. I can usually get both descriptions on the blog and Youtube before the video finishes rendering. Then I upload the video, copy the embedding information onto the blog, and publish!

What keeps me fresh for the sessions is when I try to listen to new music that I may like to cover. I found on Chris and Jim to introduce me to bands and songs I’d otherwise not know, but some people I know also help me out in that department. It is also fun to use this as a springboard to get people to hear our independent music. That is why we do “Original Wednesday”, and slowly we are building up some excitement from our subscribers when that day rolls around. At least we know everyone watching will be listening to something they’ve never heard before.

I hope you enjoyed getting some insight on the process on my end. As always, if you have questions please email admin@fusco-moore.com, and direct your questions to me, Jeff Copperthite. Have a great evening!

By Jim Fusco:

Christmas is almost here and that means your list is probably complete and you’re just waiting for the big day- and hoping that you’ll get that special guitar you’ve always wanted!  Well, if you haven’t made your Christmas list yet, or if you’re looking for an idea for the guitar player in your life, then look no further.  I am here to take you on a journey through my guitar collection and my wish-list, which will hopefully give you some ideas.  Below each guitar will be a description and reasons why I have it and what makes it different from the others.  I’ll even give you tips on what to buy for each type of guitar player!  So, let’s get started…

My Guitar Collection:

Ibanez Artcore AM73T Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar

Without a doubt, this will always be my favorite piece of hardware.  It’s just perfect- the styling is classic, there’s great symmetry, and it has that wonderful Bigsby tremolo.  If you’re a classic rock’n'roll fan, this is definitely the guitar for you.  I channel Chuck Berry when playing this axe and the semi-hollow body style is perfect for a much fuller sound than you’d get from a solid-body.  So, I purchased this guitar for three reasons: a) it was literally a tenth of the price of a Gibson that looked exactly the same, b) it’s simply beautiful, and c) it has that great old-fashioned guitar sound.

I will note that I ended up changing the pickups on this to make it a “hotter” (louder) sound.  I put in some serious Gibson pickups and now this thing really rocks!

Ibanez ARX320 Solid-Body Electric Guitar

The Ibanez above may be my overall favorite guitar, but this one is my favorite electric to play.  It’s much lighter than the Artcore guitar above (which induces a large amount of back pain) and is beautiful, as well.  The guitar doesn’t have a ton of features- no whammy bar, no tremolo or anything like that.  But, when I need to rock and it needs to be loud and “cutting”, I pick this guitar up.  It’s a really good multi-purpose guitar.

The guitar is even prettier in person than in the photo- trust me on this one.  There’s good sound and this guitar is a good one for any type of rock music, as it can play both clean and with a lot of distortion.  I asked for this guitar because it looked great, was very inexpensive at the time (it has since gone up for some reason over $100 to $449!), and gives that straight-ahead electric guitar sound without sounding as retro as my Artcore.

Dean Boca 12-String Electric Guitar

Ah, the newest weapon in my arsenal- this guitar is a great value.  Try looking for a 12-string electric guitar online for less than $1,000.  It’s just about impossible, other than the Dean Boca.  I really wanted a new guitar (I had three in mind) because Musician’s Friend had a 20% off sale going.  So, I chose this guitar over the other two because I would get a different sound.  That 12-string sound, used on songs by the Byrds, the Beatles, and many, many others, is so distinctive.  I know I’ll be using this in almost every song I record in the future.  I hope to make it a signature sound of mine, especially because 12-string electrics really aren’t used much in today’s popular “rock” music anymore.

This guitar is definitely for the throwback musician or a guitarist that has tried everything and needs a new sound.  And I would highly recommend this one in particular, as it plays great, sounds great, and looks fantastic.  At around $300, you can’t go wrong, and it’s a guitar I’ll have for life.

Fender Jazz Bass Special Edition

How I got this one?  Well, let’s just say I got it from a desperate person that just wanted to get rid of it.  And, boy am I glad he did!  Let me begin by saying that I had an electric bass already (a really good one, too), but when someone offers you a new Fender Jazz Bass Special Edition for $125, you DON’T say no.  You hand over the money and grab that guitar as quickly as possible.

And that’s what I did!  This thing weighs a ton, but the sound is great- it even smells great due to the quality woods they used.  They style, which is just a natural wood finish, is really beautiful.  Unless I break down and buy either a Hofner bass or a Rickenbacker bass in the future, I really don’t see myself needing anything more than this Fender Jazz Bass.  This one’s good for all types of musicians from rock to blues to whatever!

Rouge Lap Steel Guitar

This one’s just for fun- my parents are always looking for new instruments for me to try and they thought this would be a good idea.  And I love it!  I’ve always loved that lap steel/pedal steel sound.  There have been some great solos done in rock music on these lap steel guitars.  And I’ve already come up with a couple of solos for some new songs I’ve been working on.  This particular one is a quality instrument, as well.

This is a great guitar for “classic rock” (70′s) fans and country-rock players.  But, I’m going to attempt to use it in some creative ways in my music, so I hope you’ll stay-tuned!

Ibanez AEG10 Acoustic-Electric Guitar

I asked for this acoustic-electric because we were playing more live shows and I needed something that was easier than using a microphone or an acoustic pickup.  This isn’t the greatest guitar in the world, but it does have a nice Fishman pickup…that blew out on me and I had to have repaired.  Alone, I wouldn’t play this as a normal acoustic, but when plugged-in, it definitely gets the job done, especially for the price.

Ibanez AW100 Acoustic Guitar

This is my first real guitar.  I wanted an acoustic that was around $300 and I asked the guy at Guitar Center which one to get.  And then my love for Ibanez began.  This guitar is great- I will admit that the frets are now worn-down, but other than that, it’s a great solid-top acoustic that sounds bright and stays in tune well.

Laurel Mandolin

I was given this guitar as another “see if he likes it” gift- and this one was a real home-run!  I love playing the mandolin and this is a quality instrument, as well.  If you know someone that plays in an acoustic band, really recommend one of these- it adds a great folky dimension to the sound and can be great for soloing, too.

Arrow ST-369 Classical Acoustic Guitar

If you’ve ever seen my acoustic cover song music videos on the Laptop Sessions music blog or on YouTube, then you’ve seen this guitar.  Coming in at about 45 Euro and making the trip across the Atlantic home with me is this nylon string acoustic guitar.  It’s small, so it’s very portable.  It’s not very loud, but in a nice room, the tone is really great.  It’s SO easy to play- I honestly play this guitar more than any others because I can just sit down and feel like I’m a pro.  It’s fun to solo on this, as well- I really think everyone should have a guitar like this!

Wish-List of Guitars (Relatives, please take note!)

PRS Soapbar Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar

I’ve always loved the look and quality of PRS guitars, but most are very, very expensive.  This one combines good looks with a kind of Rickenbacker styling, plus it’s semi-hollow, which gives that great warm sound I like.  Problem is that it’s not going to be much of a different sound.  I’m just hoping it plays really nicely…

Gretsch Double-Jet Solid-Body Electric Guitar with Tremolo

Okay, so I really want a Gretsch.  I really would like a Duo Jet (which George Harrison is holding on the cover of “Cloud Nine”), but this guitar is so classic-looking…and costs about $2,000 less…  Has the Bigsby tremolo, but this one is solid-body, which should provide a different sound.

Cordoba CK-25 Ukulele

While in Hawaii for our honeymoon, I really wanted a real Koa wood ukulele that was made in Hawaii.  Starting at $700, I figured it was out of my price range for an instrument I’d use so rarely.  And even though I had the opportunity to purchase this Cordoba all Koa wood uke for only $170, I passed on it because of how little I’d use it and the fact that it wasn’t made in Hawaii.  Maybe when we go back for our 25th or something…

Fender Player’s Deluxe Stratocaster Solid-Body Electric Guitar

My brother Mike has this guitar and I LOVE it.  It plays so well- I need to have it.  He has the natural blonde maple fretboard that’s so much easier to play than rosewood, so it’s great for soloing.  Plus, I can’t believe I don’t have a Fender electric.  I want the blue model with the blonde maple fretboard, but I’d change-out that ugly-looking pickguard.  This is a must-have for me someday.

Finally, I’ll say that I would love to get a Martin like my Laptop Sessions partner (and fellow Traveling Acai Berry) Steve.  His guitar is BEAUTIFUL and plays like a dream.  I understand now why Martin guitars are so expensive.  Also, if you’ve seen some of my recent acoustic cover song music videos, you’ve seen my colleague Noreen’s amazing Gibson 12-string acoustic guitar from 1967.  Just put that on my “yeah right- not in your lifetime” wishlist!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this trip through my guitar inventory and my wish-list.  I hope this gives you some great Christmas, birthday, or any other holiday ideas!  And, of course, I would love to hear about your guitars and why you got them- hey, maybe one of your guitars will make it to my wish-list, too!

By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to another edition of “Ask the Musician” with me, Jim Fusco!

In lieu of recording another video tonight (I’m anxiously awaiting to record my first HD video, hopefully next week), I decided to finally respond to an inquiry I got on YouTube about how to record a multi-track song separately and still have it come out right in the end.  The YouTube user writes:

I have one big problem.  When we record, we obviously record them in different parts (by that, I mean we record the instruments separately).  But, we can’t record them at the same time and we have problems recording them apart.  When we try to mix them, something gets messed-up and we have to record over again and again.  Have any tips?

Why yes, I do!

People like Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys) had many musicians at their fingertips.  So, it was easy to get all these professional musicians in the same room to record a track.  And these studio musicians never mess up.  They are the cream of the crop, so it was easy to say, “Play this,” and watch it get done.

For us that record alone, sometimes it’s hard to keep a beat constant through an entire song.  Actually George Harrison was known for having a great built-in timeclock when recording.  He could play a song in-time with no percussion behind him.  That’s one of the reasons why it was easy to finish his last album, “Brainwashed’ posthumously.

And that brings me to my first tip: the most important thing about a recording is to stay on-time and on-beat.  So, if you’re by yourself, make sure you lay down the drums first!  Of course, you have to have a drummer that won’t speed up or slow down on you, so that’s an important step, too.

Now, knowing that everyone’s human, you should also consider keeping even your drummer in-time by using a metronome.  Just lay down a track of a metronome in the right tempo first (you can always delete it or silence it later) and then have your drummer go to work.  Actually, at that point, you can lay down any instrument you want.  The only time this gets tricky is when the song changes tempo.  One thing you can do is program a very simple beat as a MIDI track (I used to use a program called Noteworthy Composer way back in the day- wonder if it’s still around?).  Then, you can map the song out, put in your tempo changes, and then just play it into your recorder as a track.

Another thing to keep in mind is software and hardware latency.  If you’re recording on a computer, you’ll run into this.  Even the fastest computers fall victim to it.  Have you ever recorded a video on a webcam and seen the audio/video sync go off?  Well, your computer is having trouble recording everything at the same time and it’s not making up for the latency (time lag) in either the software or the hardware you’re using.  And, like I said, even on the best computers, you can run into this.  I have a top of the line Mac Pro here and I get hiccups in my videos sometimes because my backup machine will kick in or a popup box will interrupt.  It’s that little blip in the continuous stream of processing power that can really screw things up.

Now, you may have good luck for one or two tracks, but consider this- each time you record another track on the computer, you’re playing back each additional track.  So, you can be playing back 24 tracks and recording another one at the same time- a recipe for audio latency.

That’s one of the reasons why I’m still recording on a DAW (digital audio workstation).  I never run into those problems because recording 24 tracks is the machine’s sole purpose.  There’s no internet, no downloads, no popups- just pure recording power.  I’ve never had a problem with it, unless it’s my own bad timing that screwed it up.

So, I hope that gives you something to think about.  It’s so difficult to record a whole song alone- only the best can really be great at it (Paul McCartney comes to mind).  If anyone else has any suggestions, I’d love to hear them- leave a comment below!  I’ll see you all next week- hopefully in full high definition- for another Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song music video.

By Jeff Copperthite:

Before I begin my article today, I want to give you an update on my New Year’s happenings.  Obviously, if you’re a visitor to this site, chances are you have followed us throughout our excursion and foray through 2008, as we covered a song per day.  The holiday season was a good one, but it surely made me a bit under the weather for some reason.  I may not have slept as well as I thought I did.  Because this week, I’ve been fighting off a cold and (again) a lost voice.

However, I had this article in mind for quite some time, so now is the time to bring it to you.

It is a question some have wondered about.  Well, some is basically Anthropologists, Sociologists, Theorists, Philosophers, and the like.

Why do we listen to music?

It’s not the same question as “Why do we make  music?”.  I think the two have some drastically different responses.

Furthermore, you can add in the question “What determines what people listen too?”, because that also has a series of drastically different responses.  I myself am not entirely sure why I grew up listening to rock, alternative, and video game music.  I know I enjoy them.

But that’s different.  I want to examine some of the reasons that I listen to music, and some events that I recall in my mind when I think of this.

One reason I believe is for motivation.  I have glowing memories of listening to a select few albums when I was in High School on the Cross Country team.  On the bus to meets, before the meets after stretching, while eating a peeled orange and drinking a grape powerade.  I always had the CD player running.  Sometimes players would have to tap me on the shoulder to get my attention to do the premeet preparation or the course walkthrough.  I listened especially to the 2nd disc of “The Wall” by Pink Floyd (fans of this album should already know the song that stuck out the most), but others were “Villains” by the Verve Pipe, “Pet Your Friends” by Dishwalla, “Master of Puppets” by Metallica (especially the track “Orion”), and “Foo Fighters” (self-titled initial release).  Those tended to psych me up for those 5k runs and made me ready to go.  I would also “listen” to the songs in my head as I ran the meet.  I’m sure people use music to psych up for sporting events, but I am sure the selection of the type of music will vary greatly.

Another reason is relaxation.  However, this is where a lot of people differ in what is considered relaxing.  Personally, I don’t find a lot of my playlist to be terribly “relaxing”.  I mean, putting on “Firestarter” just wouldn’t make me destress.  If you’re like me, you need something a bit more slow-tempo, perhaps acoustic or – dare I say it – classical.  Well, the classical station is reserved for those particlarly stressful days, like when students are overly sarcastic or not interested in making themselves smarter or being proud of their acheivements (i’ll save that for another article).  Destressing is something we all have to do.  What’s funny is the music that I listen to to relax me, may make some very stressed.  And vice versa.  That’s the really weird thing.

A good reason that people listen to music is tied to the previous two reasons.  Music can be a mood changer.  As pointed out by a friend of mine, sad people may listen to specific songs that contain sympathizing lyrics.  It is a coping mechanism that people use to help them through a tough time.  In a way, the previous paragraphs are mood changers as well.  If I wanted to feel psyched up and motivated, I had music to listen too.  When I had my first (and only) break from my then-future wife, I had specific music that I used as sympathizing music.   It does in a way make me wonder if the reason people listen to specific music, is to fit the mood that they are most comfortable with.  Perhaps there are people out there who are “content” on feeling angry, so they listen to angry sounding music.  It’s an interesting hypothesis.

Whatever your reason, I’m sure you can understand that you listen to music for perhaps drastically different reasons.  But one thing we all have in common – we listen to it.  It’s a wonderful piece of art.  We get to enjoy it throughout our lives, and in many different settings.  I hope this makes you think about why you enjoy it, and then I hope knowing that brings you greater appreciation for it.

I will see you next week!  Have a great weekend!