I've posted many times about my musical theater/film/TV commercial actor granddaughter who's twelve. Her talent speaks for itself, as she's done some big time stuff. She can act, dance, sing, has it all.
She, in turn, has a cousin living out West who's also 12 (they're best friends and were born only a few days apart). This child is my brother's granddaughter. I knew she was into music when she and her mom flew to Chicago to see my son's band perform at a festival the September before last. But I'd never heard her perform.
When my niece came to town for a visit, she said that her daughter had written a song, and they'd love it if I could record her. I said 'of course, it'd be my joy'. But I didn't really expect much, I mean, only 12, what kind of song does a 12 year old write -- at my request my niece sent me an mp3 of the song so I could get a feel for it.
Ladies and gentlemen, I got a big smile on my face. This 12 year old wrote a really good song, especially for a child who's just getting started.
And it's a ballad. Come on, ballads are hard.
When they came to the studio I set up a vocal mic; she wanted to play keys. I said we could just start with the keyboard part and then overdub the vocal, if she felt she could manage it. Well of course she could! She laid down the piano part flawlessly, right to the click. One take. Um...wow.
Then she stood in front of the mic and sang with emotion, good delivery, voice on pitch, I mean, most adults can't do this well. Voice like a little angel. Two takes - only because she was a little late coming into the verse after the first chorus.
I made some suggestions to add two very subtle parts and she liked them. I had her play them. I didn't want to steal her thunder and overproduce the thing, it would have lost its charm, and the simplicity of the arrangement is perfect for it.
I was so happy helping this child record this song, I spent a day and a half working on sounds and a mix, because I could. She and my niece were excited, big smiles, and I felt so happy for this little one (and her momager
). What an accomplishment!
There's nothing more fun than seeing a kid's face light up, knowing she did something BIG, something difficult, and something that takes some real talent.
She has the right and privilege to "drop" her song on HER terms, so I'm not going to post it until she puts it out in the world.
She, in turn, has a cousin living out West who's also 12 (they're best friends and were born only a few days apart). This child is my brother's granddaughter. I knew she was into music when she and her mom flew to Chicago to see my son's band perform at a festival the September before last. But I'd never heard her perform.
When my niece came to town for a visit, she said that her daughter had written a song, and they'd love it if I could record her. I said 'of course, it'd be my joy'. But I didn't really expect much, I mean, only 12, what kind of song does a 12 year old write -- at my request my niece sent me an mp3 of the song so I could get a feel for it.
Ladies and gentlemen, I got a big smile on my face. This 12 year old wrote a really good song, especially for a child who's just getting started.
And it's a ballad. Come on, ballads are hard.
When they came to the studio I set up a vocal mic; she wanted to play keys. I said we could just start with the keyboard part and then overdub the vocal, if she felt she could manage it. Well of course she could! She laid down the piano part flawlessly, right to the click. One take. Um...wow.
Then she stood in front of the mic and sang with emotion, good delivery, voice on pitch, I mean, most adults can't do this well. Voice like a little angel. Two takes - only because she was a little late coming into the verse after the first chorus.
I made some suggestions to add two very subtle parts and she liked them. I had her play them. I didn't want to steal her thunder and overproduce the thing, it would have lost its charm, and the simplicity of the arrangement is perfect for it.
I was so happy helping this child record this song, I spent a day and a half working on sounds and a mix, because I could. She and my niece were excited, big smiles, and I felt so happy for this little one (and her momager
). What an accomplishment!There's nothing more fun than seeing a kid's face light up, knowing she did something BIG, something difficult, and something that takes some real talent.
She has the right and privilege to "drop" her song on HER terms, so I'm not going to post it until she puts it out in the world.
