fact, what you should do is cut out only the choicest moments from as diverse
a variety of your works as possible, and paste them together in a musical —
or at least interesting — way. Try to edit these snippets into logical musical
phrases. Sometimes you can cut out a nice phrase that includes a complete
lyrical thought. Other times you will want to use four-, eight-, twelve-, or
sixteen-measure cuts, as these lengths are often the natural length of a
musical phrase.
Only include the best stuff ................................................................
Find the most exciting moments of your music. You need to be able to listen
with a certain amount of pride if you end up sitting there while your demo is
getting played. Nothing is worse than a flash of embarrassment or feeling the
need to apologize for some awkward moment playing on your demo.
Organize it ...........................................................................................
The order of selections on your demo is also important. Start with your best
work, and follow it with something that contrasts with it. Be careful not to have
pieces in the same key or with the same groove or attitude back to back. You
can fade one out as the next one fades in. You can butt them right up against
each other so that the last beat of one is also the first beat of another. You
can put a little space between them if you want the listener to reflect on the
mood of a certain piece, or if the key change between the two pieces is a little
too challenging to the ear. Break up the landscape and present as diverse a
musical palette as possible. Be creative. That’s what they want to hear.
In short, you need to treat the creation of your demo CD as a composition
itself. It is a medley of your greatest hits (even if they are future hits).
Have more ready to go.......................................................................
You should also have available the full-length versions of your recorded works.
If someone likes your demo they may be willing to give you their ears for a lot
longer. They will then want to hear how you develop your ideas from begin-
ning to end. They will want to get a feel for your sense of music. But they
won’t give you much time at first. We have listened to many excellent demos
that tell a very complete story about the artist’s work in 90 seconds. A minute
and a half is the perfect length if you are good with editing.
Don’t make your demo longer than three minutes.
Chapter 17: Composing Commercial Music and Songs 229