Over 20 years of participating in February Album Writing Month (FAWM), I’ve developed a workflow that allows me to quickly create a decent recording of a freshly written song. My process always starts with guitar chords and humming a melody.
Despite all the digital possibilities out there, I prefer to keep things pure by using real instruments. I print the lyrics in large text, hang them above a camera, and play the song several times in a row. Usually, the fourth or fifth take is good enough. Thanks to FAWM, I’ve learned not to dwell too long on whether something is "perfect."
Next, I separate the one-take audio track from the video and load it into a mixing program. Most of the effects I use are already preset. Then I record additional vocal tracks and layer in more instruments like guitar, banjo, piano, and keyboard. Once the mix sounds decent, I sync it back with the video footage. Each year, I choose a different color theme for my two-tone videos.
If a song is recorded this way during FAWM, it’s done. After FAWM, I usually end up with three or four keepers, which I test live on stage. Songs often grow and evolve during live performances, but I never rerecord them. Around 90% of the songs I’ve written over the past 20 years were created during FAWM—simple and effective.
These days, I use ChatGPT to check my lyrics for grammar and spelling mistakes. In the past, I relied on native-speaking FAWMers for this. The audio mix I upload to Bandcamp is the same as the one in the videos. My style is defined by one-take #guywithguitar recordings with additional vocals and instruments.
