From demo to mastered mix

On 9th November we are going to launch a new EP with four songs aimed at private devotion.

The tracks were produced and recorded by David Nicholas, and have just been mixed by Allen Salmon in Nashville and Mastered by Jim DeMain at Yesmaster.

We thought we'd give you a little sneak peak at the process these songs have gone through, by showing you the evolution of one of these tracks (code-named 'Time') from a rough iPhone demo through mixing and mastering. You can hear what each of these processes adds to the quality of the finished product.

Video: Different Keyboard Sounds

I love playing keyboards - and one of the reasons is that it gives you so many options for different sounds. From the classic acoustic grand to the comforting grit of a WurliTzer to the retro strings of a Mellotron, the possibilities are endless.

Each sound, however, does require a different playing style to go with it. This can be a bit intimidating. Here's a video of me quickly going through the sounds on a typical electric piano:

Small Churches: How to play Fairest Lord Jesus on solo piano (video)

At my church sometimes we only have piano to lead the crowd. Here's how to lead the congregation in singing Fairest Lord without a whole band - including chord voicings, melodic elements, rhythm, cues for when to come in, and pacing yourself over the whole song to create momentum.

I've made a quick piano arrangement for this song as if I were playing without any other instruments:

Solo piano arrangement (pdf)

Solo piano arrangement (transposable)