I’m such a huge @adinavmusic fan that I had to do a second video with her “Songs That Should Not Be Covered on Mandolin” series. I got to work on a song of hers recently, and I can’t wait to be able to share it with you!

If you want to move your listeners, your song needs movement. So often when I get a song to work on, it doesn’t feel like it’s going anywhere. It doesn’t have that forward push that any song needs to hold someone’s attention. So what do I do in those situations? Just add movement. Build things slowly, transport the listener, and then set them back down at the end. It doesn’t have to get huge. You don’t even need to do it with dynamics. But if someone is listening to your song and it doesn’t take them somewhere, they’re not likely to listen again. 🎻

I mean, did this really need a string arrangement? Not at all. But… how could I not do this?

Getting messages like this is always funny, and a bit reassuring. There’s always that voice in the back of my head saying… Am I good enough to be doing this? I know I will always be a bit of imposter syndrome recording for people. I’m fine with that. But when the only note is, “I love it. Do more.” it makes me feel like I’m on the right track. 🎻

We’ve been wanting to work on something together for ages, and this song felt like the perfect place to dive in. If you’re following one of us but not the other, there’s an easy way to fix that (and you’ll be glad you did!) @madebydragiivanov @harleyeblen

The one thing you can’t afford to have your song be is BORING. We are here to hold attention, set a mood, entertain, make people FEEL something. That won’t happen if your song is boring. Make bolder choices. Do something unexpected. Do what ever it takes to make your song interesting to listen to. 🎻

Auto Tune on a Cello?!? I was talking about Auto Tune with my friend @AlyssaWilkens the other day, and I realized I was dying to know how it sounded on a cello. The answer is weird. It sounds weird. I kind of love it. What do you think? And yes, of course I had to try it on a Justin Bieber song. I mean come on.

You have two options: Complain, or… Keep working. I get that it sucks when your release falls flat. I’ve been there, and your favorite musician has probably been there. But… The way that they succeeded is they kept focusing on making their next song better. Relentlessly, every single time, in the face of what ever they were dealing with. Just focus on making the next song better. Success will come. 🎻