General FAQs
I’m a normal person. Why would
I do this?
Hometaping is very simple. It’s
a big effort to get as many people as possible to make an album of their
own music in a month. It will be fun. Lots of people will be doing it.
It is free. It will end with a big party to celebrate our creativity
and effort.
What more reasons do you need? You
don’t have to play in the Premiership to play football. You don’t
have to want to be a model to wear nice clothes. So you shouldn’t
have to want to be on the telly or in the NME to record music. Making
music can be liberating and exciting. And more importantly,
it can be really easy, too.
Is it a competition?
No. It’s just an effort to help
people make music. We hope that it’s a bit easier to do if you know
other people are too.
Will other people laugh at me?
They won’t. They can’t. They
shouldn’t. First, if you’re worried about people hearing your music,
they don’t need to know it’s you - so just do it under a pseudonym.
Second, if people do laugh, they are awful, shallow people. It’s probably
because they’re threatened by what you’ve done and wished they could
have done it themselves.
Does it matter if I don’t have
really good recording equipment?
No. The important thing is that your
music is recorded. Everything else is basically secondary. It doesn’t
matter if you record onto your old battered tape player, or sing something
down the phone to the Hometaping hotline (we could record it on our
phone for you - the hotline number is 07964 663170).
If you want to try some more advanced
recording, there are some tips to improve the ‘cleanness’ of your
recording in FAQs.
What do I do if it feels like
Hometaping’s too hard for me?
Have a drink, eat some cake or failing
that call the helpline: 07964 663170. Calls are at ‘your normal network
rate’ (It’s an Orange pay-as-you-go if that makes any difference
to your call charge). For a slower response you can email us on
hmtpng@gmail.com
. We are here for you: there will be two
get togethers in November to iron out any practical problems you are
having face to face - with our composing, recording and editing experts.
What is the Hometaping party?
The party is to give everyone a chance
to celebrate having finished, and if they want to, to meet other Hometapers
and play their music. The size of the party depends on how many people
complete Hometaping. But suffice to say there will be a celebration
no matter how few, or how many of us do it. If you are a Hometaper,
you are invited to the Hometaper party.
What happens if I register after
November?
It’s fine to start later, but you
don’t get any extra time. All entries have to be in by Nov 30th.
Do I have to be in London
No. If it looks like the meet ups
and the party is in London, that’s because we all live in London at
the moment. If you want to organise your own party, then you should
definitely go for it!
Has Hometaping been done before?
Yes. There are a few things like it in the USA. We doff our caps deferentially to NASOALMO - National Solo Album Month and RPM Challenge in the USA.