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.