Goals for the near

It's been over a week since I decided that I'm going to tinker around with Ableton and there is certainly a lot of material available online to kind of point one in the right direction. Sometimes, it takes time to find specific info that I'm looking for. I literally found myself stuck in a loop because I didn't understand that while I was creating drum loops, I never actually recorded them into the track hahaha rookie mistake, I know. This video, helped me kind of back up and get basics down when I was in a rut:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyydHkBzd6M

What I was trying to do was create a basic drum track for the song but it wasn't going to be just one set played through the entire song. I was trying to get creative and start with some high hats and then progress to the main percussion groove, which in of itself is really simple (kick bass and snare alternate) but I didn't know how I was going to put all of them in just one midi track so now I know!

A couple of other issues I ran into when I was trying to record the instrument tracks. One, I learned that I only have access to 8 tracks. This is fine and now that I know, I won't be cutting and pasting on to different tracks anymore if it's just one instrument. At the end of it, I should be able to get one track set aside for drums, which I use as a metronome, even if I might not include it in the final cut. I use 4 tracks for the guitar. I've been trying this cut and paste method because when I want to just strum one chord and let that ring for the entire measure, the sound of the fingers going for the switch drives me insane! So I've been recording the chords one at a time, and cutting and pasting them in the proper place which bare minimum requires two tracks so they don't have to have abrupt endings and they kind of fade into each other instead. I hope that makes sense. I was thinking to record the rest of the chords for the verses using two tracks simultaneously, one plugged in and the other mic'd. I'd also like to try to do the fingerpicking parts that way. I haven't tried using plug ins for the guitar tracks but I do wonder if that will solve some of the issues I'm having with the instrument not sounding the way I'd like. 

This then leaves me three tracks for vocals, which I'll get to once the music tracks are laid out in their final places. I'm past 5 months into this project with not even one completed song to show so goal-wise, I'd like to have cut, mix and mastered at least a single by the end of 6 months. I have to check with Guitar Center if the recording teacher is fine to use Ableton to mix and master. Otherwise, I'll need to find some online videos to teach me how to do that. 

Speaking of Guitar Center, on my last perusal, a couple of pretty Yamaha acoustic-electrics caught my eye. I realize that I'm really drawn to the all black body with a cutaway. Someone also pointed out to me that some of the instruments are built differently in terms of the neck being screwed on to the body, which bothers me now. I also had a chance to try an electric guitar. While it's really nice to press down on the strings, thinner gauge strings and all, the instrument surprised me with how heavy it was. I guess I'm still on the lookout for the next guitar but that thought hovers over me, should I go electric? 

Playlist Recommendation: Hands, Jewel