Andrew Goode on SoundBetter

Need help writing, arranging, or bringing your musical ideas to life? I can help you take your musical ideas from rough concept to professionally produced and finished songs. I have more than 25 years of experience in composing, performing, arranging and producing original, high quality music for artists, organizations and commercial enterprises.

From my home studio Forest Of Sound, I specialize in writing and recording vocals, lyrics, guitar, drum and bass parts and arrangements for folk, indie, alt-rock, world, and pop music.

Forest Of Sound is a small home production studio and songwriting company run solely by musician, songwriter and producer Andrew Goode. The company mission is to produce tasteful, well mixed music, and to pioneer contemporary composition and arrangements. The studio is ideal for musicians who want to make professional recordings and mixes at an affordable price, and it's also available for creating commercial voice overs, soundtracks, kindergarten songs, commercial jingles, and commission pieces.

If you're looking for an expert to write a song, composition or jingle from scratch, I will be able to communicate patiently and effectively to meet your needs. I am easy to work with and value conversations and feedback during the writing process to help me create your desired track.

To hear more samples of my self-produced compositions you can listen to me on Spotify - just search for Andrew Goode. To hear more of my commissions and production work, visit my official website using the link below.

Hit the 'Contact' button above to chat with me now!

Tell me about your project and how I can help, through the 'Contact' button above.

Credits

Languages

English

6 Reviews

Endorse Andrew Goode

by Morné Birch
As a kid I always had this dream to record a song. And at the age of 40, Andy made that dream come true. I didn’t know anything about music - I just wrote the lyrics to a song and then asked Andy if he would be willing to help me record the song. Andy played ALL the instruments himself and what impressed me most was his patience, helping me and the other backup vocals to make this song came alive ! He helped me fulfill a lifelong dream! I can honestly recommend Andy Goode not only as a recording artist but also for his amazing musical talents! Andy is the best!
by Brent Jamieson
Andy helped mix and master my songs in the past and even hopped on the mic to round out the song's harmony, which worked out great. I recommend working with him as well as watching him live and listening to his music. A well rounded musician and a hard worker.
by Chantel Human
I worked with Andy a few years ago. He helped me record my first EP and then joined me and a team of other musicians on my first studio album. I was completely new at not only performing but also recording. He helped with the song arrangements, added his voice and instruments, mixing and mastering. I was so impressed with the end result that I wanted him onboard for the next project. I told him my vision for the studio album and he not only gave me advice, but worked with me for an entire year on the project. I'd definitely recommend Andy for his expertise, talent and experience.
by MJL
I’ve worked with Andy on numerous projects. He’s professional and easy to work with. He dedicates A LOT of time to develop ideas and give clients options and a product of quality.

As a songwriter, Andy is creative, attentive and clever in his song arrangements. He’s got an innate musicality, and he’s thorough in his work. He’s also got quite the knowledge on editing, mixing and mastering, making the music sound balanced and very pleasing to the ear.

It has always been a pleasure to work with Andy. He definitely IS a leader and a creator of a Forest of Sound! :)
by Moshe Foster
I’ve worked with Andy on a number of projects including lyric writing, song arrangement, and mixing. He is a gifted songwriter whose talent really helped me to take my musical concepts to more concrete songs. He’s a great lyricist and understands narrative word play and melody well, he also has exceptional ears, which can’t be taught, and his mixing is consistently balanced and quality. I wouldn’t hesitate to go to Andy any time I need help with lyrics, arranging my song, chord progression alternatives or helping me mix down a challenging track. 5 stars.
by Mark Darvill
Andrew is not only an extremely talented musician and songwriter but also an expert music producer, having self-produced all of his own albums, including all mixing and mastering.

I visited Andrew's Forest of Sound studio to record an EP a couple of years ago. Andrew was very patient and encouraging throughout the recording process and was also able to offer a number of valuable suggestions for additional instrumentation for my songs. The result was a record that far surpassed my expectations.

I would highly recommend hiring Andrew both as a songwriter and a music producer!

Interview with Andrew Goode

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I'm especially proud of a piece I was commissioned to compose a few years ago in Taiwan. The brief was to create something that was a celebration of nature and indigenous culture. I hired indigenous Paiwanese singers and a nose flautist, bought a Kalimba (thumb piano) especially for the recording, interviewed a member of the tribe, and recorded the sounds of nature around the villages. I made several changes along the way for the client, and the final product was magical.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I'm currently working on my third solo album, as writer and producer.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Mark Darvill!
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I promise to deliver a high quality product that is tailored to your needs.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I love it when my clients get excited about what we're working on together. To get their feedback and feel their excitement is what makes the job so satisfying. I also love collaborating with other musicians on projects, and slowly hearing the songs take shape and come together. That's the joy of creativity.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What kind of style or sound are you looking for? What are your influences? What kind of instruments do you think could be used to create the kind of music that would excite you? Roughly how long would you like the piece to be, and what's your deadline?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Be upfront about what you want. Have refence tracks or artists in mind when pitching an idea.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I've been composing and recording for over 25 years now. I started as a bedroom songwriter and later formed and fronted several different bands before creating my own home studio, from which I could produce my own work and also work with other musicians or organizations.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I enjoy working with new artists who are looking for someone to realize their potential.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Never mix in a vacuum. Regularly compare your mix to professionally recorded mixes or previous mixes of your own work. Be objective and always use your ears.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: I usually work on rock, folk and indie-pop, but I've also composed world music for clients and a set of kindergarten songs for a publishing company.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I add depth, colour, and energy, bringing the songs to life with full, rich arrangements.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: I'm easy to work with and value conversations and feedback during the writing process. I'm fast but thorough, and can work to deadlines.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Composition, song structure and arrangement. Aside from those, my most useful skill is audio editing, which enables me to fix, shorten, lengthen or completely restructure songs if necessary.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I typically start by coming up with a chord progression and a vocal melody that grabs my attention, and structure a song from start to finish with all the different sections. Then I find or create a drum backing track, and record the guitar and vocals over that first. Next, I add the primary instruments for the arrangement such as bass and lead guitars, piano, harmony vocals and percussion. Later I may add embellishments such as saxophone, banjo, clarinet, violin or accordion. I tend to mix as I go, tweaking the EQ, levels and panning, and using compression, audio editing and fx where necessary.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: Aside from my instruments, I'm using an Audiotechnica AT4033a condenser mic, a Scarlett 2i2 audio interface, AKG K240 mixing headphones, Yamaha HS5 mixing monitors, a pop shield, sound treatment panels, a Holy Grail reverb pedal, and a Fender amplifier.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: I'm inspired by musicians and songwriters who combine beautiful melodies and lyrics with interesting chord progressions and instrumentation, and an experimental flair that gives them an intriguing edge. My favourites right now are Radiohead, The Beatles, Nick Drake, Neil Finn, and Grizzly Bear.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I specialize in writing, recording and mixing vocals, lyrics, guitar, drum and bass parts and arrangements for folk, indie, alt-rock, world, kindergarten, and pop music. I've written songs from scratch based on the client's requests, and I've also arranged songs based around the client's basic idea which may be just a vocal melody, lyrics and/or a guitar part.