Posts Tagged ‘#acoustic guitars’

“Not Now” put to music

Posted: June 6, 2020 in Midi Series, MUSIC, music technology, My Tunes
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Sonar Track Panel Wave and MIDI files that generate sounds from computer programs called plug-ins

I mentioned experimenting with an on-line jamming program. It became the clipboard for a few guitar sections I created while waiting for one thing or another to work. I titled each as verse, bridge, chorus, etc. I had to give it a project name to save the clipboard and I came up with “Not Now”.

I used those short pieces and assembled them into a song arrangement. Once the chords and arrangement were in place I naturally started thinking of lyrics (as I have a tendency to do). The file was named Not Now so I kept it as my Cakewalk (BandLab) project name. So it becomes the theme of the lyrics. In one hour they were written. Getting them to match the odd rhythms and sparse instrumentation became a challenge. It took me a few days to come up with the melody and then practice it enough to get the rough tracks down. To all just joining; I get things down to rough tracks and then write another song, poetry, lyric or instrumental. When I was young I hoped some band would do my songs correctly in a studio. I am not young now.

Here is a rough mix of “Not Now”. I used a Martin Acoustic/Electric guitar for the guitar track. Using my MIDI keyboard I pulled up a plug-in for drum sounds. I imported the original noodling guitar parts I did from the clipboard but they were not recorded to a metronome or drum pattern. I listened and figured out the tempo of the segments and set Cakewalk to match. That way I could listen to the short guitar segments as I created the basic drum parts and arranged all the segments in order. I pulled up a bass guitar sound and played the MIDI keyboard to generate the bass line.

Next, I Muted the original guitar tracks and recorded a new track to replace it. The song seemed to cry out for strings but that is usually just me. I like good sounding strings in various styles of music.

Lyrics were posted here: https://midimike.com/2020/06/01/not-now/

I use two monitors as there is a lot of information to keep ‘track’ of even for a small project.
This is the Piano Roll view. Each color represents different instruments. The lower group triggers drum sounds.

I gave a link to BandLab above. Full disclaimer this is not a commercial and I do not get paid for anything I do here. However….. if you are interested I used to pay hundreds of dollars every year or so to keep this great recording program updated. They now offer the program and all updates for FREE. No kidding.

I hope you enjoy “Not Now”. Each time I listen to it I like it more. Again, this is just me as each new song I write becomes my newest favorite.

If just for a little while.

The Chase Live 2

Posted: April 14, 2020 in Cover Tune Tuesdays, Live Sound Reinforcement Series, MUSIC, Photography, Video
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I posted songs from the first half of our live set when I was playing with The Chase earlier. Today I would like to share with you select songs from the second half of our set. The recording is decent – though this is ancient as it was recorded on a cassette tape!!!

Anyway, people all over the world are having tough times. Stuck indoors is the least of our concerns. Sit back, stay at home and listen to a live band performing classic rock songs from Jethro Tull to Santana and Creed.

As a note of mild interest; I have no pictures of the vocalist in this particular recording. I have video, but compared to the hi-res available today, the videos just don’t look very good. Sean (Shoeless Shawn) Bandy is the lead vocalist this evening.

Have a drink and a great evening in and stay safe!

My former band, The Chase performing live

Thanks for the visit!

CRASH LANDING Set 2

Posted: July 16, 2019 in Cover Tune Tuesdays
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Crash Landing Live at West Fest

Building upon my earlier posts of a night out with Crash Landing, I continue with the first part of the second set.

CRASH LANDING live in 2002

In future posts I will detail mixing/recording process and Live Sound Reinforcement techniques. For now, enjoy a few songs from my old cover band.

“Tired” A Retired Point Of View

Posted: July 12, 2019 in My Tunes
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Pond at Lindner Park, Norwood OH MSK

I hope you get a laugh from my latest song, “Tired”. It definitely has a ‘senior point of view’. I thought of naming it “Retired”, but this seemed to fit better.

I posted as a poem but once I put it to music and the song arrangement came together I had to make cuts and edits. I will post the new lyrics here for convenience.

        “Tired”                     © MSK 6-9-2019

 I’ve been thinking all day of when I get you home
 After everyone has gone          we’re finally alone
 Like a good dog I’m gonn’a give you a bone.

 I’ve heard his mouth running all over town
 Talking shit about me and calling me a clown
 I’m headed over there now to put him down.

      Hold that thought 
      ‘Til I get back
      I’m feeling rather tired 
      And it’s time for a nap.

           Think I better
                       Slow it down.

 Rewarded or punished for decisions we make
 Climbing this mountain is a piece of cake
 Just another day or so beyond the lake.
 
      Hold that thought ‘til I get back
      I’m feeling rather tired 
      And it’s time for a nap.

     Dream what you remember     
         Remember what you dream.     
         After all    these years      
         It’s almost the same thing

 I bought three books and can’t wait to start
 Two of them are very close to my heart.
 I’ll read them all tonight, then put more in my cart.

 I’ve been thinking all day of when I get you home
 After everyone has gone         we’re finally alone.
 Like a good dog I’m gonn’a give you a bone.

      Hold that thought ‘til I get back
      I’m feeling rather tired and it’s time for a nap.
      Hold that thought ‘til I get back
      I’m feeling rather tired and it’s time for a nap.

With lyrics in hand, I mapped it out to a drum arrangement I already had. No other instruments….. While I fit the lyrics to the drum arrangement the melody immediately fell in my lap. It is backwards for me to have a melody first. Usually I write the melody listening to the chords. This is like reverse-engineering if you know what I mean!

This was not a simple fit, so the drums also had to be edited and changed for the rhythm of guitar and vocals. The drums are not finished and need a lot of work to smooth out grooves here and there, but it is solid enough to work with for now.

I don’t practice or play for hours a day anymore. I rarely play for more than is necessary to record my demo songs. It can take me a while to play the guitar (and keyboard) parts I need for new songs. Everything is slowing down after 65!

I played a Martin acoustic/electric guitar with no overdubs or additional guitar tracks. The bass guitar is added using my MIDI keyboard and a computer plug-in sample-player for a great sound. I added some playful vocal harmonies and that was it. Arrangement done, it will take me a couple weeks to clean up the tracks and do a mix. Or maybe a bit longer than usual now that I think about it!