Posts Tagged ‘#audio’

Influenced By All Of You!

Posted: August 1, 2016 in Opinions and Observations, Uncategorized
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There is a joke, not much of a joke really, but a saying that describes a point of view we too often have in the United States:

Question:

What do you call it when you speak two languages?

Answer:

Bi-lingual.

Question:

What do you call it when you speak several languages?

Answer:

Multi-lingual.

Question:

What do you call it if you speak one language?

Answer:

American.

As you can see it is not really funny and not really a joke, but I use this often to remind myself how different our decisions and thoughts can be depending on perspective or point of view.  I was delighted with the response to my recent poem entitled “Hearts of Stone“.  (…..Actually, I initially titled it “Where You Live”.  As mentioned before I am not good at naming my own songs.  My daughter Alisa – and partner in the success of this blog – correctly suggested I change the title).  I wanted to give you a bit of history to this poem as it was actually inspired by follower comments.  All of which I read and respond to – not as quickly as I like but I try to get to them all as I truly appreciate the time and thoughts from so many people.

I have often mentioned that I am thankful for access and exposure to thoughts and feedback around the globe.  It helps open my eyes to things I would not normally consider.  Creative people all over the world are represented here and it is amazing what an impact you have had on me and my writings.  A while back I posted a question about what was your first concert.  While many responses were very cool, some responded they were not allowed to have huge concerts in their country.  This struck me deeply.  First; as a callous question from an arrogant blogger who takes life for granted.  We often complain about politics or taxes and a million other things in the US and other countries but we have a choice.  We may not get our way but we can voice our opinion and discuss our thoughts openly.  This is not true everywhere.  Secondly: it drove this arrogant blogger to think about how many things we take for granted every day.  So I tried to look around my little piece of the world from another point of view.

The first line is kind of an inside joke and would easily be understood by people that live in places line my town.  We often have cloudy – hazy skies most of the time and it gets so bad that the traffic reports have to remind us what that big bright thing in the sky is on sunny days!  Often at night we do not see stars and frequently miss the experiences of full moons or eclipses.  The rest of the poem tries to reflect the things humans might notice looking at their world.  Some are glorious and beautiful and worth celebrating while other things are tragic and unimaginable to ‘outsiders’.

I have read the words in this poem many times since posting the poem on MIDIMike and a melody keeps creeping into my subconscious when I repeat them.  In the same line as the global inspiration for the lyrics, the melody and arrangement is not my ‘normal’ style.  I may be the only one that likes it, but I cannot get rid of it.  I will be finished putting this poem to music soon, but to be forewarned it is not a replica of my past works and musical pieces.  It is my thanks to all of you.  It is a sharing.  It is an apology for not keeping my mind open to others.  It is a simple reflection from deep inside.  It is an invitation to continuing communications that will bring different cultures and peoples together.  If we cannot communicate we are doomed.

I will post as a song as soon as I have a decent recording of what has been spiraling inside my head.

Click Here to read the original poem.

Lifting the Veil of Depression – Peter Gabriel in Concert

Posted: June 24, 2016 in Opinions and Observations, Uncategorized
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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

There have been many memorable events in my life to date and many more to come.  It might not be apparent at the time the impact any one of them would have at the time.  I have never been diagnosed or treated professionally but I find myself dealing with depression from time to time.  It is impossible to know what triggers those feelings and more difficult to see your way out. On one of those times I could not break the cycle.  I had no motivation or inspiration.  In fact, I did not care at all.  About anything.  I had been through similar situations before so for weeks I kept telling myself it would pass in its own time.  I would get through this one as well.  But that was the only positive thought I had.  Life not worth living.  Nothing made me happy or sad. I forced myself through motions and obligations by shear routine.   I seemed like this would go on forever.  It felt unbearable even though most of my friends had no idea what I was dealing with.

I had tickets to see an amazing show under any circumstances, so I went to see Cirque du Soleil.  It is funny how this affected me.  I watched human beings do what seemed impossible even if you could think of the skills in the first place.  Art and amazing physical prowess seamlessly blended together to tell a story with few words.  Strength and perfection only achieved with years and years of unrelenting practice and sacrifice.  It again showed me the potential of mankind.  Dedication, creativity, trust, respect were all required to make this amazing performance happen.  I realized watching each scene that we are incredible beings when we try. That night I started trying again.  I saw the end of the funk that was created by myself – for myself.  I could see again the beauty of life and the result of hard work when things seem impossible.

History sometimes repeats itself. Funny to think of this after my recent event at a concert to see my musical mentor and hero – Peter Gabriel, performing on tour with Sting.  It is so refreshing to know there are others in the world that struggle to be good.  That work every day to promote peace love and all that corny stuff I could not live without.  In their music and through their lives they can impact so many.  I thought I would never be able to see Gabriel perform.  I have come close, but things did not work out. They almost did not work out this time either.  Of all the artists/people in the world, his music, words and projects affect me like no other person on this earth.  I am who I am with his unknowing help and guidance.  I struggle to be better knowing it is possible.

I grew up listening to Genesis and following his solo career.  I am not obsessed and do not own everything he has.  I do not know every detail of his personal life or career.  But I do think I ‘know the man’.  I understand him as a man and not an idol.  We are growing old together.

Sting was also amazing and sang a number of Peter’s songs, and performing his own tunes and some from the days of The Police.  For me, it was precious, unforgettable and one of the greatest musical experiences I have had.

Co-Write a Song with Me – Update

Posted: May 25, 2016 in My Tunes, projects
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The following is version two of the song I posted titled: “Some People”.  See the following link to review the post: https://midimike.com/2016/04/12/co-write-a-song-with-me/.

I do want to thank the brave participants and hope I reflected your thoughts for each verse.  I added as needed and took out as little as possible to fit the melody, but much of your thoughts are intact.  The first two verses and one other verse are in the original release.  If you have not sent in your submissions there is still time, and I will add them in a final version.  Everyone knows “Some People” LOL!

To re-cap, I posted the song and video for Some People asking fellow bloggers to write verses for a new version of the song based on the format of the original lyrics.  Each submission blogger is credited for their writings above each verse as co-authors!  Who knows, maybe another video is in order and authors could submit pictures for their verses.

 

bino32 says:

Some people are happy
A smile or two to spread
Some people, they feel blue
With cold steel pressed against their heads
Trembling like me?
Or dancing like you?

 

Charles G. says:

Some say it’s not their place
Others misuse the day
The faithful will say grace
Some have too much to say
A wonderful spot
To watch it revolve

 

None Other Then Hannah says:

Some beings are kind,
Generous to others.
While many are glued,
Haunt victims to the ache.
Countless overcome,
And show way of escape.

 

Ancient Skies says:

Some people are just people

not me but you –

longing for a reason to

not to be blue –

hey my brother hang in,

you can sing again –

 

it’s all about the tune you see –

but this life just ain’t free.

Some people are just people,

not me but you.

So sing that tune

to chase the blues.

 

tracihalpin says:

Some people are real
Some people pretend
Some people don’t feel
Which one are you?

 

atribeuntangled says:

Some people say they spread the love,

believe like them and rise above.

But if you stray and use your mind

you fall so fast and ties unbind.

Song in the Making Part IIII – New vocalist

Posted: May 12, 2016 in My Tunes
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As we moved the song “My Heart is Silent” forward, I wanted to give you an update in the process.  New chord structure keeping some of the vibe from the first version and new vocals and you can see how quickly songs can change from the original concept.  The last version had a female vocalist and this time we hear from a friend of Mack.  His name is Carlos and he has a smooth ballad vocal style. Again, this is the first vocal attempt to give us an idea how the song feels with a male vocalist and more of a structured feel to the verses. 

 We decided to go with a spoken intro for the first verse.  I like the way it opens the song and allows us to build the vocals as the song progresses.  Oddly enough, a lot of the lyrics went back to the original as the song structure fit the words a bit easier.  We also considered doing a male-female duet.  No final decision yet and we are still thinking about back-up vocals to enhance some of the lines from each verse to drive the end of the song as it builds up.   

 I added MIDI string parts after the piano intro.  The drum parts and bass guitar are also all MIDI generated coming from the computer.  I added a low-key rhythm guitar part during the chorus and later verses.  Once we have the vocal parts finalized we may add other instruments as the song progresses toward the end.   

 So what do you think?  Male vocalist, female or duet?   

 What other instruments do you ‘hear’ in the final version?  Saxophone?   Brass? Orchestral?  Lead guitar? 

 Do you like the spoken opening verse rather than jumping straight into the melody? 

 Here is the latest rough mix of “My Heart Is Silent”. 

A Song in the Making Part III

A Song in the Making Part II

A Song in the Making

Lurker – Some People Video

Posted: April 28, 2016 in My Tunes, Uncategorized
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I was playing acoustic guitar in the living room the other night and I was playing a piece that I had written decades ago. My good friend Tom Robinson added some chords to the structure and it became a favorite instrumental of ours called “Lurker”. I think the name fit as the instrumental piece has a LOT of intentional dissonance and it keeps repeating the pattern over an over, though it changes feeling as the piece is played. I thought about doing something with this guitar piece (there were never other instruments, just the guitar parts) and headed up to the studio. In my computer I found a file called “Lurker” and I opened it up not knowing what it was.

As it turned out a couple years ago I had worked on some drum patterns to go with the guitar part – which like other things, got put on the to do list as I went on to other projects. Funny how many simultaneous projects I have going at any given time. I like the feeling the drums added and thought I would record the guitar piece and play with the tune. As I worked with it I naturally started to think about lyrics for it. Then it hit me – the instrumental piece is repetitious as I mentioned and really doesn’t change ( no Chorus, Bridge or Break or alternate chord arrangement, etc.) The post “Some People” is the same way. It was not structured like a normal “commercial” song. (not that I have ever written one of those!)

So I have been working on the two and I thought this is still going to work as a blogger project. I may add other instruments going forward as it still has just the guitar and drum parts and I toyed with a spooky synth sound for the solo.

I also put up a video on my you tube channel with color pictures I have taken over the years. Some black and white pictures courtesy of Tom Robinson.

Co-Write A Song With Me

Posted: April 12, 2016 in My Tunes
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Last September I posted an article with some lyrics/poetry that I had written a while ago called “Some People” using lyrics from a poem called “Some People Are”.  I left out some of the verses for the post but for a refresher to the article use the following link:   https://midimike.com/2015/09/21/some-people/

I did not have music for it at the time and it sat for a while but I really liked some of the verses.   Then I thought about asking readers to submit their own verses because you are so creative and I would come up with some music for it and post it as a shared song written by fellow bloggers.  As things in life happen as they can – not as I plan or want them to – I put it on the list and worked on a few other things like finding a job and other projects.  But things on my list usually get done.  One way or another ……….. in one form or another.

The structure of the lyrics changed a little, so the submissions will need to fit the meter of the new lyrics below.  I can’t guarantee that I will add every submission, but I will take select submissions and post the song.  I think it would be fun and entries will be credited as co-authors.  The new song is titled: “Some People”.

  “Some People Are”                   Lyrics by MSK © 2-22-2016  

 Some people are humans 

 Trying to get their kicks 

 Some people are animals 

 Able to learn new tricks. 

Are you somebody? 

 Show me.  Show me. 

 

Some people are clever 

 They know just what to do 

 Some people are sneaky 

 And always out of view. 

  Are you different? 

 Different than me?  

 

  Most people are decent 

 And give you the time of day 

 Most people are ignorant 

 Of debts they should have paid. 

 Do you know these people? 

  Do they know you? 

 

Most people are honest  

Till they tell their first lie 

 Most people are lonely 

 And will never say good bye. 

Does it matter? 

 Does it matter to me? 

 

  More people are angry 

Seeing things in black and white 

More people are dreaming 

 Something wrong that should be right. 

 Where are the people? 

 Have you seen the people? 

 

Poor people are proven guilty 

More often than not 

Poor people are givers 

And they’ll share what they’ve got. 

 More poor people 

 Would help a lot. 

 

You tried to tell me something 

I could never understand. 

Wouldn’t know how to follow 

 If you guided me by the hand. 

 Tell me. 

 Tell me something. 

 

  So many wrong directions 

In my ever-changing past. 

 Can’t guarantee to be there first, but 

 I have never been the last. 

 Another wrong direction 

 Forgotten so fast. 

 

Your people are crazy 

 Going out all the time 

 Your people are busy 

 But they’ll stop to pick up a dime. 

 It’s not worth it. 

 Not worth it to me. 

 

Your people are active 

 Found the right ass to kick 

 Your people are saying  

 That’s the nature of politics. 

 That’s the nature 

 The nature of politics 

Back to the Drawing Board – Making a Song Part III

Posted: April 7, 2016 in My Tunes
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It is time to report on the progress of the song that Mack and I have been working on titled: “My Heart Is Silent”.   We had the basic instrumental tracks in place and a rough mix finished and I posted it a few weeks ago.  I added a scratch vocal track so we could get an idea how and where they lyrics fit.  Soon after we let a few vocalists we know listen to the music and the idea we had for the melody line.  The arrangement had a number of parts and we had to adopt the lyrics a bit and worked the melody to fit around the arrangement.

I will include a rough copy of the song with the vocals.  A friend my wife knows came over to the studio to lay down some vocal tracks.  She is not a professional vocalist and this was her first time in any studio.  I know from many years of recording other artists that it is not as easy as it sounds.  I try to be charming and supportive but it can be difficult to feel comfortable when the recording starts and you want to make it perfect.  Ann did very well and she started to get the melody down and add a few flourishes.  So knowing this is a first session and not intended to be a final take, here is the song as it was.

I say was, because each vocalist we talked to, and during our internal creative discussions, it became apparent that the lyrics and mood did not really match the music.  After a number of talks we decided to scrap the music all together.  Mack wanted another crack at it and took the lyrics – and our observations home to try to come up with an arrangement that better matched our thoughts and discussions about the lyrics and what we wanted to hear them with.  As I mentioned, this can be a long process with plenty of changes and modifications along the way.

While we now have a pleasant instrumental piece almost complete, my wife and I will write lyrics to it (so all is not lost).  Mack wrote a new piano piece and kept some of the ideas of the first version.  We have been working on the new musical piece and I will share that with you in a week or so.  We have a vocalist working on the basic instrument tracks and hope to have the new version with lyrics fairly soon.

Part II of Making a Song

Part I of Making a Song

 

 

LSR Series Chapter 22 – Setting the Stage

Posted: March 28, 2016 in Live Sound Reinforcement Series, Uncategorized
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While performing with my last cover band, Crash Landing, we played local clubs, festivals and private parties.  In this picture of a live set up, you will see a fairly standard rock/blues/country/alternative/jazz band stage arrangement;  drums center rear, Lead Vocalist center front.  Keys (and/or rhythm guitar) on the left as you look at the stage and the lead guitar player on the right.  In smaller clubs the keyboards get crunched back in the corner next to the drummer……  no sour grapes here!  Bass player close to the drummer. (either side doesn’t really matter)  In reality, most bands will not practice in this configuration, but this is the way most of us play out live and we are quite used to it.  In our case, Crash Landing has a number of vocalists.  All but the drummer sings in this band.  The bass player takes front stage position and sings a number of lead vocals.  So does the guitar player.  You can see where the microphone stands are placed for the vocalists.  Close up pictures later in this series will show other microphone positions for the instruments.  These are good places to start.  If you have limited time or setting up for a number of bands in an evening, you go with the standard format and shape the sound from the board as much as possible.  Knowing or having experience doing the quick set-up successfully a few times you will see the standard configuration and mic placements work well for the vast majority of performances.

We can also see the positioning of the vocal stage monitors across the front of the stage.  There are various thoughts on how to set these up but the differences can seem minor.  For this many vocalists across the front, this spacing and direction worked fairly well.  The drummer and/or other non-vocalists might also need monitors.  (it would not be unusual for the keyboard player requiring a monitor to hear the keyboards and a vocal mix if they sing)  This stage size gives players room to breath AND hear.  When inside on a smaller stage, everything seems to collide and jumble.  Outside you can hear yourself play much better (depending on the sound engineer, of course) and at times you might actually struggle just a little to hear the other players!  Take two steps closer to them and they are plenty loud.  This should be an easier situation for a sound engineer.  If I had to do a first gig in my life as a practice run, I would want to do an outdoors gig.

Crash Landing

Sharing A Lifetime With You

Posted: February 29, 2016 in My Tunes, Uncategorized
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michaelskennedy1

In many ways it is difficult to believe I am in my sixties.  While some of the energy and physical abilities are not what they used to be, the drive, passion and beauty in my life still motivate and push me forward everyday.  There is always something new, grand and amazing to learn or experience. 

 I have reached another time and point of reflection.  Early February of 2015 my daughter Alisa and I discussed starting a blog.  She had an idea powered by an amazing sense of urgency.  She wanted me to not only give more people the opportunity to hear the songs I have written and recorded over the years – songs she had grown up with, went to sleep with, woke up with and watched as the final versions became etched in what ever media was available at the time – she was firmly committed that I should also tell ‘my story’.  She insisted (over and over) that I have had a fascinating life and wonderful experiences that people would enjoy and even learn from.   

 I don’t feel special, exceptional or – I hate to use the word worthy, but it does fit here – though I have known and attracted so many amazing people and been very lucky to have been involved with them to become a focal point in their lives.  

 I was not sure what the benefit was and frankly I – as I often do – found it difficult to believe others would be interested in the realization of dreams, struggles and successes I managed to accomplish over the many years.  I knew how much the people and music meant to me, of that I had no doubt and never down-played.  I could talk about them for hours.  It was the subject of promoting myself that was always alien territory for me.  I just never considered going there.   

 She did not give in.  She refused to give up.  She did not accept my cavalier attitude when talking about my work.  She also saw me as a person who played by the rules – sometimes to a fault – and saw the limited acknowledgement and success I had achieved while others became famous by using ‘tactics’ that were not even in my personal vocabulary.  Her design was to use my vocabulary.  To ‘play the game’ on my terms, to reach out to an audience without standing on a drowning man’s shoulders to get above the water.    

 That month; February 2015, I surrendered.  We launched the MIDIMike blog.  I wrote articles and ideas for posts.  She pushed and pushed to make sure I shared my stories and the feelings experienced for them.  She worked hard to set up the blog site, reach out to other bloggers, schedule releases of songs and so much more.  In fact, reading this article she will probably say “you are doing it again!”.  She would point out this is not about her, but about my work and my life, which are so often one in the same.   Old habits and all that LOL. 

 I was not sure if this would survive three months but I was determined to put in at least as much effort into the blog as she did.  I was not going to be the reason if it did not match her goals and plan.  If it lasted six months we could say we gave it a great effort. 

 The first anniversary for MIDIMike came this month.  I look at the articles posted, the comments from followers, the amazing relationships and shear talent of this community and wonder how I could find anything more ‘worthy’.  I have learned so much from so many of you it is difficult to thank each of you individually, but I am sure you are aware that I try very hard to do so.  I do not take your selfless time, effort and caring for granted.   

 You have allowed me to share past events and the emotions experienced during those and current events.  From deaths of loved ones, creation of new songs and old ones, tragedies, fires and life changing events friends have been faced to new poetry, ancient videos and my recent unemployment late in life.  It has been an amazing year. 

 On this anniversary, I am also aware of your support.  Your kindness.  I am only driven harder than Alisa could drive me, if you can believe that is possible!  I will continue.  Not only with MIDIMike and our community but with more of the music behind everything I do.  Your comments have inspired me to bring more of these gems out of deep storage, or to take unfinished works out of the closet and record them.   

 To take your advice and to thank you again for so much, I am releasing a new EP on this first anniversary.  “Before The Chase“ is now available on iTunes and CD Baby.  A new song along with new/updated recordings are on this first release.  I promise you there will be more and I will continue to share the stories behind them with followers of this blog, and I guarantee to listen to and be guided by your comments.  

Like so many talented musicians and artists we do not start out thinking ‘this is a great career path’ and we will be rich making popular songs.  We start because we feel it and enjoy what we do.  The truth is probably closer to reality – we do not become rich until someone else realizes they can make money from those talented people and their works.

 So much in one year.  Totally appreciated.   

Before The Chase on iTunes

A Song in the Making Part II

Posted: February 26, 2016 in My Tunes, Uncategorized
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As Part II of this series I will post the rough version of the heart of the musical components starting with the Piano and basic arrangement of the new song, “My Heart Is Silent”.  © 2016. Click here to read Part I. 

For the Piano we are using an 88 wood weighted keyboard controller.  It is an older Yamaha KX88.  As you will remember from the MIDI series posted earlier (LINK) the KX88 makes no sound at all.  While it has the play and feel of a real piano, it sits on a keyboard stand and I use the MIDI OUT to connect through a router I have straight to the computer.  In future posts I will go into more detail on how the sounds are generated and what I am using to get each sound. We recorded a few passes and because this is MIDI, I had the ability to move pieces around as we focused in on the arrangement.

The piano player listened to a glorified ‘click track’ I created with a MIDI drum controller from my Alesis Control Pad.   It has 8 assignable trigger pads and a cymbal trigger that can be set to trigger sounds from any MIDI device, but again I am going straight to the computer and using internal sounds for the drum parts.  This way we can record the piano part with the correct tempo even though there are no other instruments recorded yet.  This also makes editing easier if everything fits within the measures.  When we rearranged the sections I  ‘cut and paste’ parts from one place to another just the way you would with a Word document.  This makes life much easier for the recording engineer (yours truly).  If this was recorded with a microphone and without the click track it would be awkward to work with.

The KX88 also has sustain and volume controller pedals attached, so to the piano player it acts and feels quite natural.  Mack E. is my partner in creating this new song.  He read the lyrics I wrote to “My Heart Is Silent” and asked if he could take them home and work on the music.  This is a theme he has had in his personal arsenal for a while.  He played a bit with the tune and came up with a melody for the lyrics.  We worked on the arrangement until we were happy with it and here is the rough version of the piano chords.  We will add other instruments and vocals later but for now we have a good foundation for the song so we can build support instruments to fill out the song.

 

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