Posts Tagged ‘#performing arts’

“134”

Posted: February 8, 2019 in My Tunes, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
7

I would like to share another half-baked instrumental piece with you. When you have written over 175 songs you have to try very hard to discover new things. Sometimes we audio engineers can get stuck in a rut too. We use dependable tools and procedures until we slowly lock ourselves into a production-line-song making-engine.

If you are a label, publisher etc., you will appreciate the cookie-cutter assembly line model. You would benefit from the homogeneous funnel that affects all the broadcast music we listen to today. As you can tell from my previous posts, I choose not to be main stream and often try the unusual or untested. But this is where I will stop whining about a music industry that only wants to back the mega mega stars of today. Our favorite musicians from the past would never get a break in today’s world. Long live rock and roll.

This song is in the chopping block stage. For fun, I noodle with varied instruments all the time. Most of it is nonsensical and I archive or delete it. Often there are really good gems in a sea of debris. On occasion, most of what I created sounds good and for some reason I like it. There are parts that work well and others that need to be enhanced or deleted. The software is capable but fairly easy to edit and “copy – Paste”. If you like or dislike a section, please let me know the min/sec in your comments.

This recording was a little unusual in the process side of things. I started with a metronome click track in my computer. I picked up my guitar (always in tune) and set up the computer (always ready to record) and – I am being literal here – found a chord on the guitar. Without regard for key or scale or root, I just kept trying different positions until I liked the sound and voicing of the chord. I started recording just that chord in various styles for a few minutes. Each chord clean and distinct. Then I would play a pattern or arpeggio with the same voicing. Then a few hard hits. Next I stopped recording, found another chord and repeated that process.

Once I had a number of guitar parts that I liked, I arranged them along a measured grid to create a single guitar track. I used chords for different segments of the song to create the chorus and bridges. Once the guitar was assembled I listened to the guitar and recorded MIDI bass guitar, piano and drums using the plug-ins in my software (Cakewalk/Sonar/Bandlab). The drums have a jazzy dynamic feel and I like the way some of this song fits together. I imagine watching for the sunset or sunrise over the hill on a chilly but beautiful day. That’s just me.

I have to fix a lot of things and it is not complete as I cautioned, but I hope you like it. BTW, I call it “134” because that is the tempo! I really have to work on my naming skills.

The Human Voice is an Amazing Instrument!

Posted: June 15, 2015 in Opinions and Observations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
40

When I was listening to music in my early years, it seemed very natural for me to sing along with the songs I like or new tunes I heard.  I did not realize until years later that what I was doing was harmonizing with the melody, rather than duplicating it.  This was probably my first gateway into music creation.  I seemed to have a knack for developing harmonies.  Rhythms and timing also came to me without me understanding what I was doing.  Some people play sports, some are good at math, and some are builders.  I just seemed to feel comfortable with music.  My mother was in theater, radio and music and I have already blamed her for a lot of exposure to performing arts while I was growing up, so I will continue to do so!

The human voice is an amazing instrument.  There is nothing like it.  I know that I am not a powerful vocalist – I simply do not have the pipes it must take, but fortunately that did not stop my love for singing.  As I sang along more and more, I got better at finding the notes that would enhance or decorate the melody line.  I never tried to over power them, but to add to them.  Sometimes a song only needs a phrase or two highlighted by harmonies or echoing the melody.  Other tunes seemed to inspire harmonies throughout the song.  Eventually I would hear the melody in my head and sing along creating harmonies.  I could not begin to tell you how to create each note while singing… there are no manuals for this.  There are lessons to be learned and great teachers or vocal instructors, but the basics are not easily put into words.

When it comes to instruments, there is a certain amount of knowledge and practice involved in understanding where the right notes are and hitting them at the right time.  Just knowing the right ones to play are not enough as you have to know when and when not to play them.  I bring this up because a lot of musicians talk about jam sessions or getting together and without a lot of details, start playing new themes and using ideas from other musicians to create and have fun.  My point here is that I was never that comfortable simply bringing my instrument and jamming with others.  I do feel comfortable with harmonies and if asked to add percussion or drums, I could fit in.  But for me playing guitar, keys, bass, flute, sax, etc. without practicing and knowing what I was doing ahead of time is difficult.  Many of the musicians I worked with were absolutely great at this.  They were great at bouncing musical ideas off other players and coming up with gorgeous textures, themes and tonal landscapes.  I have a few early examples of jams and creative sessions I would like to offer here from time to time.