It was June 20th when the muse last paid a visit, granting me another song to share with the world. Song writing remains very mysterious to me because of how the seeming events unfold. For the most part the resultant effort in this past event, seems or otherwise feels as though I, the human within this body, was not present and involved. I can recall portions of the experience, yet in this moment I am unable to recognize and or recall what I will refer to here as the enzyme causing it to erupt. I do recall being in my living room in movement, walking past the end of my couch, when the flood of word and inspiration struck, which in turn stopped my forward progression to briefly pause then abruptly pivot 180 degrees with a thought that there was something here to capture. This type of situation has struck me many times over the years under differing circumstances, causing me to quickly get to the computer enabling the capture of what seems magical.
Soon there after, I found myself before the word processor’s screen, engaged in writing an impression of this thought flood. In the flood was an auditory influence that had a shape of its own, illusionary holding the words to its shape in both pitch and cadence. I wrote out 7 lines of text, containing two separate forms, before grabbing up my guitar to actually find the shape of audio provided beside or with the words. After a bit of fumbling with notes on the fretboard the pitch resolved as an AA (the second A below middle C on a piano or, an open A string on a standardly tuned guitar), and from there the guitars standard A first position was established, being the key for the piece. The entire musical phrase for the verse quickly took an understood shape, where as shifting into the chorus was a less fluid process, with some intuitive searching for the shape of it, I experienced a couple of stutters along the way, as finding the shape of this chorus seemed illusive for some time. I played through my impression a few times yet, there was a flaw, as the resolution from this progression (in a D) back to the AA was impossible. I then realized the solution, a somewhat different play in the chord structure of the chorus. As fast as a spark, the chorus had its shape, allowing me to sing the words I’d written.
At that point, I put the guitar down and concentrated on the lyrics. The muse was still alive in me, allowing the words to flow out effortlessly. From beginning to end the song was written completely along with its composition in what must have been less than 15 minutes. Taking to the guitar again, I began singing the lyric with its accompaniment, smiling along the way, having an impression of the song’s essence solidifying in my mind. Yet experience has shown that at this point in time, I could easily have a lapse in my memory as to this song’s true essence.
Thank you Linux OS for the ease with which it has become handy to record raw audio. I turned the system on (Ardour), set up the inputs for the microphones and recorded a rough draft to preserve what was in the moment, raw thought inside my head. It worked flawlessly. I now had the new song captured in essence, and after a Save As and giving the file a name, I had a new song.
With a raw copy stored and a feeling of accomplishment in the unexpected, with the muse lurking somewhere overhead in the ethers of being I happily began the process of properly recording this new song. I opened the drumming software (Hydrogen) and with my mechanical metronome, determined a fitting tempo. I then input this number into the software and set to making a very basic drumming pattern with just a bass drum on the 1, 3 and the backbeat snare at 2, 4. With this pattern running in the background I then recorded the piece over, in its entirety with this to hold the tempo while re-recording. This produced a better impression of the song. I then began composing a bass track to glue the tune into its form. After hooking up the electric bass guitar into the system a multi step process due to lacking a bass amplifier here, I recorded a bass track beside what was previously done. Fact is I am less than proficient enough at playing the bass, to create a usable bass track. I could overcome this were I to play the instrument but… that is not in my card deck now. I can play it well enough to use the recorded track as a template for creating a good midi bass track. I did both of these things to create a good bass track for the recording. Upon completion of the bass track in midi, I then switched back to the drumming software to create a drum track that might do more than hold the tempo, one that could add too and compliment the song, fitting beside the bass. From the moment of inception to near done, I had a reasonably completed song in under 2 hours. To me, amazing.
Since then I have done only a little bit of work to this recording as other demands had to take precedence. I had a scheduled performance of 2.5 hours, 5 days hence and had great need to practice and rehearse, having excluded most public performances for well over a year. And the beat goes on.
Soon there after, I found myself before the word processor’s screen, engaged in writing an impression of this thought flood. In the flood was an auditory influence that had a shape of its own, illusionary holding the words to its shape in both pitch and cadence. I wrote out 7 lines of text, containing two separate forms, before grabbing up my guitar to actually find the shape of audio provided beside or with the words. After a bit of fumbling with notes on the fretboard the pitch resolved as an AA (the second A below middle C on a piano or, an open A string on a standardly tuned guitar), and from there the guitars standard A first position was established, being the key for the piece. The entire musical phrase for the verse quickly took an understood shape, where as shifting into the chorus was a less fluid process, with some intuitive searching for the shape of it, I experienced a couple of stutters along the way, as finding the shape of this chorus seemed illusive for some time. I played through my impression a few times yet, there was a flaw, as the resolution from this progression (in a D) back to the AA was impossible. I then realized the solution, a somewhat different play in the chord structure of the chorus. As fast as a spark, the chorus had its shape, allowing me to sing the words I’d written.
At that point, I put the guitar down and concentrated on the lyrics. The muse was still alive in me, allowing the words to flow out effortlessly. From beginning to end the song was written completely along with its composition in what must have been less than 15 minutes. Taking to the guitar again, I began singing the lyric with its accompaniment, smiling along the way, having an impression of the song’s essence solidifying in my mind. Yet experience has shown that at this point in time, I could easily have a lapse in my memory as to this song’s true essence.
Thank you Linux OS for the ease with which it has become handy to record raw audio. I turned the system on (Ardour), set up the inputs for the microphones and recorded a rough draft to preserve what was in the moment, raw thought inside my head. It worked flawlessly. I now had the new song captured in essence, and after a Save As and giving the file a name, I had a new song.
With a raw copy stored and a feeling of accomplishment in the unexpected, with the muse lurking somewhere overhead in the ethers of being I happily began the process of properly recording this new song. I opened the drumming software (Hydrogen) and with my mechanical metronome, determined a fitting tempo. I then input this number into the software and set to making a very basic drumming pattern with just a bass drum on the 1, 3 and the backbeat snare at 2, 4. With this pattern running in the background I then recorded the piece over, in its entirety with this to hold the tempo while re-recording. This produced a better impression of the song. I then began composing a bass track to glue the tune into its form. After hooking up the electric bass guitar into the system a multi step process due to lacking a bass amplifier here, I recorded a bass track beside what was previously done. Fact is I am less than proficient enough at playing the bass, to create a usable bass track. I could overcome this were I to play the instrument but… that is not in my card deck now. I can play it well enough to use the recorded track as a template for creating a good midi bass track. I did both of these things to create a good bass track for the recording. Upon completion of the bass track in midi, I then switched back to the drumming software to create a drum track that might do more than hold the tempo, one that could add too and compliment the song, fitting beside the bass. From the moment of inception to near done, I had a reasonably completed song in under 2 hours. To me, amazing.
Since then I have done only a little bit of work to this recording as other demands had to take precedence. I had a scheduled performance of 2.5 hours, 5 days hence and had great need to practice and rehearse, having excluded most public performances for well over a year. And the beat goes on.
