Practicing, Playing, Recording, and Performing Thread

[the shortest route to the sea]

Didn't quite get to two hours today, but I had a lot of fun playing with my eyes closed. The music gets very dissonant, but gesturey, and there's an element of searching and discovery when I find a major key and run with it, before moving my hands and breaking it again. I get some really good grooves by accident that way. I love it, and I love hearing what tones result from the gestures, but I can imagine it being unpleasant for those around me.

I think I broke my songwriter's block for my second song, so I can write the bridge now.

[the shortest route to the sea]

Finished a recording for Guff, trying to balance work on one for JMV and one for a friend, both of which are on a quick deadline. The former is sketched but needs to be really fleshed out from a demo, and the latter was going gloriously until the halfway point. I'm frustrated but keeping on.

I'm also heading Jazz Band this year, any suggestions on weird songs we could arrange?

Piano lessons start Friday...urk...

[Mando Pandango]

I've been playing bass for about a month now. Pretty much when I have nothing to do in my free time I pull it out and practice. I picked it up quick too. I learned "Are You In?" by Incubus in my first week and a half or so.

[Gin]

Right now I'm hoping I can write 10 original songs on guitar by the beginning of February. I recently began messing around with trying to write my own music, so I decided that if i set a requirement for myself that it will help me. Lyrics would be great too, but I can't sing, so I've been considering taking lessons to try to at least get an ok singing voice. Money and time would be the issue with taking  lessons though.

[the shortest route to the sea]

My teacher and I are starting on Bach's Prelude and Fuge in C Major. 4 voices. It's so idiosyncratic and sexy somehow, I don't know. I love Bach. Looks like we'll be getting some Chopin in this year, which is nice.

Finished recording one song and one musing, based on the same idea, for a really good friend. I feel a bit bad not fine-tuning either, and "musing" just means it's longer, less together, holds together worse, and is rooted in spontinaity and not musicianship. But I like them both, even if they're 9 and 20 minutes, respectively.

[the shortest route to the sea]

Finally got the tascam to work! Stuff I moved over:

Song for My Commodore : 7:28
Song for My Commodore Pf solo: 7:45
Musing for James : 21:31
Song for James : 9:27
Happy Birthday: 2:34

Now, plug'em into audacity, combine the parts, and turn 'em into 256 kpbs mp3s. Here we go  

[spaceman]

Just playing guitar in my basement or in my room, practicing or learning how to play various songs and stuff like that.

[the shortest route to the sea]

Teacher moved me to Chopin's Prelude in Db major: OH MY GOD it is so beautiful it's the stereotypical chopin prelude but it's gorgeousss, I'm really enjoying creating textures. It's so much different than the bach.

In terms of me, I've been improvising a lot, putting off an overdue project that someone actually donated a good sum of money to charity to get, so I need to get back on the horse in that respect. But it's all good. I love my piano, I love my expression. I feel honest these days, always a plus.

Jazz Band's doing a ballad and a cool Monk tune, a lot of great solo opportunities on that one. Musical's gonna be Steven Sondheim's "Into the Woods." I'm doing backup winds for the senior play. Music's lookin good, friends.