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Showing posts from September, 2016

Day Sixty Nine (Year Seven)

Well, we made it to our destination this afternoon. After getting everything hauled inside, I had grand intentions of sitting down and putting in some work. I put in a little bit of time, but it wasn't as long as I had been hoping for. Tomorrow morning seems like it is going to be free, though, so maybe I can do some more stuff then.

Day Sixty Eight (Year Seven)

Well, we are on the road, and as we stop for the night, we're about half of the way to our final destination. We didn't have a lot of room for instruments in the car, but I was able to find a spot for my ukulele, so that's something. I figure that I can do some learning, and also find my way to a bit of songwriting if I am feeling up to the task. Good day today, but another day of driving is ahead of us tomorrow.

Day Sixty Seven (Year Seven)

I had a few minutes to spend in the studio today, before I had to dash off to work.  That time was spent doing some tinkering with a progression I had stumbled across the other day in the midst of some of my theory studies.  It worked out okay, or just about as I had expected.  There's still a small something missing from it that I've yet to uncover, but I'm pretty sure that I'll get there. We're headed out of town for a few days starting tomorrow, so while I'll be bringing an instrument of some sort (and some small combination of things to play on it), I'm not entirely sure how productive the next few days are going to be.  I'll find something to post about each day, for sure, but as far as a weekend full of productivity and rapid advancement?  Possibly not.  We'll just have to see what I end up bringing along with me, and what kind of time I really have to get some work in.

Day Sixty Six (Year Seven)

So, I finally got around to the new disc by The Head & The Heart in the car on the way home from work today.  For the most part, I'm really enjoying it.  The record seems like a somewhat logical extension for them... the sounds are more lush, the instrumentation is less stripped down, with more layers of sound. I got a few small bits of lyric today, too.  It was a pleasant surprise.  I think it might be about time to compile all of the small pieces into one place, just to see what I have, and if any of it connects.  Either way, it seems like the machinery is creaking back into motion.  What I need to do is just stay consistent, keep showing up, and hopefully things will start to get easier. I've got the morning off tomorrow, which will hopefully be put to good use in the studio.  I'm going to try and treat it like I'm supposed to be to work at the normal time, which will get me a good chunk of time to get some work done.

Day Sixty Five (Year Seven)

I was right... today did end up being a lot of fun.  I got more time in the studio today than it felt like I did all weekend, and I put it to good use, continuing to work on the song I had started earlier in the week, and then doing a bit of digging for more song ideas.  I once again find myself flush with small three and four chord sections that I really like, and am hopeful that I can find enough time between now and the time we get out of town for a few days to start working them out.  If not, then I will have to bring them along with me and hope that our vacation provides me with at least a bit of time to play. That's really all I have today.  Good.  Productive.  Not necessarily lengthy.

Day Sixty Four (Year Seven)

I've been watching a lot of interviews with artists about the creative process lately, especially as it refers to songwriting.  There has definitely been a mixture of learning and inspiration that has flowed through those experiences, and on some level, I'm still trying to sort through it all. At the same time, I know that one of the things I really need to do is to spend all of the time that I didn't spend in the basement today, down there tomorrow , just getting a better handle on all of the things I've been trying to cram into my brain in the last week or so.  It may all come out sounding like a jumbled mess, but that can't be any worse than the lack of songwriting success I've had in the last few months. I think tomorrow's going to be a whole lot of fun.  There's a lot that I want to get to, and less time to get to it than there was this morning.

Day Sixty Three (Year Seven)

So, I didn't have quite the time today that I was hoping to have. We were busy early, and got home later than expected. That left me, again, doing a lot of work in my head. Tomorrow afternoon and evening, I very much need to get downstairs and do some practicing and some writing. There's a lot of work that I want to get done before the end of the week, and the next 48 hours are going to be the key to my success.

Day Sixty Two (Year Seven)

One of the things that I really wanted to do this weekend was to get the rest of the artwork up on the walls in the studio. I got that knocked out this afternoon, and did some work in the studio as well. I'm starting to ponder how things are going to work on our vacation, but I haven't gotten too far down that path yet. Tomorrow is shaping up to be a busy day, but I am hoping to get a bit of time to spend in the studio at some point.

Day Sixty One (Year Seven)

Tonight was a quiet sort of night. I did a little bit more research on the new acoustic purchase, and spent a few minutes looking through the things that I want to get done in the studio before we go out of town next week. It's a list with a lot of things on it, for sure, but they are not necessarily things that are going to take a lot of time to get done. Like always, I am looking forward to the weekend, and I am hoping to get a lot of things crossed off of that list. I'm just hoping that the next few days give me the time to do that.

Day Sixty (Year Seven)

I made it down to the studio for a few minutes before I had to go to work today, as I had hoped to. Most of my time down there this morning was spent with an acoustic guitar in my hands and an earbud in one ear, trying to both listen and play at the same time. I had success in a short period of time, and for that I am happy. I was able to find a bit of time to spend on getting the research off the ground for the new acoustic as well today. All I wanted to do was play today when the time came to head to work. My only consolation in that regard is that the weekend is coming. It ended up being a really good day today.

Day Fifty Nine (Year Seven)

So, I picked up a couple of cool things in the last few days. Good Vibrations: My Life As A Beach Boy - Mike Love Signs Of Light - The Head & The Heart I took Signs Of Light with me in the car today, intending to crack it open and give it a listen, but somehow it stayed in my work bag and never even got the plastic taken off of it.  That will have to happen on tomorrow's trip to work. I did a little bit more thinking and tinkering with my pop song today, but didn't have as much time to work on it as I had hoped to. The other thing I need to do more of this week concerns researching a potential new acoustic. Today was okay, considering how exhausted I was all day.  Tomorrow I've got the morning free before work, so hopefully that can be a productive bit of time for me.

Day Fifty Eight (Year Seven)

Feeling better today. I (finally) got down into the studio, with the intent to put some actual work into this pop song I've been talking about writing.  There was some work put in today, for sure.  More than the last couple of days, at least.  I'm really close to finalizing the chord progression for what I think will be the verses.  As for the chorus, I've got a few thoughts and ideas, but as of right now, nothing has crystallized into the be-all-end-all "this is definitely it" chord progression. The more I sit down and work on this thing, the more fun it becomes.  I really need to work harder and focus more, because every time I'm down in the studio, I feel like I'm on the verge of having this huge songwriting breakthrough.  I'm always on pins and needles, just waiting for the dam to break.  I think this week is going to be a fun adventure.  I'm really hoping that it's as productive as I think it might be.

Day Fifty Seven (Year Seven)

I wasn't feeling all that well tonight, so instead of getting downstairs and spending some quality time in the studio, I ended up doing much what I did the last couple of nights: using the computer as a research tool, and continuing to look into song structure and theory that way. Once again, that's going to set up a situation where most of what I had hoped to spread out over the course of the weekend will have to be fit into a single day, and while I'm not thrilled with that outcome, it's where I'm sitting right now, and I'll do my best to get some sleep tonight, get up tomorrow, and hit it pretty hard all day long in an attempt to catch myself up. It should make for an adventure tomorrow, but it will be nothing if not busy and music-filled.

Day Fifty Six (Year Seven)

I spent some more time tonight with some of the stuff I was working on late last night.  I said to myself that I wanted to try and write a somewhat generic pop song, and while I didn't get it finished, I've got myself a few ideas that will hold water in this little challenge.  Not much in the way of lyrics for this either, but if I'm truly going for a somewhat generic pop song, I'm less worried about that than I normally would be. Along with that, I did a bit of reading and a bit of listening.  Really, it was more of a relaxing day than I had been expecting. It was a bit of a letdown today.  I expected to get more done than I did, but the progress that got made was all right.  Really, it was more of an odd day than a letdown.  Tomorrow needs to be a better day. 

Day Fifty Five (Year Seven)

I had a bit of fun today, taking a look at chord theory and songwriting. A lot of the information was somewhat basic, and most of it was based around the common chords that are used in popular music.  There's a website I stumbled across that analyzes songs based on commonality of chords used, and it was fascinating.  So many songs, in so many different genres, all using the same progressions. Today ended up being more about studying and listening.  Tomorrow needs to be somewhat about the writing side of things.  There's a book in the brown bag I took to DSM a couple of weeks ago that needs to be pulled out and continued with, and I'd really like to put my mind toward writing a generic pop song, more as a test and an experiment than anything else. Today was odd, tomorrow will be really great.

Day Fifty Four (Year Seven)

Today was a day that felt a lot like yesterday. I, again, did some listening in the car.  Second disc of the Jack White this time.  It's a good bit shorter than the first disc, so I was able to make it through more than once on my drives to and from work.  And again, it was almost less a question of listening than it was of trying to hone in on structure and the approach to recording that was used. Didn't get much done in the way of playing today after work, but I'm definitely looking at tomorrow and the rest of the weekend as good opportunities to make some solid progress. Today was quieter than I would have liked.  That will change in the next 72 hours.

Day Fifty Three (Year Seven)

I was right, in that I figured I'd have a few minutes to get down into the studio this morning before I had to head off to work.  My biggest problem?  I picked up the acoustic while I was down there, and immediately wanted to stay home all day and just work on songs. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option, but I was able to do a bit of listening/learning on the way to and from work today.  I took the Jack White acoustic record with me, and enjoyed the listening while still trying to pay attention to the way the songs were structured.  It was great listening, and it gave me some songwriting ideas as well.  Can't wait until the weekend, when I can get downstairs and work on trying some of this stuff out. Today was a quieter day than I would have liked, but still a productive one in the end.

Day Fifty Two (Year Seven)

Today was another day spent mostly working in my head.  Work was busy, but not so busy that I didn't have time to sit down and do some thinking/plotting about the recording projects.  With all of the pondering I've been doing, I'm awfully close to needing to take a weekend and hole up downstairs, just to see what happens. I did a bit of listening today, too, on my way to and from work.  Tomorrow's listening will be better, though, because I've already got it in my head that I need to bring the new Jack White along with me for the ride. Quiet day, but not a bad one.  I'll get some work done tomorrow morning before I head off to work.

Day Fifty One (Year Seven)

Today was a better day.  I woke up with a clearer mind, and was determined to spend more time in the studio than I got to over the weekend.  I was at least somewhat successful. I spent most of my energy on the acoustic today.  Really, it was just nice to sit and play.  I kicked around some song thoughts, but nothing really seemed to stick.  Half the battle for me right now is just taking the time with the acoustic in my hands. The other cool thing that happened today was that my order of the new Wilco record, and the new acoustic Jack White finally showed up.  I waited for those to come all weekend long (they were supposed to be here Friday), and they finally showed up at 4:30 this afternoon.  So, yes, I fit in a small bit of listening today, but not as much as I would have liked. Didn't get to as much as I had hoped to, but after yesterday, I'm happy I got to at least a few things today. This week I need to sit down and focus long enough to really try my hand at some s

Day Fifty (Year Seven)

So, the house has been quiet for about two hours now.  If you had asked me either last night or early this morning how I would have spent those couple of hours, I would likely have told you that I'd have spent them in the studio, either practicing or trying to work on some songs.  Here's what happened instead: Shortly after getting up this morning (but before church), the whole world just started to feel really loud to me.  To the point where going out and being around people wasn't something that was high on my list of things to do.  Instead, I spent a bit of time before church finding a few lines of lyric, in what turned out to be a failed attempt to lower the volume a little.  Either way, the feeling persisted throughout the day, to the point where all I wanted after the Mrs. went to bed for the night was just a chance to sit and savor the quiet rhythms of the house. It helped, somewhat.  I know that leaves me a tomorrow that will need to be full of activity, if I

Day Forty Nine (Year Seven)

Today was a strange day that never felt like it really got off the ground.  I had visions of spending most of the day in the studio, getting things done and making progress on a few different fronts. Instead, what I got was a day that was mostly spent working in my head, with not a lot left at the end of it for action.  What I need, almost desperately after today, is some part of tomorrow to be spent in the basement, either in the quiet, or hidden amongst the loud.  Whether it's playing or writing or listening or a little bit of each of them, I really just need it. Today was frustrating, and I really hope that tomorrow will be more productive.

Day Forty Eight (Year Seven)

I surprised myself today.  The initial intention after last night's post was to spend a bunch of today down in the studio, trying to focus on the recording projects.  In the end, that wasn't what today was about at all. I ended up spending the night with the Strat in my hands, perched in front of YouTube, looking at and playing along with a bunch of different acoustic lessons.  Should I have done it with an electric guitar?  Maybe not, but I still feel like I took away at least a few things that will be easily translatable to some acoustic playing tomorrow. It was a fun day, but I'm more looking forward to tomorrow and having a bit more time to spend actually in the studio.

Day Forty Seven (Year Seven)

I got in a bit more listening on the way to work today, although it wasn't the continuation of Ben Lee's catalog that I had been planning on last night. Today still had me in the mindset of working on the recording projects that are still occupying a goodly portion of my future to-do-list.  With both tomorrow and Monday off, I'm really hoping that the weekend will afford me the time to get some decent work in where those projects are concerned. The rest of my night was fairly quiet on the music front, but I'm really thinking that a good night's sleep and an early morning can help to push me a ways toward a good day.

Day Forty Six (Year Seven)

So, I started the process of listening to the finds I had made at Jay's over the weekend.  I grabbed something at random out of the pile today as I headed out the door to work.  It turned out to be Ben Lee's first album, Grandpaw Would .  It's definitely an interesting listen, to say the least.  It's obvious from the album's opening notes that this is his first record, and that he's barely gotten his feet under him as an artist.  As someone who has yet to release anything to the world, listening to that album today in the car gave me hope.  For that and that alone, it was worth the purchase.  I might just take another of his records along with me tomorrow, trace the growth from the first album to the second. I got home late tonight, so I didn't have a whole lot of time to spend in the studio, but I've definitely had the recording projects on my mind all day.  I'm looking forward to being home this weekend, so that I can spend a good bit of time in

Day Forty Five (Year Seven)

So, last night I had made mention of writing out the whole list of my musical finds over the weekend. This is easier... So there's that part of things. As for the rest of the night, I didn't get to as much as I should have, but I was able to find a bit of time to work on some of the things I took with me last weekend.

Day Forty Four (Year Seven)

I was up somewhat early this morning.  Enough to do a small bit of playing before we headed out to do some family stuff in DSM.  In and around all of that, my brother-in-law and I were able to sneak away to Jay's CD & Hobby to hit up their Labor Day Sale, where all CDs were 50% off.  Walking in there today was like walking into a CD Warehouse fifteen years ago.  I wasn't sure how much I'd bring home with me, in fact, I went in with low expectations on the music side of things.  It ended up being a rather productive trip.  I brought home a lot of music.  Almost too much to highlight tonight.  There was some Ben Lee, the classical pieces Billy Joel came out with a few years ago, an Ednaswap record, and a bunch of other stuff. Maybe tomorrow night I'll sit down and write out the whole list.  That, along with a good studio session, should make for a productive tomorrow. The playing side of things was hard today, because we spent a lot of time in the car.  Tomorrow

Day Forty Three (Year Seven)

While I didn't have time to spend in the studio early today, I did bring a few things with me on our trip to the DSM. Perhaps the biggest surprise was that I actually found a little bit of time to play tonight. I confirmed my suspicion that the video lesson I watched the other day may well be the missing link in really crystalizing my fretboard knowledge, and started reading a book on the craft and  business of being a singer-songwriter. I also brought along the lessons I was looking at last night, and the first draft of the practice binder. I managed to spend a little bit of time with each of those things tonight, and am awake enough that I could probably keep working. I might just do that for a few minutes. All told though, tonight was a really good night for me.

Day Forty Two (Year Seven)

So, yesterday I had written about how someone got me a subscription to Guitar World .  Apparently, the issue that was sitting on the table (that I thought was one I had forgotten to bring downstairs) had been there for a couple of weeks, because in today's mail was another issue of GW .  It had a cool lesson on chords, so I started off looking at that.  It's quite the extensive lesson, so as much fun as it was to get started with it, I'm sure it will be coming back around. The other good thing that happened today was that I got some reinforcement that my thoughts about the EP project were spot on.  I didn't get much in the way of time to work on it today, but I went back and re-listened in the quiet of the studio, where I was able to focus only on the music. Today should have been better than it was, but I'll still take it.

Day Forty One (Year Seven)

So, I picked up the latest issue of Acoustic Guitar today, and also discovered today that someone has gotten me a subscription to Guitar World . I started reading through the new AG this afternoon, but didn't get too far into it. Today was mostly a day where the moments I had to focus my mind on the music were crammed in between a lot of running and getting things done.  I'm not going anywhere tomorrow if I don't have to, and I'm really hoping that I can carve out a good chunk of time tomorrow to get down in the basement and start to take a look at implementing some of the ideas I had jotted down about the EP the other day at work. Bigger and better things after a night of sleep.

Day Forty (Year Seven)

I got in my listening today with the rough demos that I had brought upstairs yesterday.  Having a 40 minute drive let me listen through three different times, and start to formulate some thoughts and ideas about what needs to be done to take the music from where it is right now to where it needs to be in the end. Not only that, I found the time during my work day to sit down with a notebook and jot down all of my thoughts, so that I'm better able to take the next step in the process. I'm excited for the weekend, because even though we have some plans coming up, there ought to be plenty of time to get some good work in over the next few days.