"Muse" - ings on Rock & Life

I sat tonight with a guitar and a legal pad for over an hour, and successfully got NO flashes of lyric whatsoever.  It was... completely disheartening.  That being said, I hope to have the instrumental side of the song tracked by the end of the weekend. And not to look too far into the future, but I already know which song idea I'm going to focus on for February. I did have another interesting experience tonight, though, it's that moment where you're sitting with a guitar and you stumble across a riff that sounds awesome, and yet also vaguely familiar... but you can't for the life of you figure out where you know it from! Also of note tonight, I think I'm finally about ready to start in on the Dave Grohl bio.  I had a few other things on my plate at the start of the year, but I'm in the mood for a music bio, so we shall see. Better tomorrow.

Accomplished two small, but very important things today that deserve noting. 1) Figured out what I hope will be the final tempo for my January song.  It's a bit slower than I had been expecting, but it feels right, so I'm going with it. 2) I sat down and made sure that my idea to change up the bass line is actually going to be feasible, and... IT IS!  Might have to use a slightly abbreviated version of the intro I was going to use, in order to make things seem concise enough for my taste, but I feel good about the chordal bass part I have to introduce the song.  I even found an effect that I think is going to make the sound come through clearly enough. It was nice to have the studio stuff uncovered and used tonight, even if it was only for a little bit.  Makes me feel like less of a slacker and more of a working musician.  This song is going to be cool, even if it takes me through the weekend to get a rough demo recorded.

I adjusted, however slightly, the arrangement of the song tonight.  I really like the way that the intro and first verse meld together. Things I'm still wondering/frustrated about include: 1) LYRICS!  I'm still facing an almost total blank when it comes to the words for this thing.  Not entirely sure why.  I figure that, as long as I can get something recorded in the next couple of days, I can always go back and cut the vocals later on, once that part of the song becomes a bit more clear. 2) Something still seems off about the chorus progression.  Still not sure if it's the transitions from the verses into the chorus, or whether the chorus itself is missing a chord somewhere in there. Not sure I'll have time to record tomorrow, but if I can get at least some ideas down lyric-wise tomorrow before I sleep, then on the 31st, I can scratch out a really rough demo, if only so that I can say I got something tracked in the month of January.

So, I crossed off one thing on my list of three from yesterday: I got the bass line figured out tonight.  It's different than what I've had running through my head for the last few days, but it's much better for it.  It's chordal in nature now, and I'm really a fan.  Lyrics and recording now, with 3 days to go. Found a cool interview with Rhett Miller from an old issue of American Songwriter , too.  Saved that for further reading tomorrow. Also from AS , a cool blurb about The Replacements' Here Comes A Regular .  Westerberg, Rhett Miller, and songwriting progress.  All told, a pretty awesome day.  I probably should have gotten something tracked tonight, but I'll take what I can get.

I sat down tonight with a legal pad and a guitar and finally blocked out the lines in the verses and the choruses for the song this month. On top of that, I think I've got the structure (how many verses, how many choruses, etc.) nailed down as well.  Considering where I was a couple of days ago, this feels like big time progress.  I'm not sure that it really is big time progress for the following reasons: 1) I Haven't done any recording yet. 2) The bass line still only exists in my head. 3) No lyrics yet. And yet, somehow, I'm still feeling pretty good right now.  I'm starting to hear the finished product in my head.  I hear that as-yet to be recorded bass line starting the song off, the electric part coming in next, and then the verses kicking off. Regardless of how far I am right now, as long as I get something down on tape by the end of the month, I'll feel like January was successful.  If only because it showed me what it's going to take to get...

Today was an odd hodgepodge of small bursts. 1) I checked on upcoming music releases today for the first time in a while.  Among the things that caught my eye were: Get Up! - Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite (Jan. 29th) No Fairy Tale - Lisa Loeb (Jan. 29th) Honky Tonk - Son Volt (Mar. 5th) The Next Day - David Bowie (Mar. 12th) Specter At The Feast - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Mar. 18/19) Wiser For The Time  - The Black Crowes (Mar. 19th) 2) February Album Writing Month... Different than the RPM Challenge, FAWM challenges you to write 14 songs in 28 days.  I suspect that the difference is that RPM requires a recording, and I didn't see much info to that effect on the FAWM website.  Not that I'll be trying either one of them anytime soon, but the idea of writing 14 songs in 28 days seems somehow less intimidating than the idea of writing and recording an entire album in a month.  Don't ask me why. 3) It's random, but one of these days, I ...

Apparently I work better under pressure. I spent all day at work trying to wrap my brain around why things hadn't gone so well for me writing-wise this month.  Following up on last night's post with my internal monologue, trying to sort it all out at least somewhat in advance, so that tonight, I could maybe feel like I was getting somewhere , by God. I sat down tonight, bound and determined to sort out the issues that had been bugging me with this month's song.  It had less to do with the chords being fairly simplistic, and more to do with the fact that the verses and what I'd had last night for a chorus just didn't really seem cohesive AT ALL. So, I did what I always do when something isn't sounding right.  I slapped a capo across the strings until I heard a sound I liked, and went from there. The song is still mostly basic chords, but I'm happier with it tonight than I was 24 hours ago.  Besides, I don't think that one more song in G will unmak...

Here's what finally dawned on me today... One of the things that happens when you don't do something for a period of time (write songs, for example), is that you tend to lose confidence, not in your ability to do what it is you're trying to do, but more-so to pull off what you hope for in your head.  Then you don't take chances, and your process gets rusty and you end up with something that doesn't meet your imagined hopes and dreams. Take, for example, the progression I've been working on this month.  There are parts of it that I really love, parts of it that are perfectly average, and parts that I'm really not sure about right now.  And with a week to go in the month, that's not a good place for me to be.  Could I have done things differently this month?  Absolutely.  Could I have picked another progression that I have that's more of a finished product?  Absolutely.  Could I not have thought about the fact that I want to record the first t...

Had an incredibly long day today, but found a few minutes at the very end of it to sit down and hash out the bass line for the verse of the song I'm working in at the moment.  Tomorrow night is unplanned, which will hopefully give me time to sort out the chorus progression. Had the Lone Bellow record in the car on the way to work today, too.  Still digging it.  Especially the opening track, "Green Eyes And A Heart Of Gold."  And speaking of Lone Bellow, there's a video for another one of their tunes up on NPR.com right now. Not much else to report today... I wasn't home long enough to get more done.

Had the afternoon off today.  Went into Sioux City with the Mrs. and did some shopping.  Picked up two records along the way: 1) The Lone Bellow's self-titled debut record and 2) The World From The Side Of The Moon - Phillip Phillips The P.P. record is the first thing I have ever purchased by an American Idol contestant (let alone winner), and while it sounds very distinctly Mumford & Sons, it's a lot better of a listen than I was expecting. The Lone Bellow disc is as good as the world has been claiming it would be.  Definitely the best thing I've heard in recent months. More (and better) reviews of both discs will follow at some point. Not really any work to speak of on the song today.  The afternoon away saw to that.  Hopefully tomorrow will afford at least a bit of time for that.

I got the verses blocked out tonight for my January "song-in-a-month!" It's a fairly simple chord progression, but hey, I've got to start somewhere, and I figured why not start with something as a confidence builder?  I'm still trying to hash out the chorus progression, however.  I've got a couple of different options so far, I'm just not sure which way to go with it.  I'm trying very hard not to over-think it, thereby one-upping myself and stalling out. Oh!  And I can hear the bass line in my head... for the verse section, anyway.  I've got this feeling that, were I to get smart and just sit down with my bass (or even the bass strings of my electric), I could figure out which way the chorus is supposed to turn.  That will likely be tomorrow's project.  Still unsure what to do about the rest of the rhythm part for it, but I know enough to program a basic drum track at the very least.  And I'm smart enough to find a tempo before I do a...

So, today was the day that I finally got around to getting a little bit of work done. 1) I got to spend fifteen minutes before church this morning sitting with the acoustic that I keep in the Mrs.'s office for Monday nights when I teach.  That was a glorious way to start the day.  I picked up the acoustic thinking "songwriting," only to find that what came out was the first part of the intro to the unplugged version of "Layla." 2) I sat down this afternoon with everything I've thrown together in the last few days, and got in a bit of solid practice.  Shuffle rhythms and pentatonic scales were the order of the day, but I enjoyed it, and so, as basic as it was, it was necessary. 3) I found a really cool program on my phone today for chords and scales.  It's called JamBox.  While I downloaded the free version that comes with less bells and whistles, I still think it's going to be helpful.  I only wish my NOOK had a similar program... bigger scree...

If you had told me yesterday that I would only get around to 1 of the 3 goals on my list, I'd have said that I hoped it would either be the practicing or the songwriting.  As it turns out, it was neither of those... but I did somehow manage to make my way through the house and at least look for CDs.  I was largely successful in doing so, as well, which was cool but wasn't how I had hoped my day would go. I listened to the new Airborne Toxic Event single today, too.  It's one of their slow-burners, but it's really good, and I now can't wait until the new full length comes out this spring. Oh, and I was able to get a few of the Guitar Center Sessions episodes watched and deleted off of the DVR. Y'know, for as much as I was excited for today, musically, it was kind of a crummy day output-wise.  That's 3 in a row now.  This trend of being musically unproductive is really starting to bum me out.

So, I took the latest Mumford & Sons record in the car for the trips back and forth to and from work today.  It had been a while since I'd listened to that disc, and while I'm not sure I love it as much as I love their first record, it's still a great album. Saw Zero Dark Thirty tonight with the Mrs., and I've got to say, for a score that won a Golden Globe the other day, the music in that movie was buried so far in the background for most of the film that it was almost non-existent.  Scoring a film has got to be one of the most difficult things for a musician to attempt.  Not sure I want to try it any time soon... if ever. Here's the plan for tomorrow: 1) practice time. 2) lots of songwriting 3) finding all the music that is strewn throughout the house, and attempting to organize it all. Hopefully I can get an early start tomorrow morning.  We shall see.

Another slow day today music-wise.  That will be made up for over the weekend, believe me. The Mrs. mentioned a band called The Lone Bellow the other day.  Their record was a "first listen" on NPR, and apparently all of her hipster twitter friends are talking them up like the second coming.  Normally, such hype scares me away almost entirely.  Instead, I took a few moments and listened.  Only to the first couple minutes of the disc, but I really liked what I heard.  Enough to do more listening and likely pick up the disc when it drops on the 22nd.  The downfall is that I may have to wait until then to get a good listen in, as NPR has pulled the audio of the record. Really not much else to report today.  I feel terrible about having gotten so little done, but tomorrow and Saturday will make up for it.

Today was a quiet day, playing-wise. I did pick up the guitar for about 15 minutes tonight after the end of a long day, and ran some scales, however, if only to keep my fingers loose.  It counts as an entry in the practice journal, though. The practice journal and the binder I started last year are quickly weaving their way together.  Even though there wasn't a ton of actual instrument time today, I'm excited to see some things falling into place, and definitely am excited for the rest of the week, when more time to play should be at my disposal. The coolest thing I did tonight music-wise, however, was to sit down and watch David Ford perform live at Sun Studios.  It was a very stripped down set that also found a way to include one of the fun toys I've had my eye on for a long time now: a looping pedal. The Mrs. has told me about David Ford before, in glowing terms, but this was my first real exposure to his music.  I dig it.  Will definitely have to hun...

Practiced and taught today.  Tried to get through to my slightly more focused student the bonuses of muting strings, and am still trying to work my way through adjusting chords for her smaller hands. Found some more cool stuff tonight that will be utilized in my practice journal... as I write that, I'm realizing that I never outlined what I uncovered yesterday, but still, tonight's finds included lots of transcriptions of everything from classical ("Fur Elise") to classic rock ("Layla") to early rock & roll (a Chuck Berry lesson). In a related story, some part of my brain has always had this fascination with early rock & roll, so it makes sense in my head that Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly will factor in somehow. All told, I spent about 45 minutes or so playing around with the very beginning of the Beethoven, and a few other things that I found in my pile of awesomeness from tonight.  No songwriting (sadly), but it was good to have a guitar in my...

I started my practice journal today.  Wrote myself a practice journal manifesto on the first page, outlining it for myself, what I needed it to be. In so doing, I paraphrased a quote from a great book on songwriting by Jimmy Webb called Tunesmith .  It came out longer ago than I'd care to remember... cough, cough, 1998.  I bought it close to that time, read some of it, and understood even less, but I loved it, and I've always had it in the back of my mind that, as a grown up, I'd like to go back to it, read it cover to cover, and see if the theoretical aspects of it make more sense to me at, say, 32, than they did at 18.  Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.  The point I wanted to make is this: Early on in that book, Webb tells a story about a time when he was a staff songwriter in New York.  They gave him a room with a piano that he could go to every day and write, and the man in charge informed him that, "in this room you can never make a mistake."...

And to think I had such hope heading into today.  It started off in a fantastic way, I got at least half an hour (maybe more like 40 minutes?) of uninterrupted time to sit with my ipod and just decompress, or decompose, as the director of our bell choir put it this morning. Even getting home, I was so convinced that today was going to be a big day for music.  I sat down with a music mag after church, and somehow the whole damn day just evaporated.  What had started with so much optimism ended as a colossal failure when it came to actually getting anything done.  I hate writing that, but it's true. There were a couple of times I had the Dave Grohl bio in my hands, ready to crack it open and get started, but that never seemed to materialize either, probably because I'm already reading two other things right now. Just an all around frustrating day.

So, slowly but surely I'm getting around to importing some of the music I've picked up in the last month or so.  Tonight, as I write, I'm importing both of Gary Clark Jr.'s records.  We're getting to church early tomorrow, so I'll have plenty of time to sit in the quiet of a Sunday morning and do some listening.  It's one of my favorite times of the week. Also, I really need to clean out the car, and bring in all the music that has wound up there in the last few weeks. That being said, tomorrow afternoon really needs to be spent doing some serious music stuff.  I haven't had an extended practice session all week, really, and I'd like to do some songwriting.  I can't let myself slack off on this song-in-a-month thing right off the bat. Tomorrow's going to be a great day for music, I can feel it.

So, in last Saturday's post, I made mention of a song by Rhett Miller that I had heard when it came out a decade ago, but never followed up on.  "Come Around" was on a record called The Instigator .  Since Saturday, I've heard most of the rest of the record in my listening at work.  I liked it.  So I did something tonight that I don't normally do.  I bought it from itunes.  Listening as I write this. The other thing Pandora has done this week is play me a lot (and I do mean a lot ) of Rhett's band, the Old 97's.  Somehow, in all my Wilco-ing, Son Volt-ing, and Uncle Tupelo-ing, I managed to pass over the Old 97's almost completely.  I recognized "Question," and I've really enjoyed most everything I heard this week.  At the very least I'll end up with their best of, and possibly Satellite Rides , as Pandora seems to like playing cuts from that record (and I seem to like hearing them). Printed off the chords for "Question"...

Okay, so today was one of those days where a random musical surprise completely and utterly made my entire day.  The Mrs. has been making noise ever since the holidays about a "surprise" Christmas present that was on its way for me.  It showed up today, and it was... August & Everything After , the amazing debut record from Counting Crows, on VINYL! Then, tonight, there was this great moment where she picks up the LP, and says, "why are there two?" It's a double LP when it's vinyl, that's why. "So you have to turn it over?  That seems like a lot of work." Picked up the guitar for a bit tonight, ran some basic pentatonic and blues scales as a way to get my fingers warmed up.  It was maybe a half an hour, but it was good.  Hopefully tomorrow night after work I can sit down and take the time for a more dedicated practice session.

Found a cool, free download of the first page of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five."  That's one of the tunes I'd like to try and tackle this year.  I've posted about some specific goals I want to accomplish in 2013, but generally speaking, I'd like to become a more well-rounded musician this year. Made it all the way through the RNDM record today.  I really liked it.  Afterwards, I threw in the Brubeck disc, just to get "Take Five" in my head a bit. The other thing I did tonight was start running through lists of both songs and solos I want to work on this year.  If I'm going to improve in my all around skills with the instrument, I need to become more goal oriented than I have been.  General hopes and dreams aren't going to cut it this year.  I've seen where that has gotten me in the last few years, and it hasn't been good enough for me, so it's time to step it up a notch or two. I'll post the lists eventually, but I'd...

The big headline of the day is that David Bowie is making a return to the music scene after a decade.  The Next Day will drop on March 12th.  He and Madonna are music's great chameleons, constantly adapting to what the world throws their way, and being eminently successful in doing so.  I'll definitely be curious about the new record. Started listening to the RNDM record I had picked up in DSM (confused yet?) a few weeks back.  It's a pretty great disc so far.  We had seen them on one of the late night shows a while back and been intrigued with the single they played.  It's a relief to know that the rest of the disc is just as cool. Taught today, too.  After two weeks off, my student was decidedly unfocused.  Hopefully next week's lesson goes a bit smoother. Found the journal I'll wind up using as a practice journal today, too.  All told, it was a good day.  And with tomorrow afternoon off, it will be getting better.

Today was the first day I should have been teaching, but wasn't due to suspended lessons.  I missed it.  A lot.  Granted, I still teach tomorrow, and I'm very much excited about that.  It will be a good opportunity for me to pour all of my teaching attention into my Tuesday lessons, and see if I can't take my Tuesday student to new levels. Started listening to Tiger Suit today on the way to (and from) work.  The record has more dance beats behind it than KT Tunstall's earlier records do, but I'm enjoying it just the same.  Sat down for a bit with the ipod tonight as well, and tried to make it through some more of Mass Romantic by The New Pornographers.  Got through another couple of tracks. Tomorrow's goal is to find a notebook/journal of some sort that will work as a practice journal and get started on the process of being a better studying musician. Really long day today.  Hopefully tomorrow will be an improvement.

So much to talk about today that I'm not sure I'll get to it all, but here goes... Took the family into Sioux City today and hit up the mall.  At various places (B&N and FYE) I found the following: 1) The new issue of Guitar World 2) Alanis Morissette's VH1 Storytellers DVD 3) Tiger Suit by KT Tunstall 4) Time Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet 5) There's No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth The Tallest Man On Earth record was an in-store play before I left B&N that I really loved and just never got around to buying.  The KT Tunstall record I've wanted to pick up for a long time, and when it was $3.99, I figured why not.  As for Time Out , with Brubeck passing late last year, I looked around and realized I didn't own a copy of that record. Probably the best part of the day, however, was the ride into Sioux City.  My brother and I got to chill and talk music in the back of the van.  It was everything from practice routines to songwriting wi...

So, we've been listening to Pandora at work the last week or so, and one of the songs that has come up in any station I choose has been "Come Around" by Rhett Miller.  I bought it on itunes today.  It's got one of those choruses that just gets itself wedged in your head and doesn't leave. In other news, it dawned on me tonight that I bought new music last weekend, and while I've unwrapped it, I haven't so much listened to it or imported it into itunes yet.  That will change in the next 24 hours or so. I did , however, sit down and start looking through an article from one of my recent magazine purchases, on songwriting and chord choices.  I feel like I may have mentioned it here before, but I'm not entirely sure. The other thing I did today, I started trolling NPR and EW's websites again, just to see where things are at in the music world at the moment.  Felt good to be doing that again. That's really all for today.  I'll do a bette...

Well, family got here tonight after I got off of work.  Okay, so it's great to have my dad and step-mom here, but the real highlight for me is that my brother is here for the weekend.  He's the only person I know who can take one of my three chord partial songs and single-handedly turn it into a key-modulating, three octave piece of music.  Not so awesome for inclusion on the power pop/rock record I hope to have at year's end, but astoundingly impressive in its own right. His theory knowledge puts me to absolute shame, but hanging out with him and talking music always makes me want to be a smarter studier, a better learner, a better musician. He's got some jazz theory behind him, and some college courses in music theory that taught him how to analyze on an academic (and subsequently professional) level. That, and he shreds like crazy on guitar.  So much so that it always floors me that he went to school for oboe . Listening to him play reminds me that I need ...

So, my brother (and the rest of my family) shows up tomorrow.  I'm really excited.  Whenever he's around, the musical discussion just flows.  Plus, he's a great person to bounce ideas off of.  I've got my January song lined up, or so I think, and I'm curious to see what his thoughts are on what I've got so far.  Visits with him always inspire me to play more and be better, and that feels important at the start of a new calendar year. Found a cool article tonight about songwriting and writer's block.  I'm going to need it, lyric-wise, I think. I really need to spend more time with the DGC notebook and get this song-in-a-month thing off the ground this weekend, even with family here.  Tomorrow's the 4th, and I've picked the musical piece I want to start with, but haven't really dove in yet.  And the Mrs. has already said that she'll start giving me crap if the song isn't mostly done by the 25th.  That, essentially, gives me 3 weeks....

Had my most advanced student "suspend" their lessons today.  Apparently, they haven't been practicing over the holiday break.  I'm really bummed out.  I was looking forward to picking up again next week and seeing how quickly we could get her into the Disney stuff she has been talking about.  Oh well, guess that means more time for me to practice, right?  Granted, this wasn't quite the way I wanted to find more time in my schedule, but I've got to believe that something positive will come from this. Started diving into Mass Romantic today, the debut album from the New Pornographers.  Got about 1/4 of the way into the record.  I'm enjoying it so far.  Then again, it's densely layered power-pop, why wouldn't I enjoy it? I really want to start the Dave Grohl biography, but then I would be officially reading 3 things at once.  The only solution is to fly through the other stuff to get to the music bio. Going to sit down tonight before bed a...

First post of 2013.  Hopefully the first of 365 in a row. Woke up early-ish today.  Started the new year off with "Holiday In Spain" by Counting Crows and the first two songs off of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's Baby 81 .  I know what you're thinking: that this means I've chosen BRMC as my band to key in on for January.  I was close.  But then I remembered that they have a new record coming out sometime in March, so I will hold off on them for now, and instead I will pick... The New Pornographers. My other (semi) official musical resolutions are as follows: 1) Grow my teaching in 2013, and put all of the money I earn from it into a music savings account as a feasible way to save up for my looping pedal and pro tools setup. 2) The aforementioned writing and recording of 1 song/month. 3) Be more diligent, not only when it comes to practicing, but also in keeping a practice journal to better document what I work on. 4) Get the (collective) CD collection...