"Muse" - ings on Rock & Life

Today was a bit of a quiet day.  Most of my time was spent getting re-settled in the studio, and then starting to think some more about music goals for 2017. It was a good day, though, and a fitting end to the year.  I'll post more in the way of specifics tomorrow.

Home. After five days away, some good music and magazines purchased, and a fabulous addition to my guitar family, we have made it back from Wisconsin. No doubt there is a great deal of acoustic to be played, and a small amount of moving back into the studio that needs to be done, but honestly, with everything at least hauled inside, the rest of it can wait until the morning.

Well, I did it. I found my new acoustic. And I ended up with a beautiful Martin!

Let me see, between last night and today, I have picked up a couple of new guitar magazines, grabbed myself a copy of the new Rolling Stones record, and kept thinking about the recording project that I am going to undertake in the new year. I haven't been able to fit in any more instrument shopping yet, but I am definitely going to be doing some of that tomorrow during the day. In a perfect world, I will also get a chance to sit down and plot out the start of things for our arrival back home. I'm going to have 10 days when we get back, and I want to get as much done with those days as I possibly can.

Well, I started the process of guitar shopping today. I had what I would call limited success, meaning that I didn't find anything to bring home with me, but I was able to get a little bit of a feel for what I would like. Another couple of stops and I think I might be onto something. We shall see what tomorrow brings.

Up in Wisconsin now, and for the first time in forever I don't have a guitar along with me. The plan is to find one while I am up here, and then to practice on the new acoustic. If I strike out, however, I know that my brother has an instrument around, so I can get my fix that way. Aside from that, though, I was up late last night /early this morning and I may have had a major breakthrough in regards to the recording project for 2017. I don't want to comment fully in case it doesn't pan out the way I hope it will, but let's just say that I am feeling really good about where all of that is sitting at the moment. Great day today!

"And I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight... Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night."

Today was a day filled with family and fun.  It was more thought filled for me than action filled where the music was concerned, and those thoughts were, again, centered on the notion of a double album.  I'm starting to think that this ought to be my main goal for 2017, but there's still a voice in the back of my head urging me to slow down my roll on that concept. I know I'm not likely to get a whole lot of time on Christmas Day for playing, but good things are ahead for the end of 2016 and the start of 2017.

Today was one of those days that had a "more of the same" sort of feel to it.  I kept working on ideas for the double album, but I have yet to have my "Aha" moment when it comes to where that project will really start to take shape. As for the EP, I'm fairly certain that I only need one more song to fit somewhere in the middle of the project to really get that to gel.  That leaves me with a series of ideas that aren't necessarily connected to any of those three projects still to tab out, but those are a last item on the list sort of thing for me, and if they don't get tabbed out until after the trip up to see family, then so be it.  As long as they get transcribed by the end of the day on the 9th of January, I'll be good with it. I'm hoping to be able to steal at least a little bit of time tomorrow before all of the family starts to roll in and the festivities begin.  We shall see.

After finishing off the transcribing of the power pop ideas yesterday, and then sleeping on it, I decided to spend today taking a look at the ideas I had thought might be in consideration for inclusion on a double album project.  There weren't that many of them, and at first I was content to just sit down and listen.  Essentially, I wanted to make sure that I still liked what I had recorded. I'm also really wrestling with the style of music on this potential double album.  Most of them are done in the typical rock band form, but with where I live now, that isn't necessarily going to be possible.  I'm just going to soldier on and cross those bridges when I come to them.  Good day, though.  

So.  All of the riffs and progressions for the power pop record are either tabbed out or written down in such a form that I know what they are supposed to be when I glance at them.  That feels like a solid step.  A small part of me is now torn  between spending my time on the power pop stuff only, and then doing the rest of the transcribing as I finish each successive project, but I know that the smart decision is to keep going with the transcribing while it is going well, because in the end, who knows if I'm going to have the three projects I currently have broken down.  I'm definitely better off to finish the transcribing of the other ideas, and then take stock from there and see what the best course of action is going forward.  Maybe I'll end up with three projects (EP, Power Pop record, Double Album), and maybe I'll end up with something completely different. All I know is that, for the first time since break started, I'm actually feeling like I'm p...

Today was a better day than yesterday. I am making progress on the transcribing, and that's exactly what I was hoping for. I have run into a few times where I can't quite figure out what I did, but in every case, I have found a reasonable alternative that I like better. I could have stood to get a little bit more done, but either way I am making progress.

Today was not the rousing success I was hoping for.  That, it seems, will have to be pushed back until tomorrow.  That being said, I did find some time to be down in the studio, and I was able to work my way through transcribing another couple of the ideas on my gear, so I guess it was a win, even though I didn't get as much done as I was hoping to. Today was also a day where I was pulled in a lot of different directions, and I let a couple of things that didn't break my way get the best of me, so that part is on me.  Tomorrow, on the other hand, is a completely free and open day, where, if I am focused and productive, I should be able to get done what I had hoped to get done today. 

If I thought that things were starting to pick up yesterday during my time in the studio, then today proved to be a pretty big leap forward.  I'm still transcribing, mind you, but tonight the only reason that I stopped working was to make sure that I got in a post before the end of the day. In short, I made enough progress in tonight's session that I'm actually feeling like I'm getting somewhere, like getting this part done and moving on to the next step is a realistic goal for my time off of work.  And the best part for me?  I haven't even gotten to the days that are "free" yet... this is still technically my normal weekend. So, yes, while I still think there was more I could have gotten done today, I'm decidedly happy with the progress I've made, and I'm definitely looking forward to tomorrow.

I got over my incessant need to tinker today, and the transcribing is starting to flow (finally).  Although, I realized fairly quickly that this is definitely going to be a two guitar process, with one of them in standard tuning and the other dropped a half step from standard.  I had forgotten just how many ideas I was writing on a guitar that was tuned a half step low.  At one point, I had thought it sounded better for my voice.  Now I find myself wondering if that is still the case. I'm really hoping that, with productive days tomorrow and Monday, I can finish off that part of the project and get down to the actual work on songs.  This break is already feeling productive, and I haven't even scratched the surface yet, really. Today was good, though.

Well, I got started on things today, a little bit at least. I split my time in the studio tonight between working on some of the soloing stuff that has been occupying space in my brain and a bit of the transcribing work that I need to get done.  I'm doing okay, really, but my big hang up right now seems to be a desire to tinker with the basic ideas before I start writing them out, just to see if I can make them better before I commit them to paper.  That's either going to be a really good thing in the end, or it is going to slow me down way too much. Still, I made a bit of progress today.  Tomorrow needs to be a more productive one, but I'm okay with what I got worked on today.

Last day of the semester today.  That means a couple of things: 1) Most of what I had time for tonight was a refresher of what it is I'm hoping to accomplish in the next three and a half weeks. and 2) All of the real fun starts in the morning.  After a decent night's sleep, my plan is to get up and get started transcribing the rest of those song ideas, because I completely ran out of time for it the rest of the week. So, yes, tomorrow begins the mad dash toward the end of 2016 for me, and I'm really hopeful that those two weeks (10 days, really, before the holiday) will be super productive.

Today was, I hope, the last day for almost a month that I can say didn't turn out the way I hoped it would.  I ended up fitting things in between students today, and while I found a few things that will be cool to implement over the break, it wasn't a full day of music under any circumstance.  To top it all off, I got home late enough that I didn't get much of anything done tonight either. Tomorrow is an early day, but also the last day before the break, so starting Friday I'm officially out of excuses as to why more progress isn't being made.  I'm really excited about what's going to get done over the semester break.

Today was a quiet day.  I didn't end up having much time to get down to the studio this morning, so I ended up just doing some listening on the way to and from work, and then trying to fit in a bit of studying and playing when I got home. I know that I've got at least some of tomorrow night free, so it should be a better day.  I'm looking forward to getting back to the transcribing.

Today wasn't exactly the day I was hoping for, but it was better than the last few days, so I'll take what I can get. I (finally) got started on a bit of the transcribing.  It made sense to me to start with the idea divisions that I already had in place, and so I started working on the ideas that, at this point, coincide with the power pop project.  I got one done, and started on a second before I got called away to do other things, but while it is an inauspicious beginning, it is a beginning nonetheless.  I have started, and somehow, that made all of the difference today. All I can do at this point is get some sleep, and try to get up early enough in the morning that I can steal a bit of time in the studio before I have to dash off to work.

Today was okay. It was a strange hodgepodge of things done at different times, but it was okay.  The only real bit of playing I was able to get to happened late tonight, and was once again focused on some of the soloing stuff if the last couple of days. What I'm really looking forward to is tomorrow.  I've got the house to myself for the day, and I'm finally going to be able to set aside enough time to really focus in on the transcribing that so desperately needs to be done.  After all, break is fast approaching (at the end of the week), and any progress I make now is one step that I'll be ahead of the game when I've got uninterrupted time. Honestly, I don't feel like I got enough done today.  Tomorrow needs to be awesome from the word "Go."

Okay, so it's taken me a long, long time, but I think I'm finally starting to get smarter. Today was another day when I didn't work on transcribing any of the stuff I've been talking about transcribing, but I was able to find a few moments to sit down and work on my soloing.  The part where I'm finally getting smarter is that, after talking about analyzing solos ("Stairway," most specifically), I finally actually started doing it tonight. Now that I've started, to no surprise at all, things are making more sense.  The connections between phrases, the leaps that aren't really leaps... after saying I want to get better at all of this for so long, I'm finally, actually taking the steps to do it. Next year is going to be good... but the next few weeks are going to be pretty great, too, I think.

So, I had some time in the studio tonight, and in light of the things I'm hoping to get done, both by the end of the year and the end of the weekend, I decided that the best use if my time this evening would be to just sit down with my electric and work on some scales and soloing.  It was good, and it tied in with some of my goals for the end of the year. We're supposed to get the first big snowstorm of the season sometime this weekend, and I'm counting on that to keep me in the house, and also to give me the time to really sit down the next couple of days and dive into the transcribing that I know needs to get done if I'm going to be able to start the year the way I would like to. Tonight was good.  I only wish I had gotten downstairs with a bit more time to work.

So, I didn't have a lot of time to spend in the studio tonight, but I was able to find a few minutes to sit down and look at my list of things for the end of the year. Based on that, I am pretty sure that I want to spend the weekend trying to cross one of those things off. I'm really going to try and get the rest of the ideas from my recording gear tabbed out by the end of the day on Monday. That seems like the best way to get started on my list, because it will free me up to start doing some writing as soon as possible. Should be a good weekend.

So, again, today was a lot like yesterday, in that, I thought I was going to have a lot more time than I actually ended up having.  Still, I managed to sneak in a few things here and there.  It wasn't a whole lot of studio time when all was said and done, but it was definitely time spent adding to my list of things I'd like to accomplish with the next thirteen months. There was a very small bit of listening thrown in there for good measure as well.  I may be counting down at this point... only four shifts left until the end of the semester, and then the music gets to step fully forward and take center stage again. With that said, I'm also really looking forward to the weekend.  It'll be the first time in a while where we'll be at home for the whole time.  No traveling, no guests, just a quiet (productive) weekend at home.

Today ended up being a whole lot like yesterday.  I worked for most of the day, and while it was busy there, I still found a little bit of time to sit down and focus my thoughts on things that are ahead.  I made a few additions to my list, and they feel like solid additions, at that. I found a little bit of time to do some listening today, too, but that was the real extent of what I got to today.  Tomorrow starts early, but the evening is free, and should offer a bit of time in the studio.

So, today was the day I finally got to sit down and really start to block out my plans for the end of the year/start of 2017.  I know I've been talking about it for what feels like a long time now, but tonight there is actual, solid proof of my efforts sitting in a notebook downstairs in the studio. I got smart and broke things down based on whether I want/feel the need to get them done before the end of the year, or whether they are better served being finished in the new year.  There are definitely some similar, if not identical things to the list I made about this time last year (that whole moving thing took up about the whole middle part of my year), but there are some new things added in, which is cool. Still mainstays on the list are: recording projects, learning "A History of Rock N' Roll in 100 Riffs," and playing more acoustic than I do.  Based on a few things I know about my approach heading into next year, all of those things should be possible. I kno...

Today was a day to dip my toe into all of the things that I'm wanting to work on tomorrow when I've got a bit more time. I did a small bit of listening, I sat with the electric for a few minutes, and I started to organize my thoughts about the end of this year and the start of 2017.  I had hoped to be able to do some of that earlier in the weekend, but never really got the chance. Today may have been a bit of a hodgepodge, but something tells me that tomorrow is going to be a great day.

No luck with the new guitar search today.  Went back for the second round of looking at Ike's before we headed home, and while I've got a better idea of what I'd like after my couple of days in Dubuque, I still don't have a new instrument in my possession.  I'm thinking that the search will have to wait now until at least the break for the Christmas Holidays.  I also spotted a really sweet Telecaster that I wouldn't mind having, but the acoustic needs to be the priority, so there's that. I got myself fairly well moved back into the studio tonight after we got home.  I sat and played for a few minutes, but I'm really hoping that tomorrow and Monday can be what I was hoping some of the trip to Dubuque would be: a chance to map things out going forward toward the new year, and then some time to get started on those goals.

So, I did some definite looking at instruments today. There are a few leads so far, but nothing I can say for sure when it comes to a front runner. I got a few minutes to sit down and play today as well, and while I didn't have a chance to get to as much as I should have, it was still good to be able to have the time. Tomorrow is going to bring another round of searching, and I am incredibly excited to be looking.

So, I am sure that I over packed for the trip to Dubuque, but here we are anyway. I brought the two newest books I have on songwriting and the new one on guitar theory, along with a blank notebook, some tab and guitar neck paper and my Strat. Tomorrow is shaping up to be a busy, but fun day.