"Muse" - ings on Rock & Life

So, today was a good day for a couple of short, simple reasons: 1.  I had a chance, while I was at work, to block out the things that I needed to finish off so I could include them in that folder for my co-worker.  Then, when I got home, I was actually able to make a bit of solid progress towards getting that done.  Not quite all the way there, but definitely closer than I was at the start of the day. 2.  In the process of working on the above project, I got to do a little bit of playing myself, and was able to tie that in to some of the things I've been focused on the last couple of days. All told, a short post, but a pretty darn good day.

Well, it took a bit of a rush at the end of the night, but I feel like I did pretty well on the goals I set for myself yesterday. I spent some time tonight getting that folder for my co-worker whipped into a bit better shape than it has been.  I'm pretty sure it's a few lessons written in the notebook away from being handed off, and those are things I might just be able to sneak in tomorrow during my shift from 1-9. Also, I was able to work on some theory and some soloing concepts during my time in the studio tonight.  I did some good work, and I'm really hopeful that if I can get to bed in the next few minutes here, I can get up early enough in the morning to put in a bit more work before I leave for my shift. The day itself might have been quiet, but tonight was definitely a good night.

I worked on some theory stuff tonight for a change of pace.  Got myself back to a book that I had just barely cracked the surface on at the end of last year.  I didn't spend as much time with it as I should have tonight, mostly because I'm completely worn out, but I only have two things I really want to get to tomorrow, and they are: 1.  Work on getting that folder set up for my co-worker. 2.  Spend more time on the theory stuff from tonight. And after that, maybe I'll try and fit in a bit of listening or something.  We shall see.

Another day where I didn't feel like I had as much time as I wanted to, but I still was able to push forward a little bit. The last couple of days I've had a lot of lead guitar stuff going through my head, and so today I hopped online, found a tab for a solo, and started to break it down section by section.  It was something I had taken a brief look at in reference to solo patterns earlier in the year, and have been looking for an excuse to get back to. I'm feeling better about where I sit with the solo, having looked at the smaller bits of it, and I'm hoping that between tomorrow and Monday, I can start to stitch those parts together into the full thing.

So, I didn't have quite as much time in the studio today as I was hoping to, but I did manage to fit in a little bit of playing. Everything I got a chance to work on was lead-based today, and within that, most of it was centered around the blues.  I pulled a couple of really cool lessons that I've been sitting on for a little while, and started putting them to good use.  Tomorrow, I need to spend more time in the studio, doing some reading, some playing, and perhaps some writing if the spirit so moves me.  I need to keep reminding myself that today was only Friday.

In between helping students today, I started to do a bit of work on assembling the folder for that co-worker of mine.  With any luck, that project should be finished enough to hand off come next Tuesday, but we shall see. Then tonight after I got home, I spent a couple of hours on the phone with my brother, talking about music and life and everything in between.  It had been a few weeks, what with him starting up what will (hopefully) be his last semester of graduate school.  It's always good to talk to him, to hear what he's working on, etc.  It always has a way of getting me fired up for whatever I've got going on. The only other thing I really got around to today was setting up goals for the weekend, but I think I did a pretty good job of that, so it should be a fun couple of days... we shall see.

So, the initial plan for today was that it was going to be all about songwriting.  Then, as always lately, things changed somewhat. Much to my surprise, the acoustic amp that I had ordered got here on time, in spite of the fact that we got a foot of snow.  It's perfect.  Exactly what I wanted.  Loud enough that it will have no trouble being heard over the electric piano we're going to be using, and it's even got a second input for a mic, in the event that I decide I want to try and play the coffeehouse in the next town over.  There's also a headphone jack, and a plug in for a CD player in case I want to play along with things.  This will, I think, be perfect for my TASCAM unit that slows down songs without changing the pitch. Needless to say, I spent some time having a bit of fun with that, and didn't get to the songwriting side of things today. Still a good day all around, though.

Today was okay.  I spent some more time with the new issue of Guitar World , fit in some playing, and did a lot of thinking in regards to the EP.  I'm not sure how much progress I was able to make that way today, but I know for sure that tomorrow needs to be focused some on playing, but more on the songwriting side of things. I'm really hoping for a good day tomorrow, because the last couple of them have been on the quiet side.

New issue of Guitar World came in the mail today.  I've only just scratched the surface, but I'm looking forward to spending more time with it this week. I didn't do a lot of writing today, and didn't get to some of the other things I had been hoping for, but I sat with the acoustic for long enough that I'm feeling okay with how things are going in that regard. Tomorrow I need to spend a chunk of time with the songs for Wednesday night, and other than that, I'd really like to fit in some lead work.  I was taking a look at some Texas blues ideas as well today, and I'd like to spend more time with that than I got a chance to today.

So, the biggest thing that happened today involved getting together with the piano player/vocalist after Sunday service to run through the songs we're going to be doing on Wednesday night. I'vegot to say that, based on the way things were sounding, this is going to be pretty cool. I'm just hoping that the amp shows up in time for the gig on Wednesday, because I am definitely going to need it in order to even out the volume between my guitar and the piano. I'm really hoping that tomorrow can be a good day for getting some time in the studio. I could really use it right now.

So, up until pretty late in the day, I was fully prepared to blog only about the fact that I had a chance to print off the music that we worked on last night, and that I spent some time running through things just to make sure I had the songs under some semblance of control. And then, I did something that felt a little bit crazy, I ordered an acoustic amplifier online.  That's something I've never really done before and so now I sit and wait, ever anxious, for Wednesday, when it arrives, hopefully just in time for me to use it for our first Wednesday night service at the church. It was an odd sort of day aside from that, however, as I never really felt like I was on the right track with anything else, and as a result, I sort of bounced around a lot and had way too many stops and starts for my taste. Strange day, but not a bad day by any means.

So, the best part of my musical day happened tonight, when I got together with the vocalist/piano player that is joining me for the P&W Wednesday nights that The Mrs. is planning.  We had a good time picking out songs for next Wednesday, and aside from that, it was just nice to sit in a room and play some live music with another person.  When I combine the time I've spent in the basement with the fact that we're living in a small town without a lot of options to get people together (that I'm aware of). It was a good evening, and one that I don't think I realized how much I needed.

Tonight was, as most of my Thursday nights tend to be, a night to sit down and try and prioritize what I'd like to get done over the weekend.  My goals between now and noon on Tuesday are as follows: 1.  Get together with the other musician involved in next Wednesday's service at our church that I'm playing for. 2.  Spend some time with both the ideas I've decided on for the EP, as well as the ones that still need work. 3.  Lots of electric playing, because I feel like I haven't done a whole lot of that lately 4.  Work on the guitar/uke folder for my co-worker 5.  Some music reading.

So, once I got all of the tracks I had burned last night imported into iTunes, I discovered that, for whatever reason, one of the tracks didn't burn properly when I put it onto the CD.  That meant that, tonight after work, I had to spend a bit of time in the studio figuring out what went wrong (which wasn't all that tough when I got down there and got to work).  After that, I re-burned that song and headed upstairs with the disc in my hand. I got the song imported into iTunes, and then spent twenty minutes or so messing around with the track order, trying to get it perfect.  I'm pretty sure that I have it so that things flow now.  There are a few musical parts that need fixing up, but other than that, I'm happy with the way things are shaping up. The prospect of lyrics is looming ever closer.

Today was a better day. I got the big thing done that I had hoped to get done yesterday... I sat down with all of the tracks I've been listening to and evaluating since before Christmas, and I whittled it down to the absolute "best of the best" for inclusion on the EP (so I guess it's an EP I'm releasing this year).  In fairness, there were 5 tracks that jumped out at me, which isn't to say that the others are garbage, just that they need more work than these other ideas.  And even where those are concerned, there are a few things that need some spit and polish, including one track that needs to be slowed down some.  In short, it's not like there is an absence of work to be done, I just know for sure now where I'm going to start is all. The other ideas will be worked on as the year goes along, with the hopes that other projects will be able to use those tracks as they are finished. Oh, and there are lyrics to be written, lots and lots of lyrics...

Well, today was a flop. In spite of the fact that I was home all day long, I didn't get to a single thing that I had wanted to get done today.  If I'm going to be completely honest about it, the whole weekend felt like that, even though I fit in some playing here and there. Tomorrow is my late day, though, so if I can get to bed soon here, I'm hopeful I can get up and maybe get something done before I have to go to work. About the only other plus for the day is that I stumbled across an EP by Jackie Greene that's filled with some live acoustic radio performances.  It's really cool stuff, and it's got a great sound to it.  Very stripped down, obviously, but something about it just hits home with me.

Today was another day in which most of my music time got spent with the new Marti.n.  Tonight I went looking for a few more Ryan Adams tabs.  Ever since I dropped Heartbreaker in my CD player on the way to work the other day, I've definitely been on what can only be rightly classified as a "kick."  Watching those songwriting interviews yesterday only served to intensify that. I didn't get to spend much time in the studio today, which puts that off until tomorrow.  I'm not thrilled to be putting it off until tomorrow, but so be it.  The biggest thing I want to get done down there tomorrow is to have enough time to sit with the song ideas and make some sense of the two EPs/one full album question.  In short, I need to get those song ideas onto a CD so that I can make heads or tails of them during my drives this week.  Besides, maybe listening will let me hear something I haven't caught onto yet, or give me some lyrical inspiration. Tomorrow will be a...

Another late night session with the new acoustic.  Tonight I discovered that a riff I thought I've known how to play for a good number of years now is actually played a completely different way in a completely different spot on the neck.  It always amazes me how much those moments really open your ears up to all of the different possibilities that are out there.  Then again, that's another bit of knowledge clicking into place, and that part of it is really cool. I spent a bit of my afternoon watching Ryan Adams interviews on YouTube, too.  All of them focused on his songwriting approach.  Those are things I will definitely go back to more than once. Honestly, the day could have used a bit more guitar in it, but I'm hopeful that tomorrow will be a day for that.

Today was a bit of an odd day. I spent some time tonight with the new tab book that came this week, and I most certainly enjoyed that, but I didn't spend a lot of time in the studio beyond that. The Mrs. is gone for a lot of tomorrow as well, though, so I am definitely going to be down in the studio right away tomorrow to see what I can get done.

Today was a good day for listening and discussion and (potentially) album covers. I brought the deluxe edition of Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams with me for the car ride into work.  That was a good bit of listening right there, and it started my day on a positive note. As for the rest of the day, there was a lot of talk about music today at work, and I was able to discuss a bit more with that co-worker that wants to learn to play, which was great. I worked up an album cover idea today, too for either the album or one of the EPs. Today was a weird day, but it worked out, and I'm really looking forward to having a productive weekend.

So, if today was good for anything, it was good for follow-up conversations on musical things, a bit of listening, and some further thinking on the album(s) I will finish this year. I had told a co-worker last week that I'd hook them up with some guitar/uke information, as they are looking to get in the game, and we worked together today, so I was able to get more of a feel for what they are looking for out of that, which will really help me this weekend, when I have a chance to sit down and put something together for them. I got a bit of listening in on the road back and forth from work, but it wasn't anything new, it was a record that I grabbed off of the table from the pile of stuff I had hauled inside from the car the other day. After work tomorrow begins my weekend, and I'm really hoping that it's a productive one where the music is concerned.

Today was a weird day.  We ended up having the day off thanks to weather, and I was up early, but didn't end up getting a lot of time in the studio today.  I spent a small amount of time down there, but it wasn't really enough to say that I made any sort of solid progress. One of the cool things that happened today was that my copy of the Guitar Recorded Versions for August & Everything After got here.  One of the things that I'm ridiculously excited to sit down and do (that didn't happen today) is to compare the book I just got with the one that The Mrs. ordered for piano the other day, just to see how much more detail mine really has in it. The other thing I really need to do tomorrow is sit down and look at EPs vs. a single album, because that didn't happen today either. Today was just a strange day all around... tomorrow will be a better one.

Didn't have as much time as I was hoping for today, but... I still spent enough time down in the studio that I was able to do some further work on the plan I had come up with back before we left for Wisconsin.  How the record that will be made this year was going to fall together had come to me in a 2 am flash, and the more I look back on it, the more I really see two ways forward: 1) The full album (10+ songs) as it came to me that night before we left. 2) A couple of EP's, each with 5 songs on them. I haven't gone sifting through the song ideas with more rigor to see which idea makes the most sense yet, but that is definitely going to happen by the end of the weekend.  In fact, if the freezing rain postpones the first day of classes tomorrow, it may just happen then. Either way, I didn't get as much done over the break as I had wanted to, but I did manage to make some progress with the recording project, buy a new acoustic, and pick up a lot of cool music and...

Well, I accomplished the one thing in the studio today that I desperately needed to get done... I got the place whipped back into some semblance of shape.  Somehow it felt really good to get that done. The other thing I did tonight?  I laid out all of the things I know I need to work on tomorrow, on my last day of freedom before the semester starts up on Tuesday. Have I gotten to everything I had hoped to over the break?  Not really, but things were definitely a whole lot busier than I had been planning on, and in the end, I simply ran out of time to get it all done during that few weeks. That being said, the thing I want to do a better job of in 2017 is manage my time.  The time is there to accomplish all of the goals I want to this year, I just have to be smart about how I use the time that is available to me.

There was so much going on today on so many different fronts... 1.  I got out my Martin while the Mrs. was playing some piano today, and successfully played along with the songs she was working on.  She took the melodies while I strummed chords in the background, but it was really cool to hear the two instruments together, not to mention that it was fun for both of us to be playing music at the same time.  It was a definite highlight of my day. 2.  I got down into the studio tonight, and was all over the place.  I played some electric, I tried to get caught up on some of the magazine pile that has stacked up recently, I did some listening... I wasn't nearly as focused as I would have liked to be, and so while I had a good time down there, and while I feel good at the end of the day, I'm not entirely sure how much progress I really made. Oh, and the studio is a bit of a disaster now, so I'll have to spend at least some of my time tomorrow getting things put...

So, The Mrs. ordered the piano/vocal/guitar book for August & Everything After by Counting Crows.  She got her piano for Christmas and, I can definitely see why she wanted to order that particular songbook.  AAEA is a phenomenal record, and I most definitely used the P/V/G as an excuse to get out the Martin tonight and strum through the chords for all of those songs. And after that?  I sat down at the computer and ordered the Guitar Recorded Versions AAEA book from Amazon.  Why?  Because I'm a nerd who needs the intros, and the fills, and the riffs, and the solos - that's why. That was most of my musical focus today... oh, except for the fact that my BuRay Special Edition of The Beatles movie by Ron Howard showed up, and so did my Chuck Prophet record. Definitely a good day for one that didn't see much in the way of studio time.

We had our pre-semester meeting for work today.  You're probably asking yourself how that ties into the music side of my life, well, it does so like this... Because I was in Fort Dodge, I took the opportunity to stop by the book store, and while I was there, I picked up a couple of things: 1) New issue of Acoustic Guitar (yes, I know I'm going to be getting the subscription, but I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss an issue in the process.  If I get the same one in the mail, I'll send the extra one to my brother). 2) Homeward Bound , the new Paul Simon biography by Peter Ames Carlin.  I have it as one of my goals that I want to read more music books this year than I did last year, and between that and the Springsteen bio that I never really got a good start on, I've already got a couple lined up. Truth be told, I got home later than I was expecting, so while I got into the studio for some work this evening, burning the CD of song ideas didn't happen,...

I think I finally managed to crack the code on the song idea that I've been puzzling over since before we left for Wisconsin.  Tonight I was finally focused long enough in the studio to start to really unravel what I had played, and while I don't have it perfectly deciphered yet, I've got enough of it down to get the general idea.  Slowly but surely, this recording project is starting to come out of the shadows and show itself. On the list of things to get done tomorrow is to burn a CD that has all of the potentials on it, so I can live with the ideas outside of the studio to see if they spark any lyrical or structure ideas. Also on the docket for tomorrow, I'd really like to sit down and put in a good session with the new acoustic.

Back in the studio today, and back at trying to piece together these song ideas into something cohesive. I'm getting closer. Now I just need a big push in the next week so that I can go back to work on the 10th with both a clear conscience and a clear view of what direction the record is headed in. The early part of the day was good, but the way I am feeling right now tells me that it could be a late night down in the studio.

Today was a mixture of things, but it felt like a good mixture.  Here's a list of what happened: 1.  I played a little bit of both the electric, and the new Martin.  Both felt really good, and I know I need to focus more on both tomorrow. 2.  I started making my way through the new issue of Guitar World that was waiting for me when we got home from our holiday trip.  I also found out that my Mom has ordered me Acoustic Guitar as a Christmas present.  So now the only one I'll need to pick up on a regular basis is Guitar Techniques . Things are still dropping into place where my goals for the year are concerned, as I knew they would, but with that being said, the goals for this week are remarkably simple: 1.  Finish tabbing out the song ideas: I didn't quite get that finished off before we left for vacation, and with the Mrs. going back to work tomorrow, I'll have the house to myself to be as loud as I want to.  Time to crank out the rest of...

So, 2016 was a mixed bag for me.  The first couple of months had some good progress in them, but everything from March to almost November felt like lost time.  That said, here are some of my goals for 2017.  If you followed last year, you may recognize some similarities. (In no particular order) 1.  Play More Acoustic 2.  Finish a Recording Project 3.  Learn "A History of Rock & Roll in 100 Riffs" 4.  Improve Fretboard Knowledge 5.  Write More Songs 6.  Read More Music Books 7.  Beatles Study 8.  Focus on Soloing/Lead Guitar So, I'm not sure if that's a lot or not as I head into 2017, but it seems like a decent list.  If I can find a way to get to all of this in the new year, it will shape up to be a good one indeed.