tune
I sat down at the weekend and forced myself to start working on a song. Just had to get over that initial hump, the getting-started hump. It's a song with only 3 chords, D, C9, and G.
I recorded a rough (very rough) acoustic guitar track to a click and started work.
The song is an old one, I wrote it in 1989, I think. I've changed a few lines and the middle 8, so it's fresh to me again. I always liked the song, because it's one of my 5-minute wonders. There are perhaps five or six songs over the years that I just sat down and wrote in a flood; they took barely more time to write than they take to play.
Which is no recommendation, as far as the world is concerned, but for myself they always feel special, more inspired. It was originally recorded on a Fostex 8-track reel to reel with just bass and a couple of acoustic guitar tracks, no drums (though you can hear some spillage of the click in my headphones on some quiet bits).
Anyway. I did some groove agent drums, which took most of Sunday afternoon. And Sunday evening, I picked up my bass and worked out a very simple bass line: the first one I've attempted to do myself properly, since getting the bass. I'm pretty pleased with it. It's mostly just the root note and the octave, with a ninth on the C9 and a couple of bars of something more fancy. It works, anyway. Again, it's there quite roughly, and I'll try to do a clean take later.
So this morning I recorded an 8 o clock guide vocal, so that I've got something to work around.
Now I've got a rough guitar track, a rough vocal, a rough bass line, and just a stereo track of drums, based on the Groove Agent MIDI file (I'll multitrack the drums later). But it has a really nice feel to it. In spite of its roughness, it sounds really good to my ears. I'm afraid that anything more I do to polish it will ruin it.
I intend to add another track of electric guitar, but the arrangement will then be essentially complete. There's some doubt in my mind as to whether to play some harmonica on the coda. I got one of my new Lee Oskars yesterday. It sounds all right, though nowhere near the instant gratification of the Marine Band it replaces. I wouldn't buy another on the strength of this first play.
I'll save a copy of the demo to compare with the finished article, and see if I do indeed ruin it.
I recorded a rough (very rough) acoustic guitar track to a click and started work.
The song is an old one, I wrote it in 1989, I think. I've changed a few lines and the middle 8, so it's fresh to me again. I always liked the song, because it's one of my 5-minute wonders. There are perhaps five or six songs over the years that I just sat down and wrote in a flood; they took barely more time to write than they take to play.
Which is no recommendation, as far as the world is concerned, but for myself they always feel special, more inspired. It was originally recorded on a Fostex 8-track reel to reel with just bass and a couple of acoustic guitar tracks, no drums (though you can hear some spillage of the click in my headphones on some quiet bits).
Anyway. I did some groove agent drums, which took most of Sunday afternoon. And Sunday evening, I picked up my bass and worked out a very simple bass line: the first one I've attempted to do myself properly, since getting the bass. I'm pretty pleased with it. It's mostly just the root note and the octave, with a ninth on the C9 and a couple of bars of something more fancy. It works, anyway. Again, it's there quite roughly, and I'll try to do a clean take later.
So this morning I recorded an 8 o clock guide vocal, so that I've got something to work around.
Now I've got a rough guitar track, a rough vocal, a rough bass line, and just a stereo track of drums, based on the Groove Agent MIDI file (I'll multitrack the drums later). But it has a really nice feel to it. In spite of its roughness, it sounds really good to my ears. I'm afraid that anything more I do to polish it will ruin it.
I intend to add another track of electric guitar, but the arrangement will then be essentially complete. There's some doubt in my mind as to whether to play some harmonica on the coda. I got one of my new Lee Oskars yesterday. It sounds all right, though nowhere near the instant gratification of the Marine Band it replaces. I wouldn't buy another on the strength of this first play.
I'll save a copy of the demo to compare with the finished article, and see if I do indeed ruin it.
posted by Anonymous at
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home