Following several weeks of practice and lots of edits on arrangements, I recorded four songs last evening at Songwriters Recording Studio. Each of the songs is way, way different from the others ... in genre, character, mood. So I had a good amount of angst about how well I'd be able to get them done. They turned out nicely and credit for much of that success goes to William (Sandy) Garrett, Songwriters' talented, helpful, patient, gracious man at the helm.
The first two songs are new originals: "Reverie On Wings" (genre unknown to me at this time so someone tell me, please) and "I Can't Stop The Pain" (eight-bar blues). Then there is a re-make of "That's The Way You Make Me Feel" (twelve-bar blues original that now has a quirky, fun new intro) and "It Had To Be You" (beloved old cover ballad).
Musical creation shapes my life and gives it expression, gives it voice -- indeed, it makes my life much easier to live. I'm very thankful !
Showing posts with label ballad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ballad. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Tweakdom
There I go again with my words. When I compose/write a song (music and lyrics), during the initial days following the song’s birth (yes, it is a laborious, deliciously painful process – the spiritual analogy to physically giving birth), I work out the major facets of its arrangement, then add enhancements, the intro and the ending, and during this time, too, develop the vocal component. Once all of that is working, the song enters into the phase I think of as "tweakdom"!
Tweakdom begins intensely – a vocal gymnastic here, a register change there, and ends quietly ... somewhere down the line, maybe in days or maybe in weeks ... when all the subtle touches have been put into the arrangement.
In recent weeks, I found myself composing a song intended to inspire and honor a musical partner who was finding it necessary to step away from music (our music and, perhaps, music in general). Because it’s a ballad (he likes ballads), it’s very techy and not easy to sing and play, but also is quite pretty. It’s called Here In The Moment. I recorded it this past Wednesday evening at Songwriters Studio here in Knoxville.
For this song, tweakdom continued almost right down to the wire, with the last tweak the day before the recording was done!
Tweakdom begins intensely – a vocal gymnastic here, a register change there, and ends quietly ... somewhere down the line, maybe in days or maybe in weeks ... when all the subtle touches have been put into the arrangement.
In recent weeks, I found myself composing a song intended to inspire and honor a musical partner who was finding it necessary to step away from music (our music and, perhaps, music in general). Because it’s a ballad (he likes ballads), it’s very techy and not easy to sing and play, but also is quite pretty. It’s called Here In The Moment. I recorded it this past Wednesday evening at Songwriters Studio here in Knoxville.
For this song, tweakdom continued almost right down to the wire, with the last tweak the day before the recording was done!
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