Thursday's album update

All right, I've made a lot of posts like this, and the progress doesn't seem significant enough (day by day) that I should actually be making a post like this on a daily basis.

I'm putting a serious effort into the album, but I have to do balance that with teaching sixty students a week and helping to raise three children. That tends to only leave me about three hours a day at a maximum.

Starting tomorrow I think I'm going to try going back to blogging "normally" to some degree. My posts won't be as detailed as they might be under normal circumstances, but I'll only post album updates sporadically (maybe every two or three days).

Have a great day!

Wednesday album update

Work is going well - I spent several hours last night doing more work on song four (of ten). I've still likely got a few hours on that song before I can mix it.

I'll look forward to being finished the album, but I'm enjoying the process! Have a great day!

Tuesday update

AKA there is no update since yesterday! I had some work for students that had to be done first, and as a consequence did not work on the album yesterday.

Today will be a different story, as I should have between three and four hours to make a pretty big dent. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow!

Monday's album update

Well, things are moving along nicely:

Tracks one through three have been listened to (and appropriate tracks selected), with no mixing
Track four is almost ready for mixing, will just need a few hours selecting vocals.
Track five is ready for mixing.
Tracks six, eight and nine will not require a significant amount of listening time as they do not have many tracks
Tracks seven and ten will take quite a while to go through, as each song has at least ten different parts, with multiple takes of each (there may be 100 tracks in one!)

Progress is being made, but I've still got a lot of work ahead. There have been some demoralizing points in the process (I discovered a bunch of guitar tracks for track four are junk), but I'm not quitting! Gotta keep moving forward.

I'll keep you posted!

Don't quit!

No matter how difficult music may seem, no matter what troubles you - whether it be songwriting, playing electric guitar, piano, or harmonica - don't quit!

Don't give up on your dreams of adding to the beautiful tapestry of sound that music helps to create. Don't let go of your ambitions to make good music, maybe even great music.

Don't quit! You can do it.

thursday's album update

Whew! Sickness in the house and have been super busy. But forward progress is being made. I'm just about to try looking through the files in the third song of the album. May not seem like much, but progress is being made. I'll keep you posted!

album update - March 21

I haven't gotten a lot done in the last 24 hours, as I'm now back to teaching full time (I had last week off). I've almost gone through track 2, and I've already gone through track 1, so that leaves only 8(!) other songs to go - but some of them shouldn't take as long because there isn't as much material to wade through.

Have a great day!

Did I finish my album in time???

I had given myself a deadline of Sunday to finish mixing my album? Did I succeed?

Not even close! I often give myself unrealistic deadlines (unintentionally, of course), but these deadlines as least get me thinking creatively about how to meet them.

At any rate, I'm still pretty far from finishing the album. Right now I'm listening to the second song of the album (there are ten) and figuring out which tracks (vocal takes, guitar parts, etc) are worth keeping, and which I should delete. It sometimes takes an hour to go over ten or fifteen seconds of the song, so hopefully that gives you an idea of how much more work needs to be done.

I'll keep you posted of my progress every day! I'll try to make other blogposts in the meantime, as time permits. Have a great Monday!

Saturday's recording update

The mixing begins! My gut is telling me that I need to record exactly one more track for my album, but I can't remember what it is, so I'm going to start mixing today (if I have missed any recording, I'll find it during mixing).

I'm planning on getting a lot of mixing done this weekend. I'll keep you posted!

Friday's recording update

Since yesterday I've discovered a few more tracks that need recording - a few vocal parts here and there, and I believe two small guitar parts.

After that, I can finally start mixing! I had intended to start mixing on Sunday, but these projects almost  always take longer than I expect they will.

Next time I record music I have some ideas that will make things more efficient.

Rule #1: STAY ORGANIZED

I've  probably lost at least an hour or two to the simple fact that I haven't been organized with my recordings. I should have labeled every track as I was recording.

Rule #2: Keep a daily and detailed log so I know  where I've left off

It's been a pain trying to figure out what I did last. Detailed notes would have solved that problem and would have saved time in the end.

I'll keep at it! And just to keep with Friday's "fun" theme, here's a video that has nothing to do with my recording (but is definitely fun to watch):

Thursday recording update

I've been recording so much lately that I haven't made time for my usual blogging, but I figured I'd update you on how my album Songs For Ghosts is coming along.

So far, recording is going well! In fact, the recording portion of the project is almost complete. I have a few more parts I need to re-record (the first take wasn't good enough), but then it's on to mixing. I have no idea how long mixing will take. On my first album, Truth (If You Want It), mixing took several months, but it was a more complicated project than this one. Songs For Ghosts is an acoustic album, so mixing shouldn't be as difficult.

I may update one of my old blog posts (that's what I've been doing the last few days), but I wouldn't expect much at this point. I'll keep working on the album, though, and let you know when it's done!

Rock on! (Acoustically?)

Weekly Progress Wednesday - March 15

What a crazy week this has been! Here's what I've been up to...

1) Blog - ongoing:

Progress was slow here, but that's because I've been working quite hard at finishing my 2nd album (see #2 below). Here are the blog posts of interest from this week:

Introduction to Classical Guitar: Want to learn about Classical Guitar? Here's a short primer on it, including links to arguably the greatest living teacher of Classical Guitar (no, not me!).

Friday Fun - How Many Guitar Strings is Too Much?: I'll give you a hint: according to the video linked in this post, the answer is more than 20 and less than a million. Give up? Click the link and find out!

Songwriting Sessions: Layers: Sometimes it just takes the right layer of instrumentation or sound to get a song to sound right.

Progress so far: 15.3% (these percentages are just a guess, but probably close enough)

2) Songs For Ghosts (my 2nd album):

I've recording almost everything for the album! Silver Knight (one of the songs on the album) still needs a lot of work, but most of the recording is done for the other songs. At last count I had to do:

- two more guitar solos
- one more lead guitar
- a bunch of parts for Silver Knight

Progress so far: 89% - a little bit of recording, and all the mixing. Will I get it done this week? Find out next week!

3) Poster for my office:

I literally did nothing for this week (as I guessed that I wouldn't). My album is my number one priority right now.

Progress so far: 53% - no progress this week!

4) Other repertoire - ongoing:

No practice this week. Everything is about recording this week! I'll get back to it when I'm done my album.

Here's hoping next week the album is done!

recording and blog updates

Here's the latest on what I'm doing. Recording has been going really well! I've got a ridiculous amount of work ahead of me, but progress is being made.

I added the bass line to my introduction to pop blog post. I doubt I'll be adding more this week as I'm intent on listening to more of my recording, and getting more done!

If I do add more, I'll update about it here.

today's updates for the blog

Hello!
I'm still busy recording and mixing my second album, Songs For Ghosts. Recording is more than 90% finished, my goal is to spend the week mixing.

As a result, there won't be much change to the blog, but I'll update and add where I can. Today I plan on cleaning up some of the posts I never finished (which I will write about here, so check for updates if you'd like).

UPDATE:  I added the chords and guitar tab to my "Intro to Pop" page, which you can view here. I'll get to the bass tab as soon as I can, but it likely won't happen today.


Have a great Monday!

Songwriting Sessions: Layers

Last week I talked about the songwriting sandwich (which you can read about here). No, it's not a special way to make a sandwich that gives you songwriting superpowers. It's really about adding layers to songs to make them more interesting.

I'm doing just that with a song I'm recording and mixing for my second album, Songs For Ghosts. It's an all-acoustic album, and with each track I need to make sure it's exciting and inviting. Once I have what I think of as the "skeleton" of a song (the basic chord progression, lyrics, and the basic rhythm track, whether it be piano, guitar, organ, etc.), I often need to add more to the song.

Sometimes I add more guitar, more voices (harmonies), random sounds or noises.

For "The Girl With the Green Eyes", one of the songs from album #2, I felt the need for a second guitar in the second verse. It was fine for the first verse. but the second verse just needed a little something to make it more exciting.

I'm still mixing the song, so I can't really play it for you in its entirety, but I'll give you a sample of the guitar from verse one, and then the two guitars from verse two. Here it is without the second guitar:


And here it is with the second guitar (the balance might be slightly off, as I haven't done any mixing yet, but you probably won't notice that anyway):


Neat, huh?

More to come on this project as it develops. I'm seeing an end in sight!

Friday Fun - How Many Guitar Strings is Too Much?

Apparently, this gentleman thinks the answer is 28, as evidenced by his twenty-seven string guitar in this video:

Have a great weekend! I'll be having my own "Friday fun" finishing recording for my 2nd album, Songs For Ghosts. Next week I start mixing! More on this soon...

Introduction to Classical Guitar

This is my introductory post on classical guitar (part of an ongoing series of posts which started here).

Quick background: One of the styles of guitar with the longest history (second-oldest, only behind folk/traditional music), classical guitar is basically the answer to the question, "What style of guitar playing sounds most like classical music?". In fact, it's pretty common to see guitarists playing pieces by Bach or Beethoven, and many other big names from older styles of music.

Who should learn to play classical guitar? If you are ready to dedicate the greater part of your waking life to playing guitar, you could do worse than playing classical guitar. Playing in this style requires significant dexterity, coordination, and musicianship. You can't just skate by with an attitude like you might with rock or punk music! And improvisation (like what you'd see in jazz or the blues) is generally not done either. Be prepared for longs hours of practice and spending many days, months, and even years on some pieces of music! 

What makes classical guitar unique? This is the style of guitar that perhaps most easily accompanies itself. You don't need to sing, and you don't need a bass, drums, a piano, or any other instrument playing behind you (although such things do happen and can sound great).

Also, virtually everything in classical guitar involves finger-picking, so this often gives the music a very distinct (and beautiful) sound.

Popular classical guitarists: Julian Bream, Andre Segovia (bear in mind these are performers, not artists, but looking up their work will give you an idea of what music you might find in classical guitar).

How to play classical guitar: Admittedly, I have very little experience with classical guitar and would by no means consider my knowledge about the subject to be comprehensive. However, I can make some recommendations based on what I do know.

First, the greatest living classical guitar teacher (and perhaps guitar teacher in general) that I know of is Jamie Andreas. Read Jamie's books, take lessons if you can. You're not likely to find a better teacher of classical guitar.

Jamie's website is: http://guitarprinciples.com/

I'll also include some basic info here (soon!) so you can get an idea of what you're dealing with when playing classical guitar. For now, check out Jamie's site!

Wednesday Weekly Progress - March 8

Whew! Time flies, I can't believe it's been a week since my last post. Here's what I've been up to.

1) Blog - ongoing:

Well, this week takes the cake, as far as lack of progress is concerned. My focus on my album (see #2 below) has definitely cut into my blogging time, but here's what I did this week:

Introduction to Folk Music: This one's still under construction, but here's a brief introduction to North American Folk music.

Friday Fun: Marble Machine: Want to see something really cool? How about marbles playing music?

Songwriting Saturdays: Songwriting Sandwich: Songwriting is like a sandwich (sort of). Find out how they are similar in this post.

Each Scale Contains Multiple Chords: Just when you thought I'd run out of reasons to give for learning scales, and for why scales are important, I find yet another one. Read it and learn your scales!

Progress so far: 15% (these percentages are just a guess, but probably close enough)

2) Songs For Ghosts (my 2nd album):

Holy moly, I've been working like crazy on this. Every day has seen lots of progress, and I might actually get all of the recording done before Sunday (when I start mixing the album, in theory). 

Out of 10 songs:

- 9 songs need more vocals (but most of them are very close to being done)

- 3 songs need more guitar (but not very much)

And after that, I think I'm ready to start mixing. Yes!

Progress so far: 82% - lots more recording to do, but an end is in sight!

3) Poster for my office:

I literally did nothing for this, this week. I probably won't work on this at all next week either, but the following week should be productive. My album is my number one priority right now.

Progress so far: 53% - good progress

4) Other repertoire - ongoing:

Same as last week. A bit of practice, but nothing worth mentioning. more in a couple weeks.

Keep at it!

Each Scale Contains Multiple Chords

(This post is part of an ongoing series about the importance of learning scales, which started with this post here: Why You Should Learn Your Scales)
Earlier on I made a post talking about how chords are based on scales (which you can see by clicking here). But what you may not have known is that every scale actually contains many chords!

It makes sense if you think about it:

 A C major chord (also just known as a "C chord") is the 1st, 3rd and 5th note of a C scale (C D E F G A B C) - C, E, and G.

A G (major) chord is the 1st, 3rd, and 5th note of a G scale (G A B C D E F# G) - G, B, and D.

Notice how G, B, and D - the notes to a G chord - are all in the C scale! In fact, if we take the C scale apart and take groups of three notes (triads) from the scale we get the following chords:

C (major) - C E G
D minor - D F A
E minor - E G B
F (major) - F A C
G (major) - G B D
A minor - A C E
B diminished - B D F

This is what I refer to as the "basic chord family" of C. We often denote the chords based on the scale with roman numerals, so C is I, D minor is ii (some do not use lower case letters for minor chords, but I do), etc. You end up with something like:

I - C major
ii - D minor
iii - E minor
IV - F major
V - G major
vi - A minor
vii° - B diminished

It's common to hear jazz musicians talk about ii V I progressions (which, in C, would be Dm-G-C). You get the idea.

Chords that are based on the same scale tend to sound good together. Yet another reason that we want to get to know our scales!

Songwriting Saturdays: Songwriting Sandwich

Writing a song is a lot like making a sandwich.

The core of your sandwich (meat, peanut butter, avocado, whatever floats your boat) is the core content of the song - the lyrics, melody, and the chord progression.

The extra layers or toppings of your sandwich (tomato, lettuce, honey, mustard, etc.) are the extra layers of your song. Maybe your song needs more bass, or a little more percussion. Maybe you need a horn section.

Some sandwiches are large and complex - same with songs with orchestras, electric guitars, lots of drums and harmonies, and so on.

Some sandwiches are simple (think peanut butter) - like a simple fingerpicked acoustic guitar with vocals.

What kind of sandwich are you making? Is it simple or complex?
What kind of song are you writing? Is it simple or complex?

The wrong toppings can ruin a sandwich. Peanut butter and horseradish probably don't go together (I'm not willing to try).
I'm not sure I can give a concrete example of two elements of a song that could never go together, no matter what. I've heard hip hop and country mixed together. I've heard jazz and metal although that is definitely an acquired taste, perhaps like peanut butter and horseradish.

Most people like pop music. Most people like straightforward sandwiches. You get the idea.

I'm not sure why I felt like comparing sandwiches to songs... I rarely even eat sandwiches! But I think the point is that you need to have the right elements for the right song. If you're writing the next "November Rain" (by Guns N Roses), you'd better have a great electric guitar solo (or three), some sweet piano playing, and a really good reason for making your song eight and a half minutes long!

But if you want a really intimate sounding song, something that feels really personal, perhaps you want to stick to the acoustic guitar and a few light strings. It's your call - you're the songwriter. But think about what will make your song speak to others best.

Marble Machine

Every week during lessons, my students show me cool videos. This one takes the cake this week.

Sometimes the innovation these artists have is just amazing!

Have a great weekend!

Introduction to Folk Music

This is my introductory post about folk music (part of an ongoing series of posts which started here).

Quick background: Folk music, if you include tradtional music, has been around for about as long as people have been singing songs and making music. I think nowadays when someone says "folk", we tend to think acoustic guitars and interesting musical tales about some person, place, or happening. But generally speaking, folk music tends to be acoustic and places a strong emphasis on storytelling.

Sometimes people lump in world music and traditions into the "folk music" genre, which is fine, but that is not what this post is about (mostly because I know little to nothing about that kind of music, but also because most people don't think of that when they think of "folk" music, at least not in North America).

Who should learn about folk? Do you music that tells interesting stories? Do you have some interesting stories you'd like to turn into a song? Are you a Bob Dylan fan, or do you like older, traditional music? These are all good reasons to learn more about folk music.

What makes folk music unique? Folk music tends to be the simplest in terms of orchestration; the music is often very repetitive, and more often than not pretty easy to play. It's usually the compelling story that really makes folk music stand out from other genres.

Popular folk artists: Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger

How to play folk music on guitar and ukelele: The easiest way to get started playing folk music is learning your basic or open chords [I'll have a page for this soon! I'll also include a few on this page], and a few simple strumming or fingerpicking patterns [Another page I'll have up soon! And I'll also include a sample here].

Tell me a story.

Folk music is really the music for storytellers. If you like sharing stories, whether yours or someone else's, folk music is for you!

Wednesday Weekly Progress - March 1

The beginning of a new month, and more progress has been had. Here's how I've been doing this past week.

1) Blog - ongoing: 

This is probably the least amount of work I've done on the blog in a while, but for good reason (see #2 below).

Intro to Pop Music: Learn a little about pop music (this one is under construction).

Metal Mario: What do you get when you cross Super Mario Bros. with some heavy electric guitar? This video!

Songwriting Sessions: Inspired by Other Musicians: Sometimes even big pop stars use other peoples' songs as inspiration for their own. Read more about that here.

How to Tune Your Ukelele: Do you have a ukelele? Do you need to know how to tune it? Learn how here?

Solos are Based on Scales: For the last couple of weeks I've been blogging about the importance of scales. Scales are needed for chords, solos, and many other things. This particular post is about how scales relate to solos.

Progress so far: 14.5% (these percentages are just a guess, but probably close enough)


2) Songs For Ghosts (my 2nd album):

Progress is good. Lots of recording, planning, more recording and listening. My goal is to finish recording before March 12th or so, and then do the mixing. I'm not sure this is realistic, but it gives me an idea of how much I need to do each day.

Progress so far: 77% - lots more recording to do, but an end is in sight!

3) Poster for my office:

How to Tune Your Ukelele is the only post relating to the poster this week.

Progress so far: 53% - good progress

4) Other repertoire - ongoing:

3rd album songs - Similar to last week. Did a bit here and there, but nothing much. This will change when the 2nd album is finished!

Cover songs - A small amount of practice, but not a lot. More after album 2! (Have you noticed my priorities lately?)

Keep being awesome!