After a good spell away from recording, I returned with a mission to make progress on a solution to my drumming problem. In this installment I make my first foray into drum programming with the help of How to make a drum ‘n’ bass beat in Ableton Live (from http://www.musicradar.com/computermusic).

I followed along the step-by-step, non-video (by choice) tutorial (which assumed a little more knowledge than I had), figuring things out along the way – for example, how to add a “Simpler” track (a feature of the Ableton DAW for using samples) – and placing the ‘hits’ of the various pieces of the drum rack as instructed on the appropriate notes/beats.

It lost me at “Insert an EQ Eight after the Simpler and set the first band’s setting to high-pass..” I can add an Equalizer, but down know what an “EQ Eight”is – therefore, it would be difficult to modify the “first band” setting.  More research and tinkering is required, but I managed a beat.

The non-human beat is a task master and unforgiving. I discovered I am not always perfectly on time when playing bass 🙂

This track’s demo was an early one and perhaps not as complete as some of my other demos. I am tinkering with the song while continually learning the ins and outs of home recording.

Here are the results with another vocal attempt (includes some ugly splicing):

-Bejzak Out of the Box

Had thoughts of really digging into drum programming, but I had read something that said to start with just a cymbal. So I did just that.

The singing needs work, but I think I am starting to get the feel I want. Layering some background vocals with the new “Oooh, ooh” part will be nice – I think. And I’m pleased with the “Stop, stop your quiet” line I added to the chorus.

I also reintroduced the bridge/chord-change & tried out a couple of lyric ideas (though I sang “yet” as “wet”). I’m thinking this song could segue nicely into “What Say You” on the album.

There’s a couple of ugly cut & paste splices, but I think you’ll get “the gist.”

I’ve tinkered with this website a bit – adding my Album Reviews and Music pages. I’m thinking of adding “Links” and “Contact” or similar.

-FoolEd Again

As I mentioned in my last post, I felt that my attempt at the rhythm section for “Fool Play” resulted in plodding along instead of having a desirable groove.

Today I attempted to get the groove back and find the “feel.”

I decided to just play the bass along with the metronome (115 bpm for those “scoring” at home). I then sang, first with hand claps – which were overbearing and not always quite on time, then alone – though you can hear my hand slapping my thigh if you listen closely (a special treat).

I attempted to add some cymbal, but was experiencing the delay I sometimes get after recording analog parts. So, when I struck the key (in this case just using the computer keyboard), the cymbal sounded a bit later. This was extremely unhelpful to someone who was already finding it challenging to keep the beat. I tried quantizing and moving cymbal hits and got close, but did not achieve “cigar.”

Here is the vocals and bass with some effects applied. I am “feeling” better – though I am thinking of putting this one on the back burner for a little bit and moving on to another. Perhaps my muse will guide me.

-Edbeat

With regards to my previous attempt to “be” the rhythm section, my good friend, and Get-Up drummer, Alan said: “There are moments of rhythmic harmony though also enough off beats that would make it hard to build upon.” (That could be said of the state of the planet.) Alas, I had listened with a fresh ear prior to receiving his text and realized that it would have to be fixed or re-recorded.

I dug in this morning to see what I could salvage.

Alan recommended:

“…if you’re close to the beat quantizing can help.

Also, lots of programs have visual screens to be able to literally move the notes to the beat.

…consider a click that you record to then ultimately delete.”

I have worked with the quantization feature of my DAW before and did a search to see if I could find out if I was using it correctly.  The results of the search were both disappointing, there were a lot of YouTube tutorials (I prefer text & screen shots), and intimidating – I was reminded that the great deal I’ve learned about recording is a minuscule portion of the whole.

I concluded that, for what I’ve been doing, I’ve been using the quantization feature correctly.

As far as the song pieces, I deleted everything except the drums. I found a section that was decent and looped it. I quantized – I think to the 16th note – and moved a few drum “hits.” After “committing” to the quantization, I tried applying a Swing “groove” – a software feature about which I read during my research that’s supposed to give the beat a more “human” feel.

I feel that the result is better – though I’m not quite there yet. I leaned hard on The Spinners’ “I’ll Be Around” in the hopes that I could achieve something close to that soul “feel.”   I recorded bass again – streamlining the part to support the desired result. I practiced some singing, borrowing some of the phrasing from the classic track.

I think, a while back, I said that I would only be posting “finished” stuff from then on out, but it’s harder than I thought it would be. Back to Alan: “Timing is tough, especially if you are building the songs track by track.”

Here is my latest imperfect effort with some practice singing.

It seems like it’s dragging and a bit stiff.

In Search Of…

-LeonEd Nimoy

Worked on the base for Fool Play this morning. Kinda modified Dory’s parents’ advice and just kept drumming. Using my Casio keyboard to drive the midi, I believe I kept time well-enough using three fingers to tap out the kick  & snare drums plus a cymbal – the basics.

In keeping with traditional wisdom – bolstered by E-Home Recording Studio’s Music 101: The Four Steps to Recording a Song, I added the bass line to complete the rhythm section for the track. I then used some organ for the basic harmony and attempted a little Motown-ish staccato strum on acoustic guitar.

I practiced some singing over it, but nothing worth sharing or saving. Here is just-under-a-minute of everything but the vocals.

-As Edvertised

My semi-conscious, early-morning brain decided that it was going to be a morning to work on my music – so much to do.
Pandora seemed to reinforce as it served up The Spinners’ “I’ll Be Around” which I plan to use as a reference for the sound of “Fool Play.” (Fool Play Demo on Soundcloud)

I also got the following DM on Twitter from Exposed Vocals (https://exposedvocals.com):

“…do you have a quick moment to talk about your music? We’re publishing music reviews and interviews over on the Exposed Vocals music platform  and we’d love to do a feature with you if you’d like!”

I did a little research & it seems to be a legitimate resource for unsigned artists.

I said I’d be honored. Could be exciting!

This morning’s lyrical thoughts:
Addition to Policy of Love:
“Our past/previous policies
have made us enemies”

Seed for a new song – for the next album
“The Minimum – Wage? Effort? What can you afford ? Will it get you through?” Could be too much like “How Much is Enough”

Today’s studio work (not too much to report):

I finished the demo for Fool Play almost 2 years ago and have learned a lot since then (Fool Play Demo – Blog Post).

While listening to I’ll Be Around, I concentrated on the rhythm section. The percussion is somewhat spare. A cymbal hit, followed by the snare and bass drum together – I think – in the main part with some additional congas (or some similar drum).

A challenge is to absorb and use the feel without aping.

Had some technical difficulties getting the midi to work this morning and, after I did, drummed along to The Spinners track. I tried to loop a portion that I felt “kept time” – even applied quantization, but was unable to get a solid foundation. I have to come up with a good solution for percussion or this could take forever. Here is 7 seconds of drumming that I still don’t think is quite correct:

Sawing away at it.

-Ed It Tude

I usually work on my music on a weekend morning, so I figured I’d give a glimpse into that world by posting a video – what I’m calling, initially at least, a Pajama Practice Session. (Does this title make sense? It’s meant to mean a Practice session while in my pajamas, not practicing pajamas – whatever that could mean.)

I re-learned my song Fool Play as I have listened to it but have not played it since posting the demo back in April of 2015 (see No Fooling post). After tuning and going through it a handful of times, I recorded it on my HTC phone and am posting unedited, at least this first one. NOTE: I am as unkempt as the music. One thing I noticed right off, is that the video is not synced with the audio. Another thing is Slinky Dog is keeping an eye on things.

I initially thought I’d link from Google Drive, then though of YouTube (both links available below). As I create real versions, I’ll need to think whether I want to continue to post my audio to SoundCloud.com and Video to YouTube and what the ramifications of putting the material there would be.

I opened with Movie Maker (I assume it’s a MicroSoft app – as it was available on my PC, but only used it to get a “Snapshot” from the video to use as an image for atop this blog entry.

Never afraid to look or sound like a fool.

-Edverybody

Google Drive Link

As I progress towards the post-demo phase of my album project, I’ve been contemplating the next steps. I’ve also been reading Elvis Costello’s memoir and have been thinking a lot about lyrics.
I’ve always been a music 1st kinda guy when it comes to listening, with the lyrics “sinking in” or coming into the light” much later (or perhaps never at all). I feel like I’m missing some great stuff because I haven’t put in the time to appreciate the “greats” (e.g. Bob Dylan). Even with Elvis Costello, while I can appreciate his clever turns of phrase and biting wit on some tracks, others get lost on me. Some lyrics he cites as compelling in his book, I just don’t “get.” Perhaps it would help if I studied poetry. Or maybe I just need to dissect and think about the lyrics in question with a more keen focus.
It’s generally reversed when it comes to songwriting. I get a lyrical idea and hear how it should “sound” – then try to match my inner composition. I probably try to be too clever, but I enjoy that – playing with words and phrases to get multiple meanings out of them. As I move forward I look to scrub, rearrange and improve the lyrical content of my songs.

Another thing with which I need to approach with seriousness is practice – not to say that I don’t plan to have fun. I’ve even been thinking about video streaming “Pajama, Practice Sessions” – we’ll see.

I also need to upgrade my software from Ableton’s Live Lite to the full version and put some new strings on the acoustic guitar.

I have also thought about the approach to recording the album versions of the tracks. My instinct is to get down the rhythm track (bass & drums – or midi equivalents), then proceed. With the lite version of my DAW, the “recording” of midi elements after some analog has been added to the song project has been problematic. Perhaps the full version will alleviate the issue.

-Hit Record Bejzak

What sounded okay yesterday came through the headphones as unacceptable last night [regarding “How Much Is Enough?”]- even as I’m sketching out this stuff, I need to have some minimum standards. 🙂

I realized that it was, mostly, that the drum track was at odds with everything else. After a little time spent trying to fix it – and then a little more trying to re-record, I decided to just omit the track. I took the bass level down a notch & bumped the organ track up ever so slightly. The result is something with which I can live for the raw item which I’ve called a “Sketchmo.” As my good friend Dave (davidhusted.com)  noted, it’s time for me to start spinning these rough sketches & demos into true, polished (Polish Ed?) songs.

I have added the updated version of How Much Is Enough? (link below), My Logic (Sketch with Stylophone) & even my ukulele track – All the Ice Cream You Want – to my demo playlist (link i also available below) for a total of 15 tracks. I’ve toyed with the order a bit, but it was a quick jostling.

From here on out I aim to present only polished (Polish Ed?) material. I will probably post incomplete, in-progress items, but I hope each will be a musical amuse-bouche.

-Come and Ed It

Top Photo Credit: Liz Bejzak

Updated version of “How Much is Enough?”:

Demos playlist:

I have been in a bit of a funk since the horrific results of the November election and, as a result, I felt the need to get in one more song for inclusion on the album. A snowy morning seemed like a good time to delve into the depths of my imagined tune.

I make no attempt to hide my feelings and there is little ambiguity within the lyrics. I wanted to consider quantities of power, money and basic needs of existence like food, water and air. This is way too big of a topic for a couple of minutes worth of song, but here’s an initial sketch of what I have in mind (hear by means of clicking the below SoundCloud link).

-Ed Above Water