Spring Break check-in

Over spring break I have been in Denver, touring the university and the city. I have loved what I've seen so far. Downtown is very pleasant, buzzing with people and various things to do.  You can see the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains just west of the city. Although I didn't get to go up in the mountains, I saw an avalanche game and visited many different shops and food places in the plaza. Of course this means I haven't been able to really work on or think about my project. No worries though, as I feel fairly relaxed and confident on my progress thus far. Here's a picture of near where I'm staying.

Learning to use equipment

 I had been pretty frustrated trying to get the interface to work so my last lesson was purely learning how to set up the equipment and use basic tools on the software. Last night I began recording for the first time on my own. This is fairly exciting for me because previously I have been only recording in one-hour sessions once a week. Now that I at least know and understand the basics of this new software and motu I can start expanding my project. Ableton is a software that once you understand the starting points it's really quite easy to use, so I look forward to nights of recording and editing unrestricted by time. It may not seem like such a step forward, but to me it's a pretty big deal because now when I make a progression or riff I can just lay it down and expand off that to get the sound I want to hear.  I think this is where project will take off. 

Compilation

The last few days I have been deeply contemplating compilation with other artists. I think working with other musicians is important in making music for inspiration and differentiation.  Solo projects run the risk of some repitition in style. It is my hope that each song has it's own flow.  I will most likely not be singing on the album so working with a singer could add an element to the music that it might not otherwise receive. I look forward to exploring my options on this front.

New Equipment

I recently acquired new recording equipment. I got the software that my instructor has, a midi, and a couple mics.  I'm excited to start this new chapter of recording on my own with an unrestricted creative process. No that working with my instructor is restricting, but the idea of working by myself for however long I wish is somewhat freeing.  Before my sessions were once a week, and I will keep up with those, but I like the fact now I can work whenever I want to and find what's right for me. I think this will also give me an opportunity to better understand the process of recording and mixing without the help of others.

Mentor meeting

I recently had my first meeting with my mentor, Wayne Gottlieb, in his classroom Thursday after school. We discussed my goals for my project and what I wished to get out of my album. I told him of my several recording sessions at my other instructor's home studio and my progress with recording and learning.  He was interested in the genre and style of music I played.  He had several guitars along with him and we were able to play around for nearly twenty minutes.  He provided some useful insight in style and melodic accompanies.

Developing a theme

All great artists develop themes throughout their work.  I have been thinking about trying to convey some pieces of personal sentiment to my music, the only trouble is finding the right form for it to take. I have been contemplating adding lyrics to some of my songs to add more meaning to them as I find it important for my album to represent something larger than a selection of songs. I wish for them to all be building blocks. I am undecided what theme I wish to convey however, but I will be thinking this over for weeks to come.

First Recording Session

Today I began recording a new song.  I laid down a beat, piano and bass loop.  In each case, I experimented with different settings and styles.  For the beat, I first chose a kick, snare and, hat, and represented each with a different key on the keyboard using a midi.  This made playing different beats easier as I decided for more of a swing tempo.  I also learned to quantize each measure to make sure everything is happening on time.  After looking through options in synthesizer bass, acoustic bass, and electric bass, I chose an electric fender sound.  From this session I learned more about the process of editing and picking distortions.  I look forward to developing new thoughts on how to expand further on the song hopefully with new instruments.