An attempt at sincerity :P

Okay, so basically so far I've just been hitting random pieces of information and tidbits of what I'm up to (in the music world, anyway). That's all fine, but the point of this blog was to chart progress and maybe give/receive insight into the song writing process. SO

Here's the first real attempt at a methodical approach to song writing, step by step:

Here's a little tidbit I came up with the other night when I was feeling especially devoid of thought. I had had an EXCELLENT song idea earlier that day while driving in the car, but it failed to resurface when I went to write it down later that night. Oh, well. I can't very well pry open my brain for then I may bleed to death, and that would be unfortunate as I have yet many things to do and many people to do them to. :P

Aptly titled: Uninspired

I spend most of my time running away from my mind.
Now, I'm dying trying to get inside.

Chorus:
Uninspired -
deadened fire -
sick and tired,
try to get the meaning out again.


We live so alone, those with eyes to see,
no one near to hear our stolen prophecies.

Bridge:
You holed me up and left me to die.
Lost the fervor for asking "why?"



Alright. Good so far, right? I'm witholding any judgement of these lyrics and just barreling forward. We're our own worst critics, and I'm starting to understand just how much that can hold us back, if we let it.


So, that was step 1: Write up some lyrics.
A few words on that step: Writing up the lyrical backbone of a song is not the easiest thing to do, but sometimes it is the easiest part of the whole composition. Occasionally, words come easily and fit directly into a meter. This set came easily and metered itself (count the syllables and listen for the rhythm of the words as you speak them), but this does not necessarily mean these lyrics are a presentable, finished product. They will need revision for flavor, emotional rhythm adjustments, and other spicy pieces.

I think the next step is to decide on a general feel of the piece. That is, what do I want the overall sound of this piece to convey to the listener.

I'm a fan of irony and overt contradiction. I feel these concepts can convey messages about the hypocracy of something or perhaps how out of place something is. Since this is the feeling I want to occur in my listener, I will make the accompaniment contradict the general feeling of the lyrics. Notice, these lyrics are somewhat dark, sending a message of frustration, indignance, and anxiety with regard to inspiration and creativity. These lyrics later blame this lack of productivity on a person or thing. I think a pretty surefire rule of thumb for accompaniments is this: Major chords = happy; minor chords = sad. If I wanted to match up my chord progression with the lyrics, I'd use minor chords, right? Going against the grain, I'll use major chords.

I've come up with the following progression by strumming the chords on my guitar. Experimenting with different rhythms is a great idea, but I'm going to separate that into a different step for later. For now, approach the progression as if it were all eighth- or quarter-note strums in 4/4 time at a relaxed tempo. (Later on, to follow the contradiction, we'll probably speed up the tempo, give this piece an upbeat rhythm, and add some scale dancing to overemphasize the opposition.)

Progression:

Verse -
A D C D A G F G
A D C D A G F E

Chorus -
Using Bar(V) shapes:
D D\A A (fermatta) Bb Bb Bb (rest) C D (repeat)
Q-Q-E-Q.-----------Q--E--E----E----E-Q.

I cheated a little from our simplicity scheme with the chorus because I decided to start playing with rhythms a bit (straight 4/4 quarters gets REALLY BORING REALLY FAST (techno) - (and even techno doesn't sit on a rhythm for too long (turnarounds)). For you music/rhythm buffs out there, yes, I'm aware the timing on the chorus doesn't add up right now. It doesn't have to be right, at the moment :P We're creating.


Okay, so I think this is a good point to call the end of step 2. We've created a lyrical framework and set up a general chord progression to establish the basic idea of how we want the song to sound and the ideas we want the SOUND to convey, as well as the WORDS. From here on out, we'll be making finer and finer adjustments until we've completed our method and we have a working musical piece.

Relaying the Message: Music Theory Note 1

Okay: a quick note on pentatonics.

A pentatonic scale is effectively 5 pitches from it's mother scale. Usually, when the word "pentatonics" is used, it's used in reference to a minor pentatonic scale. This is just based on precedence.

Unlike a natural minor scale - with intervals W H W W H W W - the pentatonic scale uses either W W+1/2 W W or W W W+1/2 W. That is, skip straight to the minor 4th and so on.

You'll notice pentatonics are prominent in blues and jazz music, but also they are used sparingly in rock and folk music. Pentatonics date back to the earliest of musical histories.

Try listening to "Song for the Dumped" again, but this time listen for the pentatonics. I think he steps out of the pentatonics in the verse, but try to hear them during the solos. Heck, try to play it if you feel fruity; you'll definitely see what I mean when you try it.


I'll try to supplement this later. Thanks for the inquiry! :P

Just wanted to see

if I can embed stuff here...

I figured after a while that it's not only sufficient to show you what I'm putting out, but also what my influences are...letting you know what I'm practicing and all that.  I promise not to bore you with "well, I practice some stuff last night, and it was good...." type posts :P

---

Ben Folds

I've been going through a Ben Folds phase lately. I really love his use of pentatonics and minor sevenths. It accentuates the particular intonation of his voice, too - that hesitant, semi-pubescent, 16-year-old geeky voice :P.

Ben Folds Five - Song for the Dumped


Ben Folds - Still Fighting It


Radiohead

I've always been crazy about Radiohead, but a few months back I went through a pretty intense Radiohead/Pearl Jam/Muse stage. You wouldn't normally consider Pearl Jam being mixed into that set, but the connection comes with the song "Oceans," I think. I'll post it below. These guys all also throw a ton of minors into their stuff; these sounds REALLY accentuate the emotions they're conveying. It seems like majors fall pale in comparison to minors when trying to communicate anything other than Super Happy Furry Feelings.

Radiohead - Karma Police


Radiohead - Street Spirit (Fade Out)


Pearl Jam - Oceans

Freaking amazing how powerful this song is without attempting too much...

..as Excalibur rose from the rivers of fire and the depths of the Hells!

So.....


Holy. Flaming. God Llamas.


My brand new, beautiful, arm of God, super-shiny child arrived today.  Sit/laze in awe of her grandeur...

Cleaning off the Muck

So I think this is an especially interesting time because I'm just beginning to come out of a funk that I've been in for about two weeks now.  The lyrics that come out now are especially reflective of the creative process; sometimes I create all-at-once, sometimes it's in very small increments.  Here's the next installment of the previously attached lyrics: (and yes, I totally stole the rhythm from Foo Fighters :P)


“that’s something you have to fix for yourself”
I know but I was looking for some tenderness for my health
The hardest part of all is playing the cards which you’re dealt
Choosing whether to live in our personal heaven or hell

I’m coming down for the last time
(ah)
this won’t be done like the past times
(ah)
I won’t get stuck on the last line
(ah)
don’t hate your life when you passed mine
(ah)


Don’t give up on yourself, my friend
There’s plenty time left for us to mend
I know we’ve got some work to do
Workin’ on me and you
I see things much less clear
When I’m searching in the mirror
I’m here for you my friend
I’m here for you again
I’m here until the end
Just for you

Writing about Intrinsic Hurt

It seems I need to write about you to get over you
It seems I need to forget about you to write


funny how that's all I can get out right now, suffering from a blockage, thinking about you like you were dying tomorrow....

Engineering and Egotists

So I finally got offered my engineering position at work today (I've been kind of hinting at it/flat out asking for about a year now). This is a lateral move from being a technician with the chemical group to a techinician with the engineering group. Given that the company takes in almost 60% of its moneys from projects completed by the engineering group, the calibre of my work, I think, will have to step up a bit. I've made a habit of coming in basically whenever I want, and making that in and of itself optional. I've become very relaxed and settled into a comfortable-yet-altogether-boring groove with the chemical group. The motivation for work there for me for the past year has been my coworkers and the occasionally present need for money. Yet somehow after working toward this for more than a year now, I find myself nervous, hesitant, and somewhat scared. I suppose by default we as human beings fear change; it challenges us, and challenges by definition show us our room for improvement. After quite a few hours of thought on the subject, I think I'm able to rise to this challenge. I can't deny that I still fear it, but we fear what we do not know....and the process of discovery requires us to be unaware of that which we are discovering. I'm excited, nervous, scare, elated, anxious, hesitant, and wary all at the same time. :P




On another note, I noticed two new categories of personas tonight. I won't say that they are new ideas, but that they previously did not seem like individual categories to me. The first is a person who is overzealous, enthusiastic, and positive to a fault. This person excuses negativity as bollox and refuses to accept negativity as a possible answer to some expression. The second is a person who is pessimistic, angry, generally negative, and all far too far yet without abandoning legitimacy. This person says there is not room for positivity in some contexts and will fully eliminate the potential for growth from a condition, especially in regard to humanly conditional issues. Both of these personas are self-centered and egotistical.


It's getting insanely late, so I'll probably revise this tomorrow, but I can't wrap my mind around rational thought at the moment :P