Hey everyone/anyone! Just some updates as to what is happening with the band!
It looks like we're starting to actually become a band now. We've got consistent people to cover guitar, piano, violin, and trumpet. I have been in contact with a cellist who I would like to count among our ranks, but he will not be in the city until the end of August.
Aside from that, we still need a consistent female vocalist with the right tonal quality and range.
Songwriting has been consistent, and I've got about enough content for a two albums now. The first one is set but the tracks on the second one are subject to change. (so far I have 8 on the second album and 4 more in the works)
Currently I'm trying to figure out what to do about live sound. Right now I'm trying to acquire a portable digital piano. I'm considering either a Yamaha P85 or a Korg Sp-250. I am leaning towards the Korg because it has proper 1/4" outputs. Unfortunately it is more expensive as well.
I'm also considering selling my electric hollow body guitar so that I can acquire a Spanish guitar. I need one for some songs, or, all of them, since I like the way it sounds with my music.
Well, that's all for now! Hopefully things start picking up come September.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Delinquents, or Ode to Peter and Sarah
Hello!
So, not much progress these days on the recording of the new album... my violinist has been pretty busy and we havn't had time to practice. I wasn't gonna start looking for more musicians until we got back together so that's sort of on hold.
In other news, I finished writing a song I've been working on writing, and rewriting, for months now. It's gone through three distinct revisions, the first of which was 9 and a half minutes long.
It's made up of three sections, the second of which was the longest and has gone through the most revisions. First I changed the verse, 'cause I didn't like it. And then I changed the chorus too, so I actually ended up with a completely different middle section than the first. Second version was 8:30 and "final" version is 7:00, and I'm finally happy with each part of the song. Oh right in the second version I also changed the first part... from 3/4 to 4/4.
Alright, so here is a REALLY rough recording of this final structure:
This one just has solo guitar and vocals. The finish will be fully arranged, as usual. There are some notes in there that I didn't hit at all in the recording but I didn't bother trying again because I didn't want to annoy my apartment mates too much.
This recording was basically to get the feel for the song, and the length. Also, hearing the song played helps me thing of better parts and accompaniment.
The third and final part is actually the only one I've finished composing, mainly because it's my favourite and has changed the least from the start. You can listen to that here.
If anyone is interested, I'll post the earlier iterations of the song [I have them all recorded actually], but they're long so I don't know if anyone will want to.
That's all for now!
-William
So, not much progress these days on the recording of the new album... my violinist has been pretty busy and we havn't had time to practice. I wasn't gonna start looking for more musicians until we got back together so that's sort of on hold.
In other news, I finished writing a song I've been working on writing, and rewriting, for months now. It's gone through three distinct revisions, the first of which was 9 and a half minutes long.
It's made up of three sections, the second of which was the longest and has gone through the most revisions. First I changed the verse, 'cause I didn't like it. And then I changed the chorus too, so I actually ended up with a completely different middle section than the first. Second version was 8:30 and "final" version is 7:00, and I'm finally happy with each part of the song. Oh right in the second version I also changed the first part... from 3/4 to 4/4.
Alright, so here is a REALLY rough recording of this final structure:
This one just has solo guitar and vocals. The finish will be fully arranged, as usual. There are some notes in there that I didn't hit at all in the recording but I didn't bother trying again because I didn't want to annoy my apartment mates too much.
This recording was basically to get the feel for the song, and the length. Also, hearing the song played helps me thing of better parts and accompaniment.
The third and final part is actually the only one I've finished composing, mainly because it's my favourite and has changed the least from the start. You can listen to that here.
If anyone is interested, I'll post the earlier iterations of the song [I have them all recorded actually], but they're long so I don't know if anyone will want to.
That's all for now!
-William
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Track Listings and Some Things you Probably Wont Care About
Let's talk about some album stuff.
Here is the track listing for my first album:
-01. What Holds us Together in Winter (used to be Winter Sleeping)
-02. Seasons and Struggles (used to be Picture in the Clouds)
-03. Flames of Glory (I'm thinking of renaming this)
-04. Simon and Shirona's Song
-05. A Stronger Man, A Stronger Woman
06. A Life of Questions
07. Sunlight
08. By the Sea, Looking Up at the Sky
09. Walkin'
-10. Lonely as a Stump in the Middle of a Forest
Songs with a dash next to their name mean songs that have been fully arranged/transcribed, with sheet music ready to hand out to musicians. So I have four more left to transcribe. I've got plenty of time though because currently I only have a violinist and I need a cellist and hopefully a trumpet before I consider recording. I could probably do a passable job with the trumpt parts but I'd rather get someone more skilled/focused.
Tentative titles for the album are, "Look and See" or "Get Back Up!!" (complete with the two exclamation points). I'm not sure which I prefer but they are both fitting. Feel free to give opinions on that, or the song titles. I have posted rough demos of tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8 on my bandcamp, which is linked to on the right. Those have been up for a while now.
I have also gotten to work composing my second album. I've got 5 or 6 songs already in the works, two of which I have finished lyrics for and also the general song structure/chord progressions. You can hear a rough demo of one here, tentatively titled, "Well, So It's Gone".
For the second album I'm trying to make it generally more up-tempo/exciting and I think generally it's working out. But we'll see!
For now though I'm gonna focus on transcribing the rest of the album and getting musicians, I think. It's more important to get that first album finished.
Here is the track listing for my first album:
-01. What Holds us Together in Winter (used to be Winter Sleeping)
-02. Seasons and Struggles (used to be Picture in the Clouds)
-03. Flames of Glory (I'm thinking of renaming this)
-04. Simon and Shirona's Song
-05. A Stronger Man, A Stronger Woman
06. A Life of Questions
07. Sunlight
08. By the Sea, Looking Up at the Sky
09. Walkin'
-10. Lonely as a Stump in the Middle of a Forest
Songs with a dash next to their name mean songs that have been fully arranged/transcribed, with sheet music ready to hand out to musicians. So I have four more left to transcribe. I've got plenty of time though because currently I only have a violinist and I need a cellist and hopefully a trumpet before I consider recording. I could probably do a passable job with the trumpt parts but I'd rather get someone more skilled/focused.
Tentative titles for the album are, "Look and See" or "Get Back Up!!" (complete with the two exclamation points). I'm not sure which I prefer but they are both fitting. Feel free to give opinions on that, or the song titles. I have posted rough demos of tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8 on my bandcamp, which is linked to on the right. Those have been up for a while now.
I have also gotten to work composing my second album. I've got 5 or 6 songs already in the works, two of which I have finished lyrics for and also the general song structure/chord progressions. You can hear a rough demo of one here, tentatively titled, "Well, So It's Gone".
For the second album I'm trying to make it generally more up-tempo/exciting and I think generally it's working out. But we'll see!
For now though I'm gonna focus on transcribing the rest of the album and getting musicians, I think. It's more important to get that first album finished.
Monday, February 22, 2010
New blog! Woo!
Hey everyone! I just made this blog this morning... it's still a little jank, but I'll get to working out the design a little more later.
I made this blog so that I could have a place to post stuff about the progress of my album/band/other musical happenings. I'll probably talk about things like additional members, new recordings, new songs, and even things like new software discoveries for transcribing music.
So, first up, I'll show the MIDI version of the album opener. I arranged it all the other day; it's 1 of 2 instrumental songs on the album. It's called "Winter Sleeping" though I may change the name; one I have in mind is, "What Keeps Us Together in Winter". I guess I have an affinity for long titles ha ha.
I made this blog so that I could have a place to post stuff about the progress of my album/band/other musical happenings. I'll probably talk about things like additional members, new recordings, new songs, and even things like new software discoveries for transcribing music.
So, first up, I'll show the MIDI version of the album opener. I arranged it all the other day; it's 1 of 2 instrumental songs on the album. It's called "Winter Sleeping" though I may change the name; one I have in mind is, "What Keeps Us Together in Winter". I guess I have an affinity for long titles ha ha.
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