Friends, My latest song is called DOORS. I went for something more "cinematic" sounding on this one. I think the textures and the percussion work together to accomplish that goal. Let me know what you think. It was very, very fun to create. Thank you for listening to my latest song and watching my first "feature film" called DOORS (ok...maybe that's a stretch).
Dave
Friends,
It all began with small tendrils of a verse melody repeating endlessly through my mind. Here is a snippet of the first source material. { Mocking Bird Verse Snippet}. That distinctive tone that stands out on top is a synth sound called "Swaggering Around". I liked it. It is a major anchor throughout the song. It does not sound like much on its own but you have to use your imagination in this process.
I played around with this pattern for several frustrating weeks (this is typical of my creation process...a lot of time in a sort of limbo land of uncertainty). The creation process ALWAYS starts slow and tentative. It seems I sometimes forget everything I have learned and I get stuck in a land of "small" mind. Nothing sounds fresh. In this case my lack of progress forced me to move on to another song project altogether, at least for awhile.
I reluctantly (at first) returned to the song. I decided to piece together two song ideas. Here is the second change that inspired me to keep moving forward: {Mocking Bird Chorus Snippet} This pattern found a home as my chorus or perhaps it's really a song bridge ..not sure. You see…it is a chorus that never repeats. It is only played once the entire song.
The song came alive again for me when I found some free time to play with the melody and adding interesting voice harmonies. I spent a huge amount of time just humming non sensical words at the rhythm. The words and phrases then began to emerge as I repeated the patterns many, many times and felt grooves that sat with the music right (at least to my ears). I had a lot of fun taking harmonies way higher than my comfort zone in terms of register. This particular harmony really got my juices flowing {Mocking Bird Harmony}. After this is when the song took off and when all engines start firing for me. This is when I go into a sort of hyperdrive of recording and laying down tracks. The final stage is mixing and pre-mastering which is a process I wish I had more expertise at but that I love learning about and improving at.
As an aside; I received some free samples from an artist named Kenny Segal (thank you Kenny) and decided to use them in this song but sparingly. They are far down in the mix and not "musical" at all. They give the the song extra sheen, body and character by adding strange percussive breathy sounds (whale-like) and other reverberish oddities. Probably hard to hear but I know they are present in the mix ; ).
The guitarish sounding patterns, echoes and synth buildups layer together to give the song a dream-like character that is hard for me to describe but I guess I don’t have to…just go and listen to the music. I will release it next week so stay tuned.
Thanks and I hope all is well with you.
Dave
New Song: FALLING OFF MY EDGES
I decided to change up my creative approach on this project. By this I mean I began listening to Electronic Dance Music (EDM) for inspiration. This got the juices flowing as it is not my traditional cup of tea.
I started with a simple but thick steady kick thud and then experimented with percussive synth rhythms until one clicked. This took several weekends of tinkering time to settle on. I then built the rest of the song around that center of gravity. This song is synth heavy and percussive as one might expect with EDM.
I used my outboard TC Helicon Voice Live 2 to create "harmonic" layers to my singing. I hope no one was outside walking their dog while I was doing this because to avoid music bleed I have to sing with the music playing through headphones. My voice ain't great so I am sure that an outsider passing the house probably thought someone inside was dying a slow and horrible death. However, listening to my "live" processed voice through headphones was fun beyond description. The mix levels I had while singing were sitting real nice and conspired to allow me to really go crazy with experimentation while I endlessly looped parts of the song. Good thing my family wasn't home...they would surely have strangled me.
I hear flaws but I feel safe (I hope) sharing it amongst friends. Perhaps I will revisit it in several months time and fix the rough edges.
Until then, I will continue "Falling Off My Edges".
Peace
Dave
Hello! and welcome to 2017!
I have finally completed final masters of my last ten original songs and have compiled them into a full length album. I am using CDBaby as a means to digitally distribute my music to stores like iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Google Play, Tidal, Deezer, and dozens more. I have also used a company called DiscMakers to create some "physical" CD versions of the music.
For a limited time if you join my mailing list (see Home Page) I will send you a FREE download of the album "It Takes One Drop". Here is a link that shows what the a physical copy of the CD looks like in "3D":
3D Image of CD
Thank You
Dave
Friends, This is my latest song called “It Takes One Drop”. It took several weeks to develop and I had a blast the entire time. I think I just might mix and master my last ten singles into a “formal” album/CD now. Thanks for sharing my creation process with me along the way.
BTW if you have been listening to my music and want to recommend a good song order for the album I am all ears. I am also searching for an album title : )
Cheers and Thanks for listening.........Dave
Hi Friends,
This song is called Tar Bones.
I never know how a song will materialize. The song structure and feel often start out of the thin roots and foggy mists of drum, chord patterns or hints of melodies in my head. I play around with ideas. I often have some fresh musical inspiration from the latest music I am listening too. However, I find there is often never a direct line to the reference song(s). What emerges is usually a surprise and wholly different than what I was expecting. This is what makes the song creation process fun for me. A song forms from many little tangled webs of failed attempts and do overs . All these pieces form into a success if you finish the project. It is never perfect. Perfect would be boring anyway.
Like any good song it is the vocals that must stand out front and center. They must be lifted by the music. I hope I was successful in doing this. Enjoy the music and please let me know what you think. It wouldn’t be quite as fun to create without knowing that there are kind, listening ears out there enjoying it.
What is the song about? Not sure. Perhaps its about the final few moments of a soldier’s life. …..perhaps not.
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Now Go Create Something! Just Do It!
Dave
Friends
My latest song creation is titled "Tic Tac" (Please double click song title to hear)
Many of the lyric layers worked there way into a fugue like round that I found rather hypnotizing especially towards the end of the song. I added a grand finale "stream of conscience" layer towards the end of the final chorus section that even I scratch my head at when trying to decipher their meaning. I debated on whether or not to cut this out but decided that I had too much fun and the words just felt right rolling out of my mouth. My voice is presented up close and dry throughout the song except for the intro section which was made wet and soupy on purpose for effect.
The song started after I noodled out a bluesy rhythm that really grabbed a hold of me and would not let go. This rhythm formed the foundation of the song and was composed of a fretless bass and very cool drum pattern. The other key component is the 6 string guitar that surfs the rhythm and then loosely drifts away at other times to keep things interesting. I loved improvising the riffs during the recording of these particular tracks.
The "sweetening" of the song was critical on this project. What I mean is the extra instrumental flavorings to add interest to what could otherwise become a monotonous blues pattern (mainly C's and F's with some Bbs). Here are some of the names of the Omnisphere patches I added to this song. 1) Controlled Anxiety; 2) VL Tone Modulus Pad; 3) Theremin's Journey (you'll hear it during the bridge) 4) Accidental Magic; and 5) HiWatt Hammond. By the way, I need to take a deep bow to the HiWatt Hammond designer. This sound just kicked butt to my ears.
My song creation process on this was also unique. I used my Ableton Live for recording tracks because this software's Session View allowed me to experiment in a very intuitive free flowing way with different song arrangement ideas. I am still not 100% comfortable with this DAW but it is growing on me quickly. However, for mixing and mastering I pushed my files over to Logic Pro X. I can edit, balance, tweak and add the shiny eq, compressor, reverb, delay plugins easier from this software.
The song. What is it about?? I guess the title Tic Tac may be the give-away. I know we are all sick and tired of politics and I appreciate this can be a sensitive subject area so I won't get into it any deeper than that.
Conclusion: This is another labor of love. I hope you like it.
Your friend
Dave
Hello
I was scouring iTunes, Spotify as well as my own collection of music for ideas and inspiration for my next song. I was in a bit of a flat spot creatively and nothing was hitting the "home run" for me. I somehow landed on Steven Wilson's web site (of Porcupine Tree fame) and began reading about his latest project work. This led me to his last album Hand.Cannot.Erase. A real gem. His technical craftmanship balanced against plain old good tunes reminds me of Rush, a little bit of Yes, ELP, and Dream Theater. I decided to think big and try to mimic the style and technical wizardry of these artists. I used Steve Wilson's song Hand.Cannot.Erase as my reference track.
What came out is far, far from the brilliant playing, mixing and mastering of this album. However, a song did arrive. It is called "Simple Love". It does not sound much like a Steven Wilson song AND I would not call it prog rock by a long shot BUT I did add a fairly in-depth "prog rock" like power organ driven riff in the middle. The muse returned and I was on fire last weekend putting final touches on this new original.
Hope you all had a fantastic weekend and thanks for giving the song a spin.
Cheers
Dave
Hello,
I wanted to create something completely original and I thought no one has ever written a song about Love before ....right? So that's what I did.
This one is pure Pop Rock goodness.
It's called "I Wrote a Love Letter Tonight". It clocks in at under 3 minutes...wow.
The song first popped into my head when I was recently listening to a song called Amsterdam by a band called Guster (I believe my friend Alan Schwartz shared this group with me a couple of years ago...(thank you Alan). I loved the upbeat feel of the song and it has a great mix. I referenced this song to help guide the punch to my tracks and as an overall final mix benchmark. Guster won the mix challenge. However, I'll take my runner-up original any day. The Guster song is also about writing a letter but that is where any other resemblance to the song ends.
Let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you. Enjoy your summer and hope to talk to you soon.
Dave
Greetings
I have created a new original song called "Beachside". I am slowly building up my new song inventory (three singles so far) with the goal to create a new album over the next year or so. Some of the singles I have shared with you will be moderately re-arranged and/or remixed before the album creation process is complete. Perhaps some of the singles will not make it onboard at all. I have other song snippets on shelves and under rocks that may or may not see the light of day. Only time and inspiration will tell. Future songs are just fleeting sparks shooting out of the fire. Thanks again for listening and keep in touch. I'd love to hear from you.
Enjoy the song.
Cheers,
Dave
Hi all;
I am excited to announce I have just completed a second completely original new song in 2016. This New Single is titled "Spin Zone". Just click the song title and it should take you to a link that plays the song. If it doesn't let me know. I'll fix it or find a way to get the song to you.
Lyrics and chord structure ebbed and flowed and then came into full bloom slowly. Too slowly. I was close to throwing this one out a bunch of times. I almost went Psychoacoustic on it. Actually, I did. I use what are called psychoacoustic sounds in the song. They are what kept the song from dying a slow death because certain sounds sort of stuck with me and would not let go.
Although from outside "listening" in you may not be able to hear these sounds clearly, trust me, they are present in the mix. The sounds included a plucked stapler spring (Yes ...you heard that right) combined with sounds formed by tapping light bulbs of different sizes and intensities. The other unique feature is the staccato soprano entering the scene towards the end of the song. She is worth waiting for.
The process of lyric making is a very organic and often a very daunting process for me. My words are wrapped in the flavors of the current world around me and my emotional state(s) at the moment I am writing. My intent when starting this was not to take on anything too serious. That is not exactly what I ended up with. I try to hold it all lightly, and hope you do too.
Thanks again for listening to my very eclectic music tastes. I never know what is going to form and I am always a bit surprised at the end result. The whole music creation process has been a blast and I will try to keep in touch with you more during the development process of my next song. Thank You for allowing me to share my experience with you.
Hope to see you around town and I'll talk to you again soon. I'd love to hear from you. Take Care
Dave
Hello friends,
I set a stretch goal for myself over this long weekend and created a brand new song. As many of you on the distribution can attest, this is no small task. Just coming up with a song idea is an accomplishment in itself. Laying down tracks, arranging, editing and then mixing the song can often take weeks of time (at least for me). This one moved pretty fast from start to finish and I stayed focused. It is not perfect and I do hear things in the final mix I would have changed but all in all I am satisfied.
Here is a little about the song "INHALE" itself. It is written in an atypical way...more layered and fugue like than your traditional verse- chorus- verse -chorus-bridge etc etc approach. I personally love the boys choir singing juxtaposed (is that a word?) against my lead riffing on an instrument called the "Rectifier". That is that high voltage sound you hear spiraling and vaulting into the stratosphere ; )...as you can see I had a lot of fun playing this particular instrument.
Special thanks to the English Boys Choir singing in a real cathedral and sampled by Mr. Eric Persing and Rupert Gregson-Williams. I conducted this boys choir via my PC2X keyboard pulling samples from a great plug -in called Omnisphere.
Thank You for giving this new single a listen and feel free to share with your friends. Anyway...that tis all for now. Thanks for listening. Have a fantastic weekend.
Dave