This is what happens when I write and record two songs a week for a year.
The sky looks like it is bleeding diamonds
Smoke looks just like a thousand garlands
I'm trying to find the words you want to:
Hear me know 'cause I've heard all that I can stand
This is not what I had planned
- Nicole Atkins
This came about after randomly jamming to Hangar 18 with a friend and playing the James Bond theme over it. This is also the first song with vocals (rough as they are). I also tried some new stuff mixing wise with the drums – though they sound bigger and better, a lot of the mix is muddier. I guess I’ll just keep hacking away at it.
The James Bond them is originally in E minor but I dropped it down to D minor to fit with Hangar 18. Its a little slower than Hangar 18 but I didn’t want to totally lose the groove of the James Bond theme. Also: I’m working on the whole singing thing – trust me, it just takes a while. And yes there is a “Tornado of Souls” reference in there somewhere.
Guitars in drop D, I used the black Washburn and my friend’s ESP bass. Also a bad SM58 knockoff for the vocals.
Three and a half weeks in (25 hours and 25 BPM faster) and I’ve noticed a few things.
Going slow is good: I knew this before starting but it never hit home until I actually practiced it. Going slower than you would normally go allows you to focus much more precisely on individual movements. I’ve learned subtle things about my playing and have adapted to them – for instance, I changed my picking attack slightly because of the way my pick would scrape the strings when I played standing up. I think for a future update of the program there will be a specific warm up section where you play at 75% of the day’s scheduled practicing speed.
Similarly, beginning the program at a slow speed gives you a number of sessions to focus on pure technique. As a result my picking has gotten a lot cleaner.
I also knew this before hand but the program really reinforced it. Like in Stronglifts, progressive loading (increasing the speed by 1 BPM each session) is a huge motivator. Though the exercises are the same, each session can be treated like a new challenge.
I have noticed though, that I am reaching a plateau in some of the exercises. The scales in 3rds and the four note pentatonic runs, as well as the 5th Caprice have all begun to test the limits of my playing. While I can get them after some practice building up to the day’s speed, I will soon be unable to play them (especially 5th Caprice, oh my god that is difficult).
Because of this I will be working on a ‘B’ program to use once I plateau. Right now I have gone from 80-105 BPM and will likely continue to 120. The B program will go from 90-120 and then I will return to the current program at 100 BPM. Or something. I will be working on it.
I found that some of the previous songs stretch on for a little too long – five minutes maybe isn’t all that necessary. For these two I tried to keep them short and to the point, condensing what is good about the other songs into a tighter structure. Some of the mixing is off (as usual) the drums might be a little too loud in The Circle but I’m having issues with my recording software. I began Birdhouse first but took a break and recorded The Circle when I got to a sticking point. Then I went back and finished Birdhouse. I think this helped, I was able to go at it fresh the second time and get a different sound than what was originally intended.
The Circle – B minor, Peavey, disorted bass.
Birdhouse – D Dorian, Peavey and Washburn, same distorted bass tone.
Download The Circle
Download Birdhouse
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