Wow, has it really been more than a week since FAWM finished? It doesn't feel like it has finished at all because I've been trying to grab moments when I can to get things done to the songs that are up on there.
I've written music for the songs Ballad For The Songwriter and Thief, the latter of which I am beginning to wonder if I should make into something a little bit more elaborate. They both need a little work lyrically, but I am absolutely happy with the chords, rhythm, and at least the melody that I have in my head for them both. They are both at a much higher register than I have to sing for many a year - doing little short bursts at that register isn't so bad, but actually carrying an entire song off at that level, that is quite something and I don't think personally that I have pulled it off. You can check them out for yourselves if you like.
The song Thief though is a very interesting thing though. It is relatively simple chord wise, although I am very fond of the fact that I am doing some time changes in there for an effect that I really really like. However, it is a strange thing sometimes to write the words first, because in some ways you're writing stuff down you might add a 'tag' at the end, and then when you go back and try to write music you get to that last bit that bears no relevance whatsoever in terms of structure or phrasing, and you suddenly think huh???
This was one of those moments. I looked at the lyrics in book one of my two FAWM notebooks and I was doing fine until I got there and then I was absolutely dumbfounded. For a long time I tried various different ideas, but none of them seemed to work properly. I think it must have been around an hour of trying to work out what to do, which was even more irritating because I don't get much time to record stuff and I actually wanted to record the demo's that day using the 12 track. As it was, I ended up having to do them the way of the laptop microphone again, which was irritating. Ten minutes to put down two demo's and put a line into a song that had been missing due to a computer glitch (Try To Relax).
When I eventually did come up with what to do for that "tag" at the end of Thief, I suddenly thought of the chord Am9, which I think Sean Lennon used on the song Wasted from the Into The Sun album if I remember rightly. Whatever, I was thinking of that song for some reason and suddenly I just seemed to know what to do. I haven't copied Sean's music by the way, it was just that opening chord that inspired me as to what to write.
Once I came up with that structure for the tag though I thought, "this is too good to just leave it there." So, with that in mind, I am thinking of expanding on that and possibly making it into an entire story of a person, even possibly bringing in something beforehand to lead into what is at present the main body of the song. Give the guy in question a whole back story, and make it almost like a Raffles, Dick Turpin, Robin Hood, type of character in a song. Now that is something very very different.
I've linked songs together into a medley before now, but to create an continual story piece that is basically a novel in one song, well that would be quite something entirely different and, to be honest, quite an achievement if I could pull it off. I mean, the forthcoming album One Day tells of one day over 23 songs, here though it would tell a story in one song - ONE SONG!!!
I know, some of you read my blog and don't care for this sort of thing, you want me moaning on about the every day rigmarole and monotony. Don't worry, that will be back sometime soon... Perhaps ;-)
I've just put that link up for the Sean Lennon song and I'm not sure if I was right about the Am9 chord now - laptop speakers aren't great for listening to music. A pet hate of mine is when people listen to music on their mobile phones without headphones - it sounds awful! If music was supposed to be listened to like that, then why both having any instrument that plays lower than say 10,000 KHz Why??? It just comes out sounding like The Smurfs after an overdose of helium. Sorry, ranted there.
So yes, I am tempted to take that further because more than anything, I absolutely adore the music in that section and think it is a waste... Hold on, I said that - darn it!
I've had more contact with the lovely Elizabeth Petty (@kahlo2013 on FAWM) since FAWM ended, and that is one of the reasons why I am happily taking part in what is called 50/90. As is possibly obvious, the suggestion is to aim for writing fifty songs in ninety days. I heard that it was a little more of a sedate thing than FAWM, so why not. That plus I am hoping that some of my other friends might take part, and that would be be great to collaborate with them (I'm looking at you Andy Shippey, Dean Leavers, and every other one of you). There is also the fact that I can work with Wyman Griffith again (known as @wyatt on FAWM), which is great because I really like what we ended up with for In Heaven's Bright City. There are other people who I would be honored to work with that took part in FAWM such as Donna Devine, the person known as cindyrella, and the person known as @shay on there (I don't know their real names, I'm sorry). There are others, but that's a few of them.
Anyway, I also re-recorded the song Declaration during this past week as well because there were some very helpful who suggested that the music I had put to the words wasn't really right. I was trying to go for a feel that was a little Depeche Mode almost - I was thinking of someone who had not been a good person and was just saying, "okay I've been really bad, but I promise to...", etc. It was all synthy, deep, incredibly dark and broody. I'm keeping that musical background for if something else comes about that works for it.
As it turns out, I looked at the song and basically just changed the chords from major to minor more or less, which automatically gave it that much more sunny disposition. The background music became very lively acoustic sound, buoyant acoustic bass, fast tambourine, happy backing vocals, and was still a little over two minutes in length. More suggestions have been made since then, but as with everything it is a work in progress until the finished "proper" recording is made. Songs in my book are always a work in progress - like I said to someone, they are like a shoe that has to be worn in before it is comfortable.
Anyway, other than the songwriting thing, there was action of a Facebook ban variety. Yes, me banned.
After the fun of chatting with people and enjoying their music on FAWM, I found some of them on the book of faces, and sure enough I thought "why not send them friend requests?" However, I sent them without an accompanying message. They were looking at this guy in a Big Bang Theory T-Shirt (my avatar at the time) and thinking "who is this weirdo", rather than the one I have now of me with a bass in hand. They were also used to my name on FAWM - I went under marvsmooth on there because it's my e-mail, I didn't realise that I would be called that. Silly I know. After all these years of using computers you would have thought I'd have worked that out wouldn't you? Anyway, Facebook banned me for a week from doing a variety of things on there, which included sending Friend Requests.
Now I am back in it's good books and I have sent friend requests, only this time with a message alongside saying who I am. Smart. I've fixed the barn door after the horse escaped as Captain Kirk would say (there, a Star Trek reference has shown up).
Oh well, that is quite a long enough post I think.
Thank you for reading, please take care. We'll catch up again soon. I have songs to finish writing music for, and I also have my ex-Beatles blog to work on as well - George Harrison's All Things Must Pass album, here I come. I am so going to learn you note for note! :D
March 10th 2013 (42 years, 3 months, and 12 days old).
PS - I'm warming to Ted Danson in CSI. Laurence who?
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