A Few Ideas, Pt. 3: Painfully slow progress

Get an Apple. Rock out in your bedroom.
Still working on my new little tune. As promised, I’ve been diligent about saving different versions so I track and share my progress. This song has been a little slower in coming that most. Don’t know for sure, but I may be unconsciously trying too hard, knowing that the process is going to be immortalized on the World Wide InterWeb. But who am I kidding? Nobody reads this blog anyway!
Since I last checked in, I’ve started to think more about structure and arrangement – where the verses go, where the chorus goes, the bridge and transitions, etc. I wrote a few different lyrics, mostly to have something to sing at first. I only wrote enough for one verse, which I sing twice; you can tell I didn’t bother memorizing it very well on the second run-through. By the end, and particularly in the bridge section, I am just making up sounds as I go.
(I you missed my previous blog about vowel sounds and nonsense lyrics).
I’ve also started layering and adding flourishes to different sections, building character and distinguishing the different parts. There is still much to add, including a bass part and probably some subtle synths. I usually do those parts last, right before the final mix. After the bridge section will be one more half verse and full chorus. At least, that is the current plan.
If anyone’s curious, there are currently 16 distinct instrument tracks in this version. That will probably grow to 20 or 25 by the time the process is done. They aren’t all playing at once, of course. The fullest section, near the beginning of the second verse, has six or so tracks playing simultaneously, including four guitar parts.
Enjoy the latest version:
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More updates as they happen. Until then, rock on!
C
Ok….I like the piano track added around 59 secs. Develop that! I am enjoying learning about your process. Keep it up!
I like the 6/8 time. Not sure what it means but I do know I didn’t learn much with my piano lessons growing up!
The piano actually appears (subtly) well before that. There’s a pedal point note through the entire first verse. On a future blog, I will write about pedal point!
6/8 time is a triplet-based rhythm, like a waltz, only instead of 3 beats per measure there are 6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 – 1 2 3 4 5 6, and so on.
Hey There!
It seems like you are gradually learning a lot in Garage Band. That is actually a really fun program for getting your feet wet in the home recording world. You have an awesome voice, and you should start trying other home recording software programs. You could probably do alot with them! Since you are having fun with home recording, you should check out my articles on home recording tips.
Keep Jammin!
Mark