2015 - The Year in Review

The year 2015 will go down as another year of underachievement for Exit World. Not to make excuses but the first half of the year was stricken with some stressful issues and stress can really have a negative effect on creativity. The second half of the year was only slightly better.

Unfortunately, I did not make any new songs during 2015. I started making a new recording which I wrote about previously. I know where this song is going but the trouble is I haven't been able to finish writing the lyrics. This will be my longest recording ever at around 10 minutes. And, as I wrote before, my plan is to split this recording into two and use them as bookends for my next album. At the moment though a next album seems like the farthest thing from reality. Unless of course my next album happens to be a Christmas album. I have been considering just working on Christmas songs come 2016, while I happen to still be in a Christmas mood. I was really pleased with the way "We Three Kings" came out and I want to do more of that. It's really freeing to come up with unique arrangements of classic holiday songs and not have to worry about rights. The possibilities are endless. Plus, instrumental Christmas albums have historically been very successful. Just consider the holiday offerings from Booker T & the MG's, The Ventures, Vince Guaraldi & Ramsey Lewis. I seriously want to get something out there for Christmas of 2016.

I did complete one recording this year which was the aforementioned "We Three Kings." I did work on some other recordings and either did not finish them or put them aside for later release. I don't want to make any plans that are too ambitious because I do not know what will happen this year, Perhaps my time and opportunity will be more restricted and thus less will materialize.

I once read about someone who embarked on a task of recording a new song for every week of the year. Thus, 52 songs in a year. That would make enough tracks for 4 to 5 albums. I don't believe I could possibly do that. One song a month would probably be the best for me. That is, with my current situation and all the distractions which invade my focus. I don't know if this person worked completely alone as I do. It's really mind-blowing if he did. But if he had a recording engineer or a producer or some other kind of help it is more feasible. However, a song a week is pretty much an impossibility for me in my current environment. These are the kinds of ambitions I want to avoid because I am more interested in quality than in quantity. And I have seen the quality of my recordings improve significantly with each one I have done.

So what are my goals for 2016? Definitely to work on Christmas music and have an album ready for release in November/December. It's just too late to wait till November to start recording. And I will try to finish writing the 10 minute song. That is all I'm planning for. I might really not have the time for anything more. Also I have to leave open the possibility of detours in the plans. What I am hoping for is some good news to come regarding my music endeavors.

On a final note, looking back a bit, I want to share a photo of the first keyboard I ever used in my recordings. I myself no longer have this instrument and this photo was not taken by me. But gladly I found it on the web:

A very small, simple electronic keyboard that I experimented a whole deal with. Glad I still have most of the recordings I made with it. It was given to me as a gift and I kept it until I was able to upgrade to a full size, polyphonic keyboard with many more and realistic sounding voices. That one I still have. 

Happy new year!

EDIT; After writing this post I went back a year to see what I wrote then. Surprisingly, I mentioned that 52-song-a-year project back then, too. I also said that it would be too unrealistic for me and one song per month would be a better possibility. Interesting to see that I've remained consistent on that.

Christmas Music & A Holly Jolly Christmas Guitar Solo Tab

Merry Christmas! The day has officially arrived and although it is great I wish it were still a few days away. The anticipation always seems to be higher than the day itself and now as usual I will going through 'Christmas withdrawal' symptoms. Would be nice if the Christmas celebration would go on during the weekend since it did fall on a Friday this year. But the radio stations already start pulling the plug on the holiday music and the TV stations end their Christmas programming early on in the day. All that just adds to the feeling of withdrawal.

I probably will not be making any additional Christmas/seasonal songs for now. At least not for release during what remains of this year. I may still toy around with some ideas I have. But at the moment I am still fully absorbing the 'sounds of the season' as they say. I'll tell you the truth--it's really hard for me to just completely cut off the music once Christmas Day becomes yesterday. This may sound peculiar but I continue to play Christmas/seasonal music well into February and even March at times. It helps me accept the fact that the holiday season is over and deal with the sometimes brutal moods of winter.

I do have this seasonal tune I wrote some years back called "Wintertime Blues." I wrote it as a bit of a jazzy piece and envisioned a very simple arrangement of only guitar, bass, drums, piano & vocal. I may tinker a bit with it in the coming days and weeks.Would make a great addition to my future Christmas album of all original songs. And as I wrote before, I really want to release an album of Christmas classics as well. If all plays out well in the coming year I will make a serious effort to record another 8 to 10 instrumental covers of public domain holiday songs. Picking out the songs will be something I should start doing right now. It's a shame that I can only use public domain songs, though due to licensing rights. There are plenty of other songs I would love to record, such as "Let it Snow," "Christmastime is Here," "Little Drummer Boy," "Silver Bells" and "Holly Jolly Christmas" to name a few. Don't get me wrong--I totally understand that I can record cover versions of these songs. I just cannot sell them. And I want to put together an album that I can sell without worrying about paying royalties to others.

But speaking of "A Holly Jolly Christmas," I've always appreciated that 12 string acoustic guitar doing fills and solos throughout Burl Ives' recording. I especially like that solo after the key change and I tabbed it out for anyone who is interested. I don't have a video for this but I may make one soon since it would be a very short one. Heck, it may even already be out there on YouTube. But I've learned that everyone hears things differently so it's not a bad idea to present your interpretation to the world.

E  :----------------|--------------------|--------------------|
B  :------6---------|--------------------|--------------------|
G  :-5678--8-56-86--|5h6p5--------6------|--------------------|
D  :---------------8|-----8-4---68-86----|--------------------|
A  :----------------|-----------------6h8|-4-----46/7-8--8----|
E  :----------------|--------------------|----46--------------|

This tab will work for a regularly tuned 6 string guitar and also for a 12 string that is tuned down a whole step with a capo on the 2nd fret.

EDIT: I've decided to tab the cool little intro solo to the song as well. It's just as great as the middle solo and fun to play:

E  :----------------|----------------|-----------
B  :1-----0---------|----------------|-----------
G  :------------2-42|--------0-20-2--|-0---------
D  :----------------|-2---234--------|-----------
A  :----------------|----------------|----2------

E  :----------------|----------------|-----------

E  :------|----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
B  :------|----3-----0-----|----------1------|-----------------|
G  :----0-|234--4-02--2--0-|20----0-22--2----|-----------------|
D  :------|-------------3--|-------------0h20|h2-0-------------|
A  :------|----------------|---2-------------|----0--3---------|
E  :------|----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

Just to clarify--what appear to be '20' and '22' in the tab are actually 2,0 and 2,2.

EDIT 2: Made the video....

We Three Kings - A Christmas Offering

I have thus far released two versions of my new recording, "We Three Kings", out on social media. First I put one out there on Soundcloud which is this one:





This is also the version I have sent to ChristmasSongsRadio.com and is currently on their playlist. After listening many times to this version I went back and touched up a few things and remixed it. This 2nd mix I uploaded to YouTube a couple of days ago, although it is a fold-down mono version. Here it is:




To the average ear both mixes will sound nearly identical. Perhaps even to most listeners. But there are some subtle differences.

So why did I make a fold-down mono version for YouTube? Because it was quick and easy and gives it more of a vintage vibe. The way I arranged the song already gives it a 60's/70's feel. Putting a mono version out there adds to it. But it's not a true mono mix. Will I create a dedicated mono mix? Probably not. Making a stereo mix is hard enough and, as is usually the case, I'm still not completely satisfied with either one of the two I have already released. Still have a few tweaks to make. When I do decide to officially release a Christmas album I want only the best mixes & masters on it.

But that's what I have for now. I'd still like to get a new Christmas song written and recorded within the next two weeks. I guess it's possible but I don't know if it's probable. Fortunately, the last two original Christmas songs I wrote did not take very much time to spill out onto paper.

Or should I record another cover of a classic? That would probably take less time. I'm not sure what I'll do at the moment. I was actually planning to do a version of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" for this year. Problem is I was intending to mimic Kenny Burrell's 1966 version too closely. Not so much the arrangement and instrumentation used on his but the slower note phrasing and 3/8 time feel. I also considered making a medley out of this song and "We Three Kings." Finally, I decided on "We Three Kings" with a 4/4 time signature instead of its original 3/8 time.

Stay tuned for news of the next endeavor!

Recording Done, Now Onto Mixing & Mastering

The weekend is officially over and the bad news is that my recording of "We Three Kings" is not ready. The good news is that I got a very good overall snare drum sound--probably the best I've ever recorded. Took me three sessions to get the final drum track I was pleased with.

There is still plenty of work that lies ahead. As I wrote in the last post, I used four separate tracks for the drums. I now need to combine those four into one. Not because I want to have it all on one track only but because I have used more tracks than I technically have available. My recorder is marketed as a 16 track but in practical reality it only offers 12 tracks; 8 mono tracks and 4 stereo tracks which are counted as 2 each. And one of the stereo tracks cannot be used for recording on because its purpose is to act as the track onto which the mixdown is bounced onto. At the moment I have 15 parts of which I will have to bounce some. Putting the 4 drum parts onto one track and the four horn/brass tracks onto only two should probably do the trick. Plus I also have to clean up any noise on some of the guitar tracks. After that I will make EQ adjustments and create a mix of all the tracks. Finally, after I have the perfect mix I will have it mastered. But to all of you who do your own home recordings you know how the process goes.

I'll be spending hours doing all this tomorrow with the intention of having the song ready on the following day. After that is all complete I will try to figure out what I will do next. Anyway here are a few photos of my drum recording setup:

Christmas Recording Progress

If you're a regular reader of this blog you already know that I've been working on a cover of a Christmas song. I'm pleased to say that it has been coming along well and I've been experimenting with some new things. But I have now arrived at the dreaded 'recording the drums' portion of the song. After initially being convinced that I would go with my trusty Yamaha synth's drum sounds, I have now decided that I need to play a real drum set for this song. The hard part will be, as always, getting a good snare drum sound.

I was experimenting a bit with the snare drum this evening and doing some test recordings with it. I achieved a very nice sound--still not perfect but it might just be the best sound I have ever recorded. What did it for me was three key things:

1. Tightening the top and bottom heads of the drum
2. Placing a mic near & just above the drum (and away from the hi hat)
3. Turning down the input recording level.

Tightening the heads gave me a higher pitched sound and one that cut through the mix with all the other instruments. The mic near the snare gives it extra volume and lets you hear its nuances from up close. Additionally, with the mic that close I don't have to hit the drum all that hard. Also, the mic is away from the hi hat which means it does not pick up all that hi hat noise and ended up giving me a very balanced sound. Finally, turning down the record input level got rid of the distorted drum sound that unfortunately has plagued many of my other recordings. It pays to try different things out! If it weren't so late in the evening when I was doing all this I would have recorded the whole drum set track tonight.

But as I mentioned it wasn't completely perfect. On the recording I was hearing a lot of the snare drum's overtones. I will try recording again with a drum ring on the head. But the problem with rings is that they tend to completely deaden the drum sound. I may try some other things if the desired sound is not achieved.

So when I do record the drum set part my plan is to use that one mic on the snare; an overhead to capture the toms & cymbals; and 2 for the kick drum, one on each end. I used to in the past mic the toms individually but I have found that the single overhead picks them up very well and I have even received  professional praise on their recorded sound using that technique. That's good enough for me. Ideally, if I had the space and additional mic stands I would go with mic'ing each tom and running each one through a separate channel of a mixer. But you make do with what you have because it beats getting into unnecessary debt.

The song I'm working on is "We Three Kings." This is a great, minor-key, public domain Christmas song. It's in 3/8 time and originally I was going to record it that way. But I had some other ideas for this song and I changed it to 4/4. Obviously I have not heard every version of this song ever recorded, but I believe I have come up with a unique arrangement and interpretation. I was going for a late 60's/early 70's sound on this, and in particular a vintage R&B feel. It is an instrumental with a minimoog voice taking the lead melody. This is the very first recording of mine to feature a cello. And I added a 4 piece horn section because, hey, it won't sound like some vintage, funky R&B without horns! I recorded trumpet, trombone, tenor sax & baritone sax. This is not the first time I have experimented with horns on a recording of mine. You might remember some horn action on my song "The Rain." Now, mind you, I do not have a cello or all those different horns nor would I be able to play them well enough at this time. But my Yamaha synth opens up worlds of sound for me. And these sounds are realistic-enough that I can use them and pass them off as the real deal on recordings. I will surely be using horn sounds a lot more in my future songs.

I'm really excited about finishing the recording process for this song. There are still some things to tweak and plenty of tracks to bounce in order to free up space. I anticipate completing this song in its entirety and releasing it during the coming weekend. At that time I will submit it to ChristmasSongsRadio.com where it will be in rotation with my three other holiday recordings. I will also send it to "The Basement Tapes with Nick & Bootsy."

Before I close out this post I want to give you an idea of the snare drum sound I'm looking to get for this recording. Such a great sound and cuts clearly through the mix. And there appears to be only an overhead mic. I'm pretty confident there are no other mics on those drums as that was back in the day when drum sets were not given mic'ing priority. By the way, this is also a great song by a great performer: