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.
No comments:
Post a Comment