The Unwound Third > Phonograph Blues

What I've learned recording myself (so far)

(1/3) > >>

a2tom:
I am not trying to be coy with these threads on recording yourself - my unabashed intention is to hopefully stimulate lurkers and non-song-posting members to take the plunge and start recording and posting their CB playing.? I think the Back Porch can be a really vibrant place, but it won't if a new MP3 only shows up once every couple of months.

Anyway, here's what I've learned in the past week or two:


Lesson #1:? I'm not as bad as I thought I was.

I'm really putting it out there, since inevitably this will sound like bragging/self promotion.? But it isn't, it's an important point, and part of why recording is proving so fun.? I've heard others make it over at Stefan Grossman's forum too.? You get a very different perspective listening to your playing from the "other side of the guitar".? It has been gratifying to hear that by playing some of the "simple" country blues patterns and such that I can make some toe-tapping sounds.? I always figured my playing sounded like what it is - some square middle-aged scientist musician hack trying to play the blues.? OK, it still sounds like that (Blind Blake I ain't), but maybe that can still be musical too.


Lesson #2:? I'm not as good as I thought I was.

This is why lesson #1 really isn't bragging!? It has also become painfully obvious to me that I am an 80% player.? I almost never play a song 100%, which recording/performance begs for.? That last 20% is _really_ hard.? Playing a 2 or 3 minute song front to back without terminally tripping over my fingers is surprisingly challenging, but obviously important.? I've been thinking about this, and it seems there are two different extremes one might take (aside from the obvious: practice practice practice).? I am very interested in hearing how other players - and I know many of you CAN play songs all the way through - have gotten that last 20%.

First, one could work out precise note-for-note detailed arrangements ahead of time and run through them exactly the same way enough times until you can do it without stopping.? The rote approach.? This has merits, and I have started trying to be more precise in what I am playing so that I can actually make a recording all the way through.? A beginner's crutch, or a lifelong solution?

The alernative is to rely on the beat, the groove, to keep the song going.? If the beat - the thumb really - keeps going, it is probably not that a big deal if the melody/fingers miss here and there.? I am curious what others think, but this is what I always hear in the playing of the masters.? I just don't hear them playing fixed arrangements, but moreso letting their fingers play around the basic form of the tune.? As a previous jazz-head, this is, at its core, improvisation.? Indeed, I think the jazz analogy is very strong.? When a Miles Davis or Charlie Parker fumbled a bit, which they did, it wasn't particularly noticable, since the rhythm section kept the groove and the tune moving.? It's just that in the CB, you are ALSO the rhythm section.? Your thumb really needs to live a separate life, doesn't it?


Lesson #3:? Singing while playing is hard.

I'm at the stage of my development as a player where I still tend to focus more on the guitar than the voice, but I really need to start adding the voice more to complete the music.? Only, the guitar inevitably starts to degrade as I sing (see lesson #2).? I know this is common, and I know the answer: practice practice practice.? ?Beyond that, I am considering trying to intentially simplify the guitar picking behind the sung verses at first - even all the way to a simple boom-chick if I have to - so that I can begin to successfully incorporate singing.? What else?


Thanks for reading - I really hope these diaries of my journeys stimulate folks to start recording and posting more tunes.? If nothing else, you'll now know why my first clips are likely to be short and without words...


tom

uncle bud:
The 80% player point is a good one. This is something I struggle with as well. Part of it for me has to do with moving on to another tune before I'm really finished with the first one (or two or three). I frequently don't really finish a tune, therefore a performance of it inevitably is unfinished as well. I think this is a result of wanting to do too much and a short attention span. Another part of it has to do with instruction. For some of us who've worked with instructional videos, I think one negative outcome of them is that most tunes are never really fully covered. You're taught an intro, a verse, etc but the instruction stops there, often without going into variations or other verses etc. Some cover a lot more than others (John Miller and Ari Eisinger do very detailed breakdowns, most of which are comprehensive). I don't actually expect the whole tune, note for note, but one result is a half-baked repertoire because I don't follow through on the tunes that are taught to the degree I need to in order to get a true performance from them. I don't mean to dismiss instructional material, since I've learned a lot from it. But there is only so much a video or tablature can be expected to do.

This is one of the main reasons I've started figuring out tunes myself more and more. Working on figuring out Blind Lemon songs has been hugely instructive, trying to get all the nuance and variation, the various techniques and weird time. Ditto Charley Patton. When I do this, and with a little extra self-discipline, I find I'm getting more into the 90-95% range with the tunes I work on now. It makes a difference.

Singing is a whole other ball 'o wax...? :P

Slack:
All good points Tom, many of us to one degree or another struggle with the same kinds of things you do.

Advice from Paul Rishell:  Practice Whole Songs. (even if you cannot do all things well, practice playing, singing on top, breaks, endings ..as a whole).  He also said that singing is like Ski Jumping, you've got to take some chances to get better.

Simplifying the guitar behind singing is a good technique that even the pros use. 

John Miller's advice - every time you pick up a guitar to play or practice - sing during the session.

Slack's advice: Get a job that requires lots of travel.  Some of the best players at PT have jobs that require a lot of travel.  Instead of hitting the bars in the evening, they go to their hotel rooms and practice!   ;D  (IOW, it takes a lot of  time and effort to get good - no way around it )

Cheers,
slack

 

GhostRider:
Howdy:

I can't believe this but I agree with Both Slack and Uncle Bud.

I think that the 80% thing you mentioned Tom is the key. At the beginning, I think getting to the 80% point is enough, as there are lots of other 80% to learn, and the last 20% of the tune takes 80% of the time.

However as one progresses, I think that going for the extra 20% becomes more important, the feeling of really nailing a song or six, including the words.

And sing at least half the time. You'll be amazed at how much better your voice becomes just by using it. Sing loudly and in your own voice. it will improve faster than your playing.

And Slack is right, get a job with lots of travel. IMC it really helped.

Alex

frankie:

--- Quote from: a2tom on November 23, 2004, 07:19:13 AM ---The rote approach
improvisation

--- End quote ---

From my perspective, these two approaches tend to run in to one another - they're hardly binary conditions. ?Even so, there are tunes that I play that tend to be more "improvisational" and others that tend to remain static. ?Generally, the more familiar I am with a piece of music, the more likely I am to take chances with it. ?One of the reasons that what I did with Don't Fish In My Sea was a challenge for me is that it required me to get to that "improvisational comfort zone" much more quickly than I normally do. ?It was, indeed, painful - but not without rewards, I suppose. ?After you've been playing a while (and listening, listening, listening), you'll develop more of a feel for what you can make work stylistically inside a given song. ?I can't stress the listening enough. ?In my opinion, when it comes to this music, developing your ear is as integral to development as sight reading is to a classical musician. ?Your ears are your connection to what you want to play - certainly not anything that might be written on a page. ?To that end, you'd be well advised to move away from written notation as early as you can.


--- Quote from: a2tom on November 23, 2004, 07:19:13 AM ---Your thumb really needs to live a separate life, doesn't it?

--- End quote ---

Yes - one thing that really helped me get thumb more active was to focus obsessively over a period of time on just using my thumb and index finger to get the job done. ?I don't think you have to do this for all styles and certainly don't think that everyone should play this way all the time, but I think it's worth the effort to explore the possibilities there, especially as it affects your phrasing and attack.


--- Quote from: a2tom on November 23, 2004, 07:19:13 AM ---Singing while playing is hard

--- End quote ---

Singing is one skill, playing is another skill. ?The singing you hear in CB has as much nuance and intent in it as the guitar playing. ?I've been spending more time working on getting my voice to go where I want it to go and to cop vocal "licks" just like they were guitar licks. ?You have to spend some time away from the guitar just singing - it's fun anyway, so why not? ?One thing I've noticed in coaching my wife and daughter through their process with learning fiddle is that singing can be a powerful way to understand what you want to play. ?If you can sing it, getting it out of the instrument is going to be much, much easier. ?I always have them sing the lines they're trying to play, and do this myself when tryng to suss out difficult guitar parts.


--- Quote from: a2tom on November 23, 2004, 07:19:13 AM ---simplify the guitar picking behind the sung verses

--- End quote ---

Nothing wrong with that approach - there are certainly lots of devices for accompaniment ranging from strumming to counterpoint to bass lines to doubling the melody... ?Simplification in any context can be a powerful expressive tool. ?Not to mention that complex ideas are best understood by trying to break them down first to simple elements, and then trying to figure out how they relate to one another.

Good post, Tom - looking forward to that first tune!

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page