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Music
I've had a pretty complex relationship with music over the years... ought to write about that sometime. Anyways: I listen to a lot of it, in genres like "rock" and "pop" and "folk", and play some of it, primarily in the genres "old-time" and "classical".
With Dylan turning 80 there was a lot of talk about him on the social media sites this week. In one thread we were talking about cover versions and someone pointed out that there are certain songs it's difficult to cover without slipping into an affected "Bob Dylan" voice; his examples were "Stuck Inside of Mobile" and "Idiot Wind". (I pointed out "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" fits into this category as well...) Elswhere Morris Windsor posted this astonishing cover of Stuck Inside of Mobile by The Soft Boys, playing at Slim's in San Francisco in October 2002 (the Nextdoorland tour) -- when/if I try playing the song I am going to find it difficult to avoid slipping into an affected "Robyn Hitchcock" voice.
For a long time I've been wanting to get a jam going with the tin-can cello and my Stroh fiddle. The problem is, I can't play them both at the same time.... Multiple tracks to the rescue!
Here is the method I've hit on: I compose a rhythm section in Noteflight, then jam against that with fiddle and cello, recording the instrument I'm playing while the rhythm section is playing in headphones. I use Audacity to mix the instruments and vocals with the rhythm section, so I can hear the cello while playing fiddle or vice versa.
Below the fold, a take on "Jagged Sixpence": pretty good although it falls apart a bit near the end. Needs another take of the cello part for the instrumental break at the end. Should see if some better singer than I would be interested in singing this one (and playing guitar). Maybe Malcolm.
So here is how I write the song form that I'm calling "rag" (hopefully making reference to that weird and intoxicating effect that Joplin attributes to "ragtime", and maybe to "raga" as well but who knows)
Start with: an earworm melody. Your own or somebody else's, or traditional. Fuck with the rhythm of it by lengthening some beats and shortening others -- get a melody with similar sequence of notes to the source but a drunken/stuttering sound. Notate this melody in Noteflight or similar software. (I am always using cello to notate this first step.) When you play it back it should be clear what song you are hearing and also clearly something funny about it.
Add parts. Usually I am adding a bass part first and then a treble or even two treble parts. Sometimes just a bass part or just a treble. I am generally using violin family instruments for my parts but that is just what I'm familiar with.
Bass part: generally quarter notes, sometimes eigth notes. I'm not using syncopation at all in the bass parts, for now. It seems pretty easy and natural to find a plunky bass pattern that fits the main melody, I'm not sure what technique is going into this. If there is a bass part, then make it pretty constant throughout the song, not coming in and out.
Treble part: listen to the main cello part over and over, with and without bass, until you start hearing ghost melodies that fit with it. Start notating them. The treble parts can rest a lot, they don't have to (and should not) be playing all the time. The ghost melodies should reinforce the primary melody.
B section: usually modulate down a fifth or up a fourth. No technique here, just whatever sounds good(?) or so to say quirky
End result: intro + A section, repeat, B section, repeat, d.s. al coda, outro. The main melody is on the cello but the treble parts are playing their own distinct melodies which can mask the main melody. Make sure they are quiet for a couple of key measures in each section.
6 favorites of mine... -- by Dylan, whose position as the musical idol of my youth is incontestable. Dylan was it as far as I was concerned ages 16 - late 20's (and even still for that matter though my tastes have broadened a good deal).
"from a buick 6"
"Outlaw Blues"
"Meet Me in the Morning"
"Two Soldiers" (trad.)
"Ballad of Hollis Brown"
"Hwy. 61 Revisited"
(I really wanted to do "Maggie's Farm" as well, but I haven't quite gotten there yet on that one. May add it to the playlist at some point.)
posted afternoon of April 7th, 2019: Respond ➳ More posts about Projects
