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Songwriting
Sometimes I write songs
READIN
READIN started out as a place for me
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how to design a web site.
There has been some mission drift
here and there, but in general that's still what it is. Some of
the main things I write about here are
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listening to (and playing) music, and
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The site is a bit of a work in progress. New features will come on-line now and then; and you will occasionally get error messages in place of the blog, for the forseeable future. Cut me some slack, I'm just doing it for fun! And if you see an error message you think I should know about, please drop me a line. READIN source code is PHP and CSS, and available on request, in case you want to see how it works.
See my reading list for what I'm interested in this year.
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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.
I've been practicing for the open mic on Monday at Hat City Kitchen, where I'll be playing cello and singing. I was pretty satisfied with my plan to play "Tombstone Blues", "The Raven Rag", and "Jagged Nickel", but then I thought why not make it all originals. I decided I can sing "Rainy Day Woman", so I'm going to open with that.
Sylvia is planning to come along, and assuming she does, I will ask her to film the set. I've invited several people -- this is just about the first time I've done that for an open mic. Real Tom said he will come, and John from Traficantes also said he may. Jerry will try to make it.
The songs are all in G*. Oh well, I haven't got a huge range vocally. Also it is easy key (G minor*) to improvise in on the cello.
I made a couple of changes in "The Raven", the bird is now going to have "he" pronoun instead of "she" and is "a jet-black bird" rather than "pretty". If I can make it work, the last two verses will be a good deal slower than the rest of the song and with extra measure on the first and third line. (Similar to Richard Fariña's version in "The Falcon".)
I am hoping there will be a bass player there who wants to back me up and can work out/follow my changes, they are quite simple but I don't have a chord sheet to give.
*...Wait no, duh, D minor! Not G -- I've been rehearsing these songs in G but I can sing them much better in D. Glad I realized this today (Sunday) & not tomorrow.
posted afternoon of December 27th, 2019: 1 response
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.
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