Song281_A Well-Known Face

Last week's album, Week40_Permanent Records, is now available at: http://www.anewsongeveryday.com/.

Today's song begins a new album, Week41_Pulling Stranger's Teeth. I woke up early today, Carly and I went for a long bike ride, then I changed the strings on my electric guitar while deciding the best way to approach the songwriting/recording this week. It helps to have a genre in mind before approaching a blank session. Also, it helps to decide on a common starting point for each day. Last week I wrote the initial part on the acoustic guitar, but other weeks it has been the piano, a synth sample, the bass guitar, a vocal melody, or a drum rhythm that creates the starting point. This week it will be the electric guitar. I like finding unique strumming rhythms and chord progressions on this instrument. It also helps to consistently use the same instruments/pre-sets each week so the music has a consistent sound. The instruments still vary, but I choose a few foundational instruments to be the same. I know that each song this week will have: rhythm, bass guitar, clean electric guitar, and distorted electric guitar. However, before I started recording I auditioned many new guitar pre-sets (in Guitar Rig 3) before deciding what the main sounds would be this week. I chose two pre-sets that I haven't used so far, and then I altered each one slightly to make it my own.

The strumming on this song is quick (140bpm), and the chord formations are odd. Actually, the chord progressions are pretty odd too, but they seem to work for this style of music (Verse=A#-B, Transition=C-F-Fm, Chorus=G-A). After tracking the electric guitar I completed the drums, acoustic guitar, and bass guitar. Next, I worked on the lyrics and the melody...testing each part in "record" mode. I got all 6 vocal tracks written and recorded within 45 minutes. The melodies, purposefully dissonant, remind me of the The Swirlies.

The lyrical theme this week is broad, but each song will have something to do with social interaction. This one was going to be about angry drivers, but it's also about people with status that abuse their privileges (these people act the same at times).

LYRICS: "A gift to your race. You're a well-known face. Like on library walls, (or) militant memorial halls. Come on, and pull over the car. We all know who you are. Don't pretend to be bitter when you get what you want. Hello, welcome. You got the pick of the room. You're 'on.' Idiot drivers annoy idiot riders. Who throw things from your window as a moronic symbol. Come on, and pull over the car. We all know who you are. Don't pretend to be bitter when you get what you want. Hello, welcome. You got the pick of the room. You're 'on.'"

-Matthew
http://www.anewsongeveryday.com/
matthew@anewsongeveryday.com

Song280_Permanent Records

Today's song completes another album, Week40_Permanent Records. This album will be available for sale ($5) in a few hours at: www.anewsongeveryday.com. Or, you can still join the Mailing List and you'll get every song recorded in April at no charge.

I took about 5-10 minutes to strum through ideas on the acoustic guitar (Em-F-C...G), but I actually recorded the electric guitars (distorted electric, clean/reverb electric, and bass guitar) before tracking the acoustic guitar at 100bpm. I thought this instrumental was a nice way to end this album. This song is not very complex (maybe 10 tracks), but it has some subtle characteristics that I like such as: the repetitive progression (that starts with a minor chord), the choppy/muffled distorted guitar that never breaks into a full strum, the long fade-out, etc.

I'm going to change up the music style for next week's album, but I don't have a definite plan yet. I'm going to use the next 6 or so hours to rest my brain, then I'll probably make some decisions before bed (or early in the morning). Mandatory decisions before tomorrow include: album title, musical style, songwriting approach, lyrical themes, and song title (for Song #281).

-Matthew
www.anewsongeveryday.com
matthew@anewsongeveryday.com

Song279_Promises

The foundation of today's song was written on the acoustic guitar around 1300 (Verse=F#-B, Transition=G-F#, Chorus=E-F#-B). I was able to write and record the other foundational instruments within the next hour (bass guitar, drums/cymbals, clean electric guitar strumming, and distorted guitar). The song was pretty full at this point, so I focused on writing lyrics and melodies for about an hour. I wanted to have the vocals in place before adding a few extra synth and guitar parts (to fill in gaps, enhance vocals, etc). This song ended up being about 20-24 tracks, and it took about 4.5 hours from start to finish.

LYRICS: "Words and promises seeded deep inside. Carry a single order out to the letter. Orders are: follow-through. All that you say. All the promises you make. Whatever happened to 'always?' All these promises you make. True, we argue, (and) build forts to hide. Carry a single order out to the letter. Orders are: follow-through. All that you say. All the promises you make. Whatever happened to 'always?' All these promises you make."

-Matthew
http://www.anewsongeveryday.com/
matthew@anewsongeveryday.com

Song278_Take Note

I decided not to use any drums today, so this song centers around the acoustic guitar, electric guitar (heavy with reverb and filling the stereo field), and bass guitar. There are a variety of other instruments that appear throughout this song such as: 3 additional electric guitars (picking single notes), a synth choir, a string section, 2 sequences (that provide a certain amount of rhythm to that section), 3 tracks of vocals, and...well, a few other things that I can't think of right now. This session ended up being 14-16 tracks, and it took about 5 hours to write and record.

LYRICS: "Take note of rising oceans. Unmanned planets changing courses, and love defeating forces too big for war."

Happy Easter.

-Matthew
www.anewsongeveryday.com
matthew@anewsongeveryday.com

Song277_Ruler of Undergrounds

Carly and I met some friends in Fort Worth last night (Rick and Brooke), ate some dinner, walked the streets, and ended up at a small tavern that played great (loud) music. I was inspired (must've been the Digital Underground), so I started recording today's song when we got home at 0020. I wrote and recorded the acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drums, clean electric guitar (the strumming that's heavy with reverb), and distorted electric guitar. I went to bed around 0340 and slept until 1000...returning to complete this song at 1600.

Fine-tuning this song took some time. I had tracked 4-5 synth parts, but I wasn't happy with the sounds, so I re-recorded each one. Also, I added the ending of this song (A-Adim-D-E) after everything else had been recorded. It took time to add those parts, and to blend them to the rest of the song. The lyrics were written around 0300...just before I slept, but fortunately I was able to find a melody and singing style that fit the pattern of each section. There are over 20 tracks in this song, and the mix took a few tries. I took a few breaks (one to eat, one to change strings), and I completed this song around 2100.

LYRICS: "You're an outcast's best kept secret...ruler over undergrounds. You're a stalemate's best investment. Money spent on growth. A pathway known by candlelight. An outlet drawn to us by sight. Never lonely. Never alone. A slave to motion. Born to roam. You're a lesson in forgiveness...the reason for the rule of law. You're an outcast's best kept secret...ruler over undergrounds. A pathway known by candlelight. An outlet drawn to us by sight. Never lonely. Never alone. A slave to motion. Born to roam."

-Matthew
www.anewsongeveryday.com
matthew@anewsongeveryday.com

Song276_Spoken For

I had a limited amount of time to work on music today...only about 5 hours total, but I was able to get it done. This song is similar to yesterday's in a few ways: the initial idea was written on the acoustic guitar (Verse=G-C, Chorus=Em-C-G-D, Ending=Am-E-B7-E), it utilizes similar instruments, and each session has about 20 tracks. The repetition of recording every day has improved my ability to visualize and hear the entire song (as well as individual parts) as I record. Also, I've gotten much quicker at getting ideas from my head onto the hard drive. I think about songs before approaching the process, but I don't physically "write" music anymore unless the 'record' button is enabled. Also, 3 of the 5 guitar parts today were each recorded in one take. That helps since I spend a good amount of time doing detailed editing, mixing, creating vocals, etc.

LYRICS: "Take your time. You don't have to rush through life. This moment won't stick around. You are what you don't like. You want changes inside. You say this is your life. You need better advice. Down on love. The hurt is building up. Let's turn this train around. You are what you don't like. You want changes inside. You say this is your life. You need better advice. But love has spoken. The curse is broken."

-Matthew
http://www.anewsongeveryday.com/
matthew@anewsongeveryday.com

Song275_Together Now

Today is April 01, 2010...the first day of my 10th consecutive month of writing and recording a new song every day! Today is also the first day of the FREE month. Everyone on the Mailing List will receive a daily email with the link to the newest song. It's not too late to sign up (http://www.anewsongeveryday.com/).

Today's song was written on the acoustic guitar (Verse=E-A-Am-E, Transition=C-E, Chorus=E-B7), and then I wrote and recorded: bass guitar, electric guitar (the 'washy' strumming that plays throughout the song), and a few other electric guitar parts (which didn't make the final mix). I had recorded a drum rhythm before tracking the acoustic, but the rhythm didn't fit the mood that I wanted to create. I deleted that track and added 5 separate rhythms plus cymbal swells (tracked with two mics and mallets). I started working on this song around 1300, and I had most of these things completed by 1700. I took a break to run, eat dinner, and spend time with Carly. I was fortunate that I found lyrics and a melody that I liked (since I didn't start writing and recording the vocals until 2145). I like the dynamics of this song, and I'm very happy with the final outcome.

LYRICS: "Crazy how much things change from one day to another. Great that you and I get to rely on each other. Come together now. Come together. Darkness in the distance, soon the night will take over. But nightfall means a new day waits around the corner. Come together now. Come together."

-Matthew
http://www.anewsongeveryday.com/
matthew@anewsongeveryday.com