2005-10-31 - 11:02 a.m.
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STRATEGY FOR THE DAY: check your mask
I've been working on a new song with one of my students. He wrote a beautiful lyric in response to Hurricane Katrina and the devastation of New Orleans. I rarely write melodies to other people's lyrics but in this case I couldn't help myself. The lyrics suggested a slow southern gospel hymn-style so I spent a little time brushing up my piano playing and the melody came together in a couple of days. I still need to finish the bridge but hope to get to it in a day or two.
I have an inflight program due for Ted Airlines which I'll be working on this week. It's not always easy to find two hours worth of instrumental music that fits the format but I inevitably find a couple of new artists or new albums by artists whose work I like so it ends up being more than worth it.
I've never been happy with the mix on my song "California Girl." I spent the last few days playing around with it. One of the things I did was go back to my original demo which is now a few years old. I was reminded that my first inspiration for the groove came from gangsta rap (if you can believe that). Over the intervening time, the song had evolved into a different feel that always bothered me a little. The beat ended up being a combination of my original groove and some loops that were created for me by Roy Campanella III - a very talented music producer here in L.A. He had moved some of the kick (bass drum) samples a 16th note earlier than my original feel so that it matched the bass line exactly. This gave the beat a strong but locked-in feel I never was comfortable with. Last night I tried shifting the beat to the original location and the whole thing sounded better to me. It's amazing what a 16th note can do! I'll go back this morning and listen with fresh ears to see if it still feels right. A good reminder that it's always a good idea to keep original demos. Whatever it was that made you like the song enough to keep working on it is there in that demo and it can get lost easily. Keep it around and play it often.
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Read A Brief History Of Love Songs by Robin Frederick at the Sound Experience Music web site.
Copyright 2005 Robin Frederick. All rights reserved.