My mother-in-law is halfway between Chicago and Atlanta; as I mentioned yesterday, she will be visiting my wife and me for three days. I have exactly 1.5 hours until her arrival. This brief window may be the only 90 minutes over the course of the next 72 hours during which I can chisel away at any of the Redline Project goals.
What does that mean? Unfortunately, less blogging and more recording. Ta-ta for the moment.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Normal Procedure
I deemed a certain song recording complete about two weeks ago. Since then, I have opened up the file at least a dozen times, tweaking or finessing a small detail with every pass. I will certainly peruse the file twelve or more times between now and the album release, and I am sure I will find something else to adjust on each occasion.
Is this normal procedure?
Often I open up a nearly complete track and let it play on repeat for the better part of a morning. I listen carefully, I listen as a consumer, and I block out the sound altogether, in that order. Sometimes I notice a subtle issue or mistake in the mix, sometimes I observe nothing.
Is this neurotic?
Whenever I make good progress on a recording, I fly around the house in a bouncy iteration of unadulterated bliss. Without fail, no more than 12 hours pass before I hit a sharp feeling of depression, and I become certain that this project will never cross the finish line.
Am I insane?
My wife's mother will be staying with us for the next three days, which means two things: a lovely visit and virtually no progress made on the Redline Project. I will try to keep the posts going, so feel free to check in.
Is this normal procedure?
Often I open up a nearly complete track and let it play on repeat for the better part of a morning. I listen carefully, I listen as a consumer, and I block out the sound altogether, in that order. Sometimes I notice a subtle issue or mistake in the mix, sometimes I observe nothing.
Is this neurotic?
Whenever I make good progress on a recording, I fly around the house in a bouncy iteration of unadulterated bliss. Without fail, no more than 12 hours pass before I hit a sharp feeling of depression, and I become certain that this project will never cross the finish line.
Am I insane?
My wife's mother will be staying with us for the next three days, which means two things: a lovely visit and virtually no progress made on the Redline Project. I will try to keep the posts going, so feel free to check in.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Collecting Mixing Tips
The daunting task of mixing raw files into balanced audio presentations has begun, and I could not be more lost. Not only is every track of mine clunky and unpolished, but the peaks all redline and the softs are downright flimsy.
There is way too much to learn in these brief months. Curses.
I much prefer to accomplish on my own strength, and it takes me a while to humble myself and ask for assistance. When I finally reach out to a fellow human being for help, I am often stunned by the kindness that is extended.
An example: Jan Fischer, a faithful reader of this blog and a stellar musician, offered to take a look at a track, make some fixes, and describe what he did to achieve a good mix. When I expressed gratitude for his willingness to devote time and talent to the project, he responded, "That's what friends are for."
Another example: I called Nick Akin today, a budding southern gospel musician and recordist for whom I have completed some graphic design projects, to inquire if he offers mixing lessons. Though he does not teach for hire, he invited me to his studio so I can watch and learn as his band hones their latest songs. He spent a half hour on the phone imparting tips and tricks for massaging a recording to aural harmony, all while spouting encouragements like, "Just keep at it, I know your stuff is going to sound awesome." He's never heard me play a note, but I somehow still felt fuzzy and warm.
I am struck today by the generosity of these friends, by the many who dedicate time to reading my daily ramblings, and to the countless who have taken a moment to drop an encouraging line. You are all a marvelous inspiration to a guy who can be stingy with and self-consumed during all available free time. Thank you for reminding me the importance and beauty of generosity.
There is way too much to learn in these brief months. Curses.
I much prefer to accomplish on my own strength, and it takes me a while to humble myself and ask for assistance. When I finally reach out to a fellow human being for help, I am often stunned by the kindness that is extended.
An example: Jan Fischer, a faithful reader of this blog and a stellar musician, offered to take a look at a track, make some fixes, and describe what he did to achieve a good mix. When I expressed gratitude for his willingness to devote time and talent to the project, he responded, "That's what friends are for."
Another example: I called Nick Akin today, a budding southern gospel musician and recordist for whom I have completed some graphic design projects, to inquire if he offers mixing lessons. Though he does not teach for hire, he invited me to his studio so I can watch and learn as his band hones their latest songs. He spent a half hour on the phone imparting tips and tricks for massaging a recording to aural harmony, all while spouting encouragements like, "Just keep at it, I know your stuff is going to sound awesome." He's never heard me play a note, but I somehow still felt fuzzy and warm.
I am struck today by the generosity of these friends, by the many who dedicate time to reading my daily ramblings, and to the countless who have taken a moment to drop an encouraging line. You are all a marvelous inspiration to a guy who can be stingy with and self-consumed during all available free time. Thank you for reminding me the importance and beauty of generosity.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Question Without Answers
While studying art in college, a professor posed an important question.
When is a piece of art done?
Oil paints are malleable for a long time after they are on the canvas, and there is always the option of painting over whatever has dried. One can work, and rework, and redo again ad nauseum. When should an artist sign the lower right hand corner and call it a day?
The question stuck with me as I began a career in graphic design. In commercial art that is driven by budgets and deadlines, the determining factor of a piece's completion often is dictated by the number of remaining items on the project list or amount of billable hours already accrued. That is not a satisfying answer though, because the urgency of the moment should never serve as a litmus test for the completeness of artworks.
As the Redline Project album begins to take shape, I am developing a twitchy habit of cycling through each track, finding something to tweak or adjust, saving and closing, opening the next, and repeating the process. On ocassion, I have de-adjusted a facet I readjusted the day before and then re-readjusted the same detail the following day. I am tending towards obsessiveness as this project rolls along.
I have no answers for this. Feedback is helpful and welcome.
When is a piece of art done?
Oil paints are malleable for a long time after they are on the canvas, and there is always the option of painting over whatever has dried. One can work, and rework, and redo again ad nauseum. When should an artist sign the lower right hand corner and call it a day?
The question stuck with me as I began a career in graphic design. In commercial art that is driven by budgets and deadlines, the determining factor of a piece's completion often is dictated by the number of remaining items on the project list or amount of billable hours already accrued. That is not a satisfying answer though, because the urgency of the moment should never serve as a litmus test for the completeness of artworks.
As the Redline Project album begins to take shape, I am developing a twitchy habit of cycling through each track, finding something to tweak or adjust, saving and closing, opening the next, and repeating the process. On ocassion, I have de-adjusted a facet I readjusted the day before and then re-readjusted the same detail the following day. I am tending towards obsessiveness as this project rolls along.
I have no answers for this. Feedback is helpful and welcome.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Waxing Romantic
The Redline Project is not intended to be a venue for gushing oozy love. Mostly, I have kept the blog free from the details of my personal life, except where I deemed those specifics to be related to the project in important ways. Tonight is one of those instances that a taste of the personal is in order.
I am crazy in love with my wife. In a world filled with hissy, demanding spouses that wield their whims upon their partners, my better half is remarkably selfless and downright stellar. A poignant example: she not only puts up with the daily bouquet of hours I dedicate to the Redline Project music and blog, she champions the cause by offering a listening ear, encouraging feedback, and endless support. Margaret, you are a remarkable human being and a marvelous wife. The seams of my heart barely hold together as love continues to flood its chambers.
Why the gush after all this time? I experienced euphoria tonight as Margaret graced one of my recordings with her magnificent cello talent. Between the two of us, she is in every way the true talent, the real musician. Simply stated, this project would not exist if it were not for the gracious gifts of time and patience this woman offers me. These praises are barely adequate and long overdue.
I am humbled by Margaret's musicality and gratified by her presence on "Sing Silently," a song that will serve as the last track of the album. You are going to fall in love with her musical offering; I can't wait for you to hear it.
I am crazy in love with my wife. In a world filled with hissy, demanding spouses that wield their whims upon their partners, my better half is remarkably selfless and downright stellar. A poignant example: she not only puts up with the daily bouquet of hours I dedicate to the Redline Project music and blog, she champions the cause by offering a listening ear, encouraging feedback, and endless support. Margaret, you are a remarkable human being and a marvelous wife. The seams of my heart barely hold together as love continues to flood its chambers.
Why the gush after all this time? I experienced euphoria tonight as Margaret graced one of my recordings with her magnificent cello talent. Between the two of us, she is in every way the true talent, the real musician. Simply stated, this project would not exist if it were not for the gracious gifts of time and patience this woman offers me. These praises are barely adequate and long overdue.
I am humbled by Margaret's musicality and gratified by her presence on "Sing Silently," a song that will serve as the last track of the album. You are going to fall in love with her musical offering; I can't wait for you to hear it.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
That Bad
The first severe weather of the summer swirled through Atlanta today, drenching the local bike trails and all the other outdoor distractions that would have otherwise loved to lure me away from the Redline Project. If it weren't for this mountain of a hobby, the rain would have me pursing my lips and humphing along through the day.
Instead, I jumped at the opportunity to get some serious work accomplished on the recordings. Drums poorly miked and sticks in hand, I dove in at 10:00 this morning. It is now 7:30 pm, which means I pushed through a plumper period of music today than I usually squeeze out of any given workday. It goes without saying that I am clearly motivated by the former.
With this many hours logged in the recording studio, I am going to keep my remarks brief, limiting them to the following disdain.
Once again I am shocked by the honesty of recording. On many occasions during these nine hours, I performed what seemed like a good take. Alas, the playback had another tale to tell.
Am I really that bad of a musician? My mother always had complimentary things to say about my abilities, but somehow the tape offers a different opinion. I am suddenly struck with deep respect for the pros who churn out excellence in one take. Bravo to all of you. I am starting to understand why I never made it as a gigging musician.
Instead, I jumped at the opportunity to get some serious work accomplished on the recordings. Drums poorly miked and sticks in hand, I dove in at 10:00 this morning. It is now 7:30 pm, which means I pushed through a plumper period of music today than I usually squeeze out of any given workday. It goes without saying that I am clearly motivated by the former.
With this many hours logged in the recording studio, I am going to keep my remarks brief, limiting them to the following disdain.
Once again I am shocked by the honesty of recording. On many occasions during these nine hours, I performed what seemed like a good take. Alas, the playback had another tale to tell.
Am I really that bad of a musician? My mother always had complimentary things to say about my abilities, but somehow the tape offers a different opinion. I am suddenly struck with deep respect for the pros who churn out excellence in one take. Bravo to all of you. I am starting to understand why I never made it as a gigging musician.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Kid in a Candy Store
When I was in college, studying classical music at Gordon College and taking lessons in jazz drumming at Berklee School of Music, I used to practice for three hours a day.
I have to admit, practicing is a bit of a stiff word for at least half of what occurred during those morning, evening, or late night stretches. For the first hour hour or two, I was an obedient pupil, drilling exercises from classic manuals like Goldberg's Modern School for Snare Drum, Stone's Stick Control, Bellson's Modern Reading Text in 4/4, or Reed's Syncopation. The first 30 minutes were great fun, the next 30 were fine, and the final 30 were a molasses slog.
When the notes became ants on a page that seemed to squirm off their five-lined perches, I would file the texts into slots on the bookshelf and reach for an antiquated pair of brown studio headphones. After plugging the textured 1/4" jack into a 1980s Kenwood receiver, I would pop a colorful disc into the tray and maaneuver my way back to the helm of my nitron yellow Eames drum set.
Decibels pumping through the headphones and sticks firing away, I would get lost in the sounds of the combos of the 1950s and 1960s. Staples included Miles Davis recordings with Jimmy Cobb at the tubs, Herbie Hancock with drummer Tony Williams, Red Garland accompanied by Art Taylor, and McCoy Tyner collaborating with Elvin Jones. For the duration of these practice-room sessions, I lost all touch with reality. I may as well have been in the bands, burning grooves in Harlem with the original innovators until the twilight hours.
Diplomas and desk jobs later, those years all but faded from memory. But today I had an unexpected date with nostalgia.
As posted yesterday, I set up the same Eames kit in Studio Redline (also known as my basement and laundry room) to attempt an acoustic drum cut on one of the final project tracks. I have recorded some analog percussion - a cymbal here, a djembe there - but so far all drum set appearances have been MIDI stand-ins. I kept off-putting analog drum set recording so I could lay down the instrument for the entire album in one swoop.
The time has dawned for a grand Redline Project drum fest, and I left the yellow drums set up yesterday in honor of this weekend's goals. Like a child drooling at glass vats of colorful, chewy bits of sugar, the drums had me salivating all day, glancing over every ten minutes for a quick ogle at the shimmery cymbals and matte yellow handcrafted drums. At the stroke of five (or perhaps a few minutes before) I popped Logic open, selected a track from the Redline Project finals, and sat down on the familiar blue throne, headphones donned.
In an instant, I was transported to those sparkly days of being lost in the recordings, only this time, my mind basked in the sound of my own music. Marvelous.
There is no doubt that the accumulated years allowed rust to eat away at my drumming muscles. (I can say with sober honesty that I stunk it up today.) But creating rhythms at the set pulsed life itself through my veins. Perhaps the Redline Project will inspire me to chase away the dust bunnies and try to find a bit of rhythm once again.
I have to admit, practicing is a bit of a stiff word for at least half of what occurred during those morning, evening, or late night stretches. For the first hour hour or two, I was an obedient pupil, drilling exercises from classic manuals like Goldberg's Modern School for Snare Drum, Stone's Stick Control, Bellson's Modern Reading Text in 4/4, or Reed's Syncopation. The first 30 minutes were great fun, the next 30 were fine, and the final 30 were a molasses slog.
When the notes became ants on a page that seemed to squirm off their five-lined perches, I would file the texts into slots on the bookshelf and reach for an antiquated pair of brown studio headphones. After plugging the textured 1/4" jack into a 1980s Kenwood receiver, I would pop a colorful disc into the tray and maaneuver my way back to the helm of my nitron yellow Eames drum set.
Decibels pumping through the headphones and sticks firing away, I would get lost in the sounds of the combos of the 1950s and 1960s. Staples included Miles Davis recordings with Jimmy Cobb at the tubs, Herbie Hancock with drummer Tony Williams, Red Garland accompanied by Art Taylor, and McCoy Tyner collaborating with Elvin Jones. For the duration of these practice-room sessions, I lost all touch with reality. I may as well have been in the bands, burning grooves in Harlem with the original innovators until the twilight hours.
Diplomas and desk jobs later, those years all but faded from memory. But today I had an unexpected date with nostalgia.
As posted yesterday, I set up the same Eames kit in Studio Redline (also known as my basement and laundry room) to attempt an acoustic drum cut on one of the final project tracks. I have recorded some analog percussion - a cymbal here, a djembe there - but so far all drum set appearances have been MIDI stand-ins. I kept off-putting analog drum set recording so I could lay down the instrument for the entire album in one swoop.
The time has dawned for a grand Redline Project drum fest, and I left the yellow drums set up yesterday in honor of this weekend's goals. Like a child drooling at glass vats of colorful, chewy bits of sugar, the drums had me salivating all day, glancing over every ten minutes for a quick ogle at the shimmery cymbals and matte yellow handcrafted drums. At the stroke of five (or perhaps a few minutes before) I popped Logic open, selected a track from the Redline Project finals, and sat down on the familiar blue throne, headphones donned.
In an instant, I was transported to those sparkly days of being lost in the recordings, only this time, my mind basked in the sound of my own music. Marvelous.
There is no doubt that the accumulated years allowed rust to eat away at my drumming muscles. (I can say with sober honesty that I stunk it up today.) But creating rhythms at the set pulsed life itself through my veins. Perhaps the Redline Project will inspire me to chase away the dust bunnies and try to find a bit of rhythm once again.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Daunting Task
Tonight, for the first time since the Redline Project commenced, I attempted to record myself playing a drum set.
Let me dive right in with an admission. Neatly tucked away into the boiler room closet (a no-no by any semi-serious drummer's standards), my citron yellow set of Eames has been collecting pollen, cockroaches, and other such annoyances for about four months.
As I picked up the sticks (Regal Tip 8A Maples for those who care), I realized in an instant that my excitement to play far exceeded my ability to produce coherent beats. Years have come between me and my serious pursuit of the instrument, and a solid four months elapsed since the last time I touched the old tubs in any form.
I feel as though I am down in the count long before I even step up to the plate. I have no fancy equipment for capturing a decent drum sound - just a trusty, borrowed condenser microphone. I plug the stout mic into the mixer, a dubious smirk plastered across my face. A few clicks later with headphones securely cupping my ears, I am off and running.
Rust creeps its way around my fingers as ivy climbing a collegiate brick facade, and the feeling of Ace bandages tightly wrapped plagues my limbs. All hope seems lost as I scour around for a little muscle memory. Two measures to go until my cue. One measure to go. One, two, three, four...
A surge of energy spikes from nowhere, and I a steady rhythm pulses from the wooden beads of my Regal Tips. The groove thickens as measures pass. I close my eyes and let the music swirl through my cerebellum, reveling in the woven phrases and all but forgetting that I am laying down a track.
The passage ends, and I am shaken from the trance and settle into my office chair for a listen to the music that just unfolded.
One universal truth about recordings: they do not lie. My euphoric grin has faded into a puzzled grimace. The rhythms are off, the dynamics are terrible, and the beats are juvenile - not to mention the recording sounds as if it were tracked in an echoey basement (oh wait, it was).
Attempt one: fail. I have the weekend to figure out how to shake some cobwebs free and lay down some beats again.
Let me dive right in with an admission. Neatly tucked away into the boiler room closet (a no-no by any semi-serious drummer's standards), my citron yellow set of Eames has been collecting pollen, cockroaches, and other such annoyances for about four months.
As I picked up the sticks (Regal Tip 8A Maples for those who care), I realized in an instant that my excitement to play far exceeded my ability to produce coherent beats. Years have come between me and my serious pursuit of the instrument, and a solid four months elapsed since the last time I touched the old tubs in any form.
I feel as though I am down in the count long before I even step up to the plate. I have no fancy equipment for capturing a decent drum sound - just a trusty, borrowed condenser microphone. I plug the stout mic into the mixer, a dubious smirk plastered across my face. A few clicks later with headphones securely cupping my ears, I am off and running.
Rust creeps its way around my fingers as ivy climbing a collegiate brick facade, and the feeling of Ace bandages tightly wrapped plagues my limbs. All hope seems lost as I scour around for a little muscle memory. Two measures to go until my cue. One measure to go. One, two, three, four...
A surge of energy spikes from nowhere, and I a steady rhythm pulses from the wooden beads of my Regal Tips. The groove thickens as measures pass. I close my eyes and let the music swirl through my cerebellum, reveling in the woven phrases and all but forgetting that I am laying down a track.
The passage ends, and I am shaken from the trance and settle into my office chair for a listen to the music that just unfolded.
One universal truth about recordings: they do not lie. My euphoric grin has faded into a puzzled grimace. The rhythms are off, the dynamics are terrible, and the beats are juvenile - not to mention the recording sounds as if it were tracked in an echoey basement (oh wait, it was).
Attempt one: fail. I have the weekend to figure out how to shake some cobwebs free and lay down some beats again.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Touch of Synergy
As a graphic artist, I knew I was starting to get my professional legs under me when I intuitively sensed how to combine design programs and the effects, filters, and commands therein to create the image haunting my mind's eye. This is an ongoing process that continually morphs as each yearly software update is released. While I have not arrived, and though I never will, I remember the day when I started to connect the dots and use a synergy of commands to create something greater than the sum of its components. What a good feeling.
I have been reworking a recording for the past four hours or so; redoing so much in fact that the only remnant of the original is the vocals. Those get rerecorded tomorrow.
Though I still barely understand Logic and its endless array of capabilities, I am beginning to whizz around the different windows, tweaking a mixer setting, adding a plug-in, modifying a piano roll, tuning a track EQ. With each day that passes, Logic feels a little friendlier, like a new set of bicycle cleats after half a dozen rides. I still fumble, I still furrow my brow, I still go running for YouTube to figure out the conundrum of the moment. But as I plod along, it is delightful to know I have left a collection of footprints on the path behind.
Good progress on final track number eight tonight, though its nowhere near finished.
I have been reworking a recording for the past four hours or so; redoing so much in fact that the only remnant of the original is the vocals. Those get rerecorded tomorrow.
Though I still barely understand Logic and its endless array of capabilities, I am beginning to whizz around the different windows, tweaking a mixer setting, adding a plug-in, modifying a piano roll, tuning a track EQ. With each day that passes, Logic feels a little friendlier, like a new set of bicycle cleats after half a dozen rides. I still fumble, I still furrow my brow, I still go running for YouTube to figure out the conundrum of the moment. But as I plod along, it is delightful to know I have left a collection of footprints on the path behind.
Good progress on final track number eight tonight, though its nowhere near finished.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Little Contest
In the name of looking for collabortors, I have decided to post a little bass and djembe groove and make it available for download.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to download the files and add something to it. Maybe something simple, perhaps something complex. You might twist it into something unrecognizable. Who knows? That is the beauty of it.
Think of it as the first Redline Project contest. Everyone who submits an entry will be considered a winner, and their work will be posted on this blog along with links back to their websites and blogs.
Ready, set, create.
Any takers? Download the files here.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to download the files and add something to it. Maybe something simple, perhaps something complex. You might twist it into something unrecognizable. Who knows? That is the beauty of it.
Think of it as the first Redline Project contest. Everyone who submits an entry will be considered a winner, and their work will be posted on this blog along with links back to their websites and blogs.
Ready, set, create.
Any takers? Download the files here.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Redline Project Turns 100
This entry marks the Redline Project's 100th post. To celebrate, my computer decided to launch a firecracker that almost blew the initiative to smithereens.
Yesterday, my computer failed to start up. We are not talking about some sort of antique juke box here; I am working on a 27" intel iMac that came out of the box three months ago.
Apparently the operating system crashed, which is not the end of the world. I did not know that until Apple walked me through a reinstall this morning. Up to that point, I wondered if the hard drive had failed, which would have sealed four months worth of Redline Project files into the tomb of history.
With my heart in my throat, I gingerly launched the machine after the software finished installing. A click on the documents folder revealed a familiar, lengthy listing of all my digital goodies. Whew! Out of the woods. Needless to say, I am backing up these precious bits and bytes today.
In honor of reaching the milestone of 100 blog posts, I put together a list of 100 lessons I have learned since the project launched in January.
The Redline 100
1) Regardless of how much I promote this project and its blog, my wife will always be my most avid reader.
2) Regardless of how much I promote this project and its blog, my mother will always be my second-most avid reader.
3) Regardless of how much I promote this project and its blog, my grandmother will always be my third-most avid reader.
4) A seemingly quiet house is filled to the brim with squeaks, cracks, and various other borborygmi at any given moment of the day.
5) Birds chirp at ungodly hours of the day, and during the godly ones too.
6) A brand new computer, even an Apple, is still a computer and will therefore have a propensity to crash.
7) File backups are worth the time and effort, no matter how much of a pain they are to perform.
8) Logic Express is a superior product to Garageband, and worth the investment of money.
9) Logic Pro is a superior product to Logic Express, and worth the investment of money.
10) The digital age allows musicians to remotely collaborate, even if there is an ocean between them.
11) Never underestimate the power of external links to your blog.
12) Melodyne makes bad singers sound not so bad.
13) Many famous artists have used some sort of vocal adjustment and editing; almost no one sounds as good live as they do on a professional recording.
14) Songwriting takes great effort and often requires several drafts and tweaks.
15) Delay effects can make even the simplest rhythms sound cool.
16) It is easy to over-process and over-effect music projects when so many tools are a click away.
17) Songs should tell an incomplete story - one that allows listeners to fill in the blanks and relate the tale to their own lives.
18) Music sounds incomparably different when heard through headphones, studio monitors, vehicle sound systems, and consumer stereos.
19) No matter what an artist produces, some people are going to like it, and some are not.
20) Recording music is much easier when the wife is out drinking coffee with a friend.
21) There is nothing more valuable in all the world than a supportive wife.
22) Television soaks up more time than anyone wishes to admit.
23) Television is something I thought I would miss until I replaced it with this music project. Now I watch 95% less, and have no desire for my old habit.
24) Don't cheap out on audio cables. The cheapies produce too much static and hum to get a clean sound.
25) It is possible to sell something when acquiring another.
26) Sometimes owning less in the name of simplicity is good for the soul. I had to rid my closet of several bicycles and parts to fund this project. Do I miss these itmes? A little. The process inspired me to prioritize, which in turn yielded motivation to work hard at this project.
27) Ebay is a wonderful venue for turning unwanted items into cash.
28) Ebay customer service sucks eggs and their new feedback policy puts sellers at a severe disadvantage. Buyer AND seller beware.
29) If someone with the username Jmdesigns2 tries to purchase something from you on eBay, run far, far away.
30) Acoustic guitar sounds more natural and full when miked. Direct sound from a cable sounds almost too full or too direct.
31) Ten o'clock at night is a far more productive time for me than three o'clock in the afternoon will ever be.
32) External plug-ins for Logic can freeze the program once in a while. Save often.
33) Save often.
34) Recording a song, leaving it for awhile, and returning to it at a later date provides some sober perspective into its merits and problems.
35) Recording parts separately (like guitar and voice) almost always provides better editing capability, though it comes at the expense of a more organic sound.
36) Software features, such as Flex Time, do not always work as flawlessly as the marketing claims made about them.
37) A midi keyboard does not need a lot of features to be a useful tool.
38) Midi strings sound terrible.
39) Midi brass sounds terrible.
40) Midi woodwinds sound terrible.
41) A general rule of thumb: electronic instruments sound best when produced by the computer, acoustic instruments sound best when produced by acoustic instruments.
42) Midi instruments, when used thoughtfully and appropriately, can save amazing amounts of time.
43) Facebook and Twitter are wonderful resources for connecting people to a project.
44) People much rather listen to a scratch recording than read a blog entry.
45) With a few exceptions, the blog entries of the Redline Project are a diary for me more than they are columns or essays for others.
46) Musically speaking, I am first a percussionist. Recording voice, guitar, piano, etc. takes great effort, but laying down drum or percussion tracks comes easily to me.
47) There are at least three or four ways to express something. If I am struggling with a sentence construction, it is often best to delete what I have and start over.
48) Noise Reduction plug-ins in Logic do not work.
49) It doesn't matter if the product is software, computer peripherals, dishwashers, or tube socks, customer service is a dying (or perhaps dead) commodity.
50) Pursuing a passion such as music can render all of life's other endeavors bland and flat.
51) The best way to get organically listed in Google search results is to write plenty of content.
52) Collaboration is almost always better than solo work.
53) Solo work is almost always easier and more predictable than collaboration.
54) The new Mac unibody computers look cool.
55) A quiet computer makes all the difference in budget home recording situations.
56) Don't eat too much salt before laying down a vocal track.
57) Don't eat too much cabbage if you intend to get any sort of work accomplished.
58) Recording fast passages at half-tempo is infinitely easier than trying to put down gaggles of notes at speed.
59) Acting on an idea inspires others to act on their ideas.
60) Passion-inspired projects are worth the time and effort they consume.
61) To do a big project justice, sacrifices must be made.
62) In my humble opinion, 'I' and 'you' are not nearly as compelling of song topics as 'he' or she.'
63) Americans claiming to be unbelievably busy often waste a tremendous amount of time.
64) Knowing a baby is coming to join our family in a couple of months has greatly increased my productivity and sense of urgency.
65) When much work needs to be accomplished, it is more fun to blog.
66) Work is not limited to those tasks that provide a paycheck. Some of life's most important accomplishments have nothing to do with vocation.
67) Running a wire from a metal knob on a mixer around a pinky finger or wrist can ground a system and reduce unwanted noise.
68) Running a wire from a metal knob on a mixer around a pinky finger or wrist inspires people to say things like, "Why don't you just take the mixer into the shower with you next time you bathe?"
69) When dealing with a year-long project, it is important to step away for a day here and there.
70) Changing scenery or locale encourages creativity in songwriting.
71) The outdoors is more inspiring than the indoors.
72) Recording on Monday night is hard work.
73) Recording on Saturday is relaxing.
74) Bad recorded music is better than music that sleeps inside the soul.
75) Stretching or walking around ever hour or so gets a little bit of blood flowing and often yields better results in the studio.
76) A decent recording can be accomplished with $1000 worth of software and hardware.
77) Adding a new piece of equipment to a recording rig always adds a learning curve. Rarely, if ever, is hardware or software simply plug and play.
78) When I want to record, there is always blogging to do. When I want to blog, I feel like I am neglecting the recording.
79) Four hours of recording time seems no longer than 45 minutes.
80) Never overlook the beauty of borrowed equipment. Several friends had piles of great gear stacked up in their closets. I could have bought my own microphones, monitors, cables, etc., but why would I?
81) If you want to amaze your friends with Logic's capabilities, call up the EVOC vocoder synth.
82) Wikipedia is an immense resource, if a touch unreliable.
83) Most people who start year-long projects don't make it to March.
84) Digital music is for the ears what graphic design is for the eyes.
85) Logic's ringshifter plug-in offers an array of wave distortion options with only a few clicks of effort.
86) I really should be working right now.
87) Good friends want me to succeed.
88) Great friends help me to succeed.
89) Using loops that ship with Logic seems like cheating to me; I have chosen to steer clear.
90) For every midi instrument I like that came with Logic, there are 30 I would never use.
91) Latency is an measure of the amount of time between the occurrence of a sound and the moment it emerges from the speakers (after snaking from microphone to mixer, to computer, back to mixer, and out to the monitors).
92) Good friends tell me how nice my music sounds.
93) Great friends tell me what could be even better about my music.
94) Jan, William, Ken, and Holly are great friends.
95) To all those who have figured out how to make a living in the music field, and even more so to those who are still trying to figure it out, much respect.
96) Starting over on a song almost always yields better results.
97) Starting over is often time-prohibitive.
98) I gravitate towards sounds with a warmer, softer edge. Harsh, cutting sounds are almost never my choice.
99) The best reverbs are the ones that are felt and not heard.
100) Though nothing has ever consumed more of my spare time or energy, the Redline Project is by far the most life-giving project I have ever experienced.
Happy 100th, dear Redline Project. Hope the next hundred make all your dreams come true.
Yesterday, my computer failed to start up. We are not talking about some sort of antique juke box here; I am working on a 27" intel iMac that came out of the box three months ago.
Apparently the operating system crashed, which is not the end of the world. I did not know that until Apple walked me through a reinstall this morning. Up to that point, I wondered if the hard drive had failed, which would have sealed four months worth of Redline Project files into the tomb of history.
With my heart in my throat, I gingerly launched the machine after the software finished installing. A click on the documents folder revealed a familiar, lengthy listing of all my digital goodies. Whew! Out of the woods. Needless to say, I am backing up these precious bits and bytes today.
In honor of reaching the milestone of 100 blog posts, I put together a list of 100 lessons I have learned since the project launched in January.
The Redline 100
1) Regardless of how much I promote this project and its blog, my wife will always be my most avid reader.
2) Regardless of how much I promote this project and its blog, my mother will always be my second-most avid reader.
3) Regardless of how much I promote this project and its blog, my grandmother will always be my third-most avid reader.
4) A seemingly quiet house is filled to the brim with squeaks, cracks, and various other borborygmi at any given moment of the day.
5) Birds chirp at ungodly hours of the day, and during the godly ones too.
6) A brand new computer, even an Apple, is still a computer and will therefore have a propensity to crash.
7) File backups are worth the time and effort, no matter how much of a pain they are to perform.
8) Logic Express is a superior product to Garageband, and worth the investment of money.
9) Logic Pro is a superior product to Logic Express, and worth the investment of money.
10) The digital age allows musicians to remotely collaborate, even if there is an ocean between them.
11) Never underestimate the power of external links to your blog.
12) Melodyne makes bad singers sound not so bad.
13) Many famous artists have used some sort of vocal adjustment and editing; almost no one sounds as good live as they do on a professional recording.
14) Songwriting takes great effort and often requires several drafts and tweaks.
15) Delay effects can make even the simplest rhythms sound cool.
16) It is easy to over-process and over-effect music projects when so many tools are a click away.
17) Songs should tell an incomplete story - one that allows listeners to fill in the blanks and relate the tale to their own lives.
18) Music sounds incomparably different when heard through headphones, studio monitors, vehicle sound systems, and consumer stereos.
19) No matter what an artist produces, some people are going to like it, and some are not.
20) Recording music is much easier when the wife is out drinking coffee with a friend.
21) There is nothing more valuable in all the world than a supportive wife.
22) Television soaks up more time than anyone wishes to admit.
23) Television is something I thought I would miss until I replaced it with this music project. Now I watch 95% less, and have no desire for my old habit.
24) Don't cheap out on audio cables. The cheapies produce too much static and hum to get a clean sound.
25) It is possible to sell something when acquiring another.
26) Sometimes owning less in the name of simplicity is good for the soul. I had to rid my closet of several bicycles and parts to fund this project. Do I miss these itmes? A little. The process inspired me to prioritize, which in turn yielded motivation to work hard at this project.
27) Ebay is a wonderful venue for turning unwanted items into cash.
28) Ebay customer service sucks eggs and their new feedback policy puts sellers at a severe disadvantage. Buyer AND seller beware.
29) If someone with the username Jmdesigns2 tries to purchase something from you on eBay, run far, far away.
30) Acoustic guitar sounds more natural and full when miked. Direct sound from a cable sounds almost too full or too direct.
31) Ten o'clock at night is a far more productive time for me than three o'clock in the afternoon will ever be.
32) External plug-ins for Logic can freeze the program once in a while. Save often.
33) Save often.
34) Recording a song, leaving it for awhile, and returning to it at a later date provides some sober perspective into its merits and problems.
35) Recording parts separately (like guitar and voice) almost always provides better editing capability, though it comes at the expense of a more organic sound.
36) Software features, such as Flex Time, do not always work as flawlessly as the marketing claims made about them.
37) A midi keyboard does not need a lot of features to be a useful tool.
38) Midi strings sound terrible.
39) Midi brass sounds terrible.
40) Midi woodwinds sound terrible.
41) A general rule of thumb: electronic instruments sound best when produced by the computer, acoustic instruments sound best when produced by acoustic instruments.
42) Midi instruments, when used thoughtfully and appropriately, can save amazing amounts of time.
43) Facebook and Twitter are wonderful resources for connecting people to a project.
44) People much rather listen to a scratch recording than read a blog entry.
45) With a few exceptions, the blog entries of the Redline Project are a diary for me more than they are columns or essays for others.
46) Musically speaking, I am first a percussionist. Recording voice, guitar, piano, etc. takes great effort, but laying down drum or percussion tracks comes easily to me.
47) There are at least three or four ways to express something. If I am struggling with a sentence construction, it is often best to delete what I have and start over.
48) Noise Reduction plug-ins in Logic do not work.
49) It doesn't matter if the product is software, computer peripherals, dishwashers, or tube socks, customer service is a dying (or perhaps dead) commodity.
50) Pursuing a passion such as music can render all of life's other endeavors bland and flat.
51) The best way to get organically listed in Google search results is to write plenty of content.
52) Collaboration is almost always better than solo work.
53) Solo work is almost always easier and more predictable than collaboration.
54) The new Mac unibody computers look cool.
55) A quiet computer makes all the difference in budget home recording situations.
56) Don't eat too much salt before laying down a vocal track.
57) Don't eat too much cabbage if you intend to get any sort of work accomplished.
58) Recording fast passages at half-tempo is infinitely easier than trying to put down gaggles of notes at speed.
59) Acting on an idea inspires others to act on their ideas.
60) Passion-inspired projects are worth the time and effort they consume.
61) To do a big project justice, sacrifices must be made.
62) In my humble opinion, 'I' and 'you' are not nearly as compelling of song topics as 'he' or she.'
63) Americans claiming to be unbelievably busy often waste a tremendous amount of time.
64) Knowing a baby is coming to join our family in a couple of months has greatly increased my productivity and sense of urgency.
65) When much work needs to be accomplished, it is more fun to blog.
66) Work is not limited to those tasks that provide a paycheck. Some of life's most important accomplishments have nothing to do with vocation.
67) Running a wire from a metal knob on a mixer around a pinky finger or wrist can ground a system and reduce unwanted noise.
68) Running a wire from a metal knob on a mixer around a pinky finger or wrist inspires people to say things like, "Why don't you just take the mixer into the shower with you next time you bathe?"
69) When dealing with a year-long project, it is important to step away for a day here and there.
70) Changing scenery or locale encourages creativity in songwriting.
71) The outdoors is more inspiring than the indoors.
72) Recording on Monday night is hard work.
73) Recording on Saturday is relaxing.
74) Bad recorded music is better than music that sleeps inside the soul.
75) Stretching or walking around ever hour or so gets a little bit of blood flowing and often yields better results in the studio.
76) A decent recording can be accomplished with $1000 worth of software and hardware.
77) Adding a new piece of equipment to a recording rig always adds a learning curve. Rarely, if ever, is hardware or software simply plug and play.
78) When I want to record, there is always blogging to do. When I want to blog, I feel like I am neglecting the recording.
79) Four hours of recording time seems no longer than 45 minutes.
80) Never overlook the beauty of borrowed equipment. Several friends had piles of great gear stacked up in their closets. I could have bought my own microphones, monitors, cables, etc., but why would I?
81) If you want to amaze your friends with Logic's capabilities, call up the EVOC vocoder synth.
82) Wikipedia is an immense resource, if a touch unreliable.
83) Most people who start year-long projects don't make it to March.
84) Digital music is for the ears what graphic design is for the eyes.
85) Logic's ringshifter plug-in offers an array of wave distortion options with only a few clicks of effort.
86) I really should be working right now.
87) Good friends want me to succeed.
88) Great friends help me to succeed.
89) Using loops that ship with Logic seems like cheating to me; I have chosen to steer clear.
90) For every midi instrument I like that came with Logic, there are 30 I would never use.
91) Latency is an measure of the amount of time between the occurrence of a sound and the moment it emerges from the speakers (after snaking from microphone to mixer, to computer, back to mixer, and out to the monitors).
92) Good friends tell me how nice my music sounds.
93) Great friends tell me what could be even better about my music.
94) Jan, William, Ken, and Holly are great friends.
95) To all those who have figured out how to make a living in the music field, and even more so to those who are still trying to figure it out, much respect.
96) Starting over on a song almost always yields better results.
97) Starting over is often time-prohibitive.
98) I gravitate towards sounds with a warmer, softer edge. Harsh, cutting sounds are almost never my choice.
99) The best reverbs are the ones that are felt and not heard.
100) Though nothing has ever consumed more of my spare time or energy, the Redline Project is by far the most life-giving project I have ever experienced.
Happy 100th, dear Redline Project. Hope the next hundred make all your dreams come true.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Numero Siete
Between yesterday and today, another somewhat final track emerged from the churn. The portfolio of Redline Project compositions is steadily thickening.
If you are not into techno-speak, these next paragraphs are not for you. Consider yourself warned.
As I press on towards the project's goals, some essential tips in Logic software have emerged. For example, the stacking order of effects makes all the difference in the final sound of an individual track. If vocals have a condenser, a delay, a unison, and a phaser, it is helpful to place the condenser first and the unison next, followed by the delay and phaser.
In the case of outside units such as Melodyne (about which I can not sing enough praise), I find the plug-in only works in the first slot, with every processed effect following behind it. Otherwise, the sound renders unpredictably, often with distorted tone.
On an uber-specific note that will help virtually nobody, I have discovered a quirk of Melodyne that has allowed me to achieve greater clarity of tone. When a vocal is inputted into the powerful software, certain consonant sounds, especially those made with the letter 's', sound fuzzy and buzzy when they are corrected or moved to new pitch levels.
The remedy? Anytime the troubled letter occurs, I simply divide the blob (Melodyne's term for a note on a pitch center) into sections, leaving the 's' sound wherever it may fall naturally and adjusting the rest of the blob remnants as needed. This is a tedious process that yields a superior audio quality.
I have just bored myself. It is astonishing to gander soberly at the extent of my own nerdiness. Has anyone even made it to this paragraph?
With that, I am stopping for now. I promise tomorrow's topic of discussion will cease to be snoozeworthy.
If you are not into techno-speak, these next paragraphs are not for you. Consider yourself warned.
As I press on towards the project's goals, some essential tips in Logic software have emerged. For example, the stacking order of effects makes all the difference in the final sound of an individual track. If vocals have a condenser, a delay, a unison, and a phaser, it is helpful to place the condenser first and the unison next, followed by the delay and phaser.
In the case of outside units such as Melodyne (about which I can not sing enough praise), I find the plug-in only works in the first slot, with every processed effect following behind it. Otherwise, the sound renders unpredictably, often with distorted tone.
On an uber-specific note that will help virtually nobody, I have discovered a quirk of Melodyne that has allowed me to achieve greater clarity of tone. When a vocal is inputted into the powerful software, certain consonant sounds, especially those made with the letter 's', sound fuzzy and buzzy when they are corrected or moved to new pitch levels.
The remedy? Anytime the troubled letter occurs, I simply divide the blob (Melodyne's term for a note on a pitch center) into sections, leaving the 's' sound wherever it may fall naturally and adjusting the rest of the blob remnants as needed. This is a tedious process that yields a superior audio quality.
I have just bored myself. It is astonishing to gander soberly at the extent of my own nerdiness. Has anyone even made it to this paragraph?
With that, I am stopping for now. I promise tomorrow's topic of discussion will cease to be snoozeworthy.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Piles O' Tracks
I dabbed a little sparkle onto another track tonight, bringing the total of nearly complete recordings to six. With a goal of ten completed tracks, the Redline Project has broken into a full gallup. (Insert a rousing refrain of the William Tell Overture here.)
This means I am beating my projected schedule with a mallet or other damaging implement, which is positive as it allows more time dedicated to the lofty goal of scrounging up 10,000 listeners. The revised plan is to finish these ten tracks, cycle back through each once more for review, and then consider the possibility of adding another song or two to the mix with whatever time remains.
I am on pace to finish in a third of a year what I anticipated would consume three quarters. (Roll that William Tell one more time.) Refraining from exclamation marks is a challenge, as my excitement level has shot through the roof. With so much of life dangling thick weights around my neck lately, an encouraging day is a welcome shift.
On a technical note, odeo.com appears to be down for the moment, which means all scratch tracks posted here are currently unplayable. If the outage persists, I will need to find another solution, but hopefully the issue will resolve in a day's time.
This means I am beating my projected schedule with a mallet or other damaging implement, which is positive as it allows more time dedicated to the lofty goal of scrounging up 10,000 listeners. The revised plan is to finish these ten tracks, cycle back through each once more for review, and then consider the possibility of adding another song or two to the mix with whatever time remains.
I am on pace to finish in a third of a year what I anticipated would consume three quarters. (Roll that William Tell one more time.) Refraining from exclamation marks is a challenge, as my excitement level has shot through the roof. With so much of life dangling thick weights around my neck lately, an encouraging day is a welcome shift.
On a technical note, odeo.com appears to be down for the moment, which means all scratch tracks posted here are currently unplayable. If the outage persists, I will need to find another solution, but hopefully the issue will resolve in a day's time.
Better Track
A while ago, my friend Jan from Germany collaborated with me on a scratch track, offering his amazing guitar skills. The mp3 I loaded to this blog was only a shortened version of his recording, so I posted the full-length one in its place today. I am reposting the track here so it gets a little bit of time at the top of the list as well. Enjoy!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Jiminy Cricket
Allow me to paint a picture. Logic is running and I have opened the file requiring tonight's effort and attention. Atlanta is a gargantuan heap of yellow pollen and all of outside is abuzz and aflutter with the earth coming back to life. Wood bees whizz and pop outside the window as baby birds chirp their requests for worms. Sound lovely?
Mostly it is, until I innocently string up a microphone to redo some subpar vocal tracks. All of the lively hubbub finds its way through the tangle of wires and into my headphones.
This will not do.
I decide to wait out the spring symphony by cooking up a chicken sandwich and curling up for a fifteen minute catnap. The sun heads toward the tree line and a sense of cooling calm begins to blanket the suburban landscape.
I Had just settled down for recording vocal matter,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of carpets of pollen
Gave the lustre of mid-day to the spring that had fallen,
When, what to my wondering ears should arise,
But one thousand chirping crickets for me to despise.
The night was spent tweaking midi, mixing audio levels, and honing arrangement ideas. The new vocal tracks never came into existence. The winter had me competing with the borbarigmi of the furnace and water boiler, which seems tame compared to the nature's April incantation. This new challenge leaves me confounded; when am I to record anything?
Mostly it is, until I innocently string up a microphone to redo some subpar vocal tracks. All of the lively hubbub finds its way through the tangle of wires and into my headphones.
This will not do.
I decide to wait out the spring symphony by cooking up a chicken sandwich and curling up for a fifteen minute catnap. The sun heads toward the tree line and a sense of cooling calm begins to blanket the suburban landscape.
I Had just settled down for recording vocal matter,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of carpets of pollen
Gave the lustre of mid-day to the spring that had fallen,
When, what to my wondering ears should arise,
But one thousand chirping crickets for me to despise.
The night was spent tweaking midi, mixing audio levels, and honing arrangement ideas. The new vocal tracks never came into existence. The winter had me competing with the borbarigmi of the furnace and water boiler, which seems tame compared to the nature's April incantation. This new challenge leaves me confounded; when am I to record anything?
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
T Minus 200
If you are a regular visitor, you know that the clock to the right of this post has been counting down to the release of the Redline Project final album. This little application of truth passed a milestone today, dipping below the 200 day mark.
As final tracks emerge from the chrysalides of scratch recordings, I am not trembling as fiercely as I once did. I have nearly four complete songs, which is almost halfway to the goal of ten. With these accomplishments comes the sense that the Redline Project is ahead of schedule, and that conjures a good feeling.
I fear I have been a touch negative in recent posts, and I want to take the opportunity to mention how life-giving this effort is. I love music, and to participate in its creation after years away thumps 200 proof adrenaline through my veins. The album that will be available in a matter of months will not be the best you have ever heard, but each day brings more certainty that my music will be worth a listen.
As final tracks emerge from the chrysalides of scratch recordings, I am not trembling as fiercely as I once did. I have nearly four complete songs, which is almost halfway to the goal of ten. With these accomplishments comes the sense that the Redline Project is ahead of schedule, and that conjures a good feeling.
I fear I have been a touch negative in recent posts, and I want to take the opportunity to mention how life-giving this effort is. I love music, and to participate in its creation after years away thumps 200 proof adrenaline through my veins. The album that will be available in a matter of months will not be the best you have ever heard, but each day brings more certainty that my music will be worth a listen.
Monday, April 12, 2010
A Look Around
Quick question. Is the Redline Project remarkable?
Though rhetorical, I imagine my readers to be split on the matter. One perspective says this initiative is nothing more than a hobby and a blog - a dual claim of ownership that far too many Americans can make.
Between yesterday and today, I landed in blog spaces covering golf swings, copyright laws, the healing wonders of the acai berry, and sadly enough, the possibiity that the National Enquirer may receive a Pulitzer Prize for excellence in journalism. To start a blog, one must have three things: internet access, a username, and a password. That's it.
There is a term for efforts that span the course of a year, often with accompanying blog entries. They are called '365 projects' (or perhaps '366 projects' should they fall on a leap year). For every one of these startups that manages to go viral, I estimate there are 1,000 others that get noticed by a score or less of regular visitors. Multiply that out again to find the quantity of 365 projects that make it past the first month.
Why? Because American life is startlingly packed - not simply busy in one area, but chock full of a million different commitments pulling in as many directions.
I make mention of this because I feel as a spider would if eight predators were yanking on each of its legs. With only a handful of weeks between today and the glorious day my soon-to-be son will finally come home from South Korea, I have a dozen or more items to accomplish and many more obligations yanking me away from progress.
In less than a week, I will write the 100th Redline Project post. With as much content here as would be found in a brief novel, my commitment to realizing the goals listed in this page's header should be apparent. Despite the my drive to succeed, I fear that all corners of life will tug, tug, tug until I have nothing left to give, and this project would fall to the wayside.
In a word, burnout.
Last night, I recorded 90 percent of a song's final version. This makes four tracks of ten (or more if there is time - insert sarcastic inflection here) that are nearly wrapped. Completing this album is so near I can almost smell sweet victory, and yet somehow distant enough to seem well out of grasp.
Since I started chiseling away at this idea in January, the paradox of so close yet so far away has haunted every day of this quarter-year. I plod on somehow, and inch ever closer to making a reality of this romantic pipe dream.
So, is the Redline Project remarkable? Should I manage to sculpt it into an accomplishment, it may someday become so. Until then, I think the unfortunately true answer is, 'No, it is not.'
Though rhetorical, I imagine my readers to be split on the matter. One perspective says this initiative is nothing more than a hobby and a blog - a dual claim of ownership that far too many Americans can make.
Between yesterday and today, I landed in blog spaces covering golf swings, copyright laws, the healing wonders of the acai berry, and sadly enough, the possibiity that the National Enquirer may receive a Pulitzer Prize for excellence in journalism. To start a blog, one must have three things: internet access, a username, and a password. That's it.
There is a term for efforts that span the course of a year, often with accompanying blog entries. They are called '365 projects' (or perhaps '366 projects' should they fall on a leap year). For every one of these startups that manages to go viral, I estimate there are 1,000 others that get noticed by a score or less of regular visitors. Multiply that out again to find the quantity of 365 projects that make it past the first month.
Why? Because American life is startlingly packed - not simply busy in one area, but chock full of a million different commitments pulling in as many directions.
I make mention of this because I feel as a spider would if eight predators were yanking on each of its legs. With only a handful of weeks between today and the glorious day my soon-to-be son will finally come home from South Korea, I have a dozen or more items to accomplish and many more obligations yanking me away from progress.
In less than a week, I will write the 100th Redline Project post. With as much content here as would be found in a brief novel, my commitment to realizing the goals listed in this page's header should be apparent. Despite the my drive to succeed, I fear that all corners of life will tug, tug, tug until I have nothing left to give, and this project would fall to the wayside.
In a word, burnout.
Last night, I recorded 90 percent of a song's final version. This makes four tracks of ten (or more if there is time - insert sarcastic inflection here) that are nearly wrapped. Completing this album is so near I can almost smell sweet victory, and yet somehow distant enough to seem well out of grasp.
Since I started chiseling away at this idea in January, the paradox of so close yet so far away has haunted every day of this quarter-year. I plod on somehow, and inch ever closer to making a reality of this romantic pipe dream.
So, is the Redline Project remarkable? Should I manage to sculpt it into an accomplishment, it may someday become so. Until then, I think the unfortunately true answer is, 'No, it is not.'
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Shadows Reappear
Tonight I am chiseling away at a third attempt of the song "Sing Silently." As I record the final chorus, I am once again struck with a fierce flood of tears. Sitting on the fifth track of the project is my stuttering, trembling voice, complete with sniffles and gasps.
The story behind the song is the reason for the weeping. As mentioned in previous Redline Project posts, the lyrics are about my friend Jennifer. A middle school student, she experienced a deep trauma when someone broke into her family's house, stealing possessions and carrying out acts of violence. She still struggles to fall asleep, and especially while her mother is still out working the third shift.
I am faced with a fundamental musical question as a result. Does the crying stay or go? In some ways, the presence of this honest emotion reveals the weight of the story better than any of the lyrics ever could. In other ways, it detracts from the simplicity and pleasantness of the composition, which I am guessing will be a listeners' favorite from the final album.
The story behind the song is the reason for the weeping. As mentioned in previous Redline Project posts, the lyrics are about my friend Jennifer. A middle school student, she experienced a deep trauma when someone broke into her family's house, stealing possessions and carrying out acts of violence. She still struggles to fall asleep, and especially while her mother is still out working the third shift.
I am faced with a fundamental musical question as a result. Does the crying stay or go? In some ways, the presence of this honest emotion reveals the weight of the story better than any of the lyrics ever could. In other ways, it detracts from the simplicity and pleasantness of the composition, which I am guessing will be a listeners' favorite from the final album.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Off the Grid
Tonight I completely reworked a recording originally posted at the end of January. The title is "Sing Silently," a song about a little girl I know who has trouble sleeping after a violent break-in occurred in her home.
In the name of science, I attempted to record without any click track or time grid in place. I was hoping the lack of rigid time structure would lend an organic aesthetic to the music (a bare composition of voice with a few acoustic guitar tracks).
Fail.
Aligning tracks and editing out the no-nos without the help of organized time stamps is all but impossible for a noob like me. With practice, patience, and time, I could get the hang of recording without the click, but time is a commodity unknown to the Redline Project.
Tomorrow I will attempt a redo of the redo, this time with the familiar metronome clicking sense into my soul as I lay in the tracks.
On the sunny side, I tweaked the setup of my recording rig today, eliminating some unwanted microphone noise from the mix. Though this does not compare with completing a song for the final project, a cleaner audio signal is nevertheless an important accomplishment.
In the name of science, I attempted to record without any click track or time grid in place. I was hoping the lack of rigid time structure would lend an organic aesthetic to the music (a bare composition of voice with a few acoustic guitar tracks).
Fail.
Aligning tracks and editing out the no-nos without the help of organized time stamps is all but impossible for a noob like me. With practice, patience, and time, I could get the hang of recording without the click, but time is a commodity unknown to the Redline Project.
Tomorrow I will attempt a redo of the redo, this time with the familiar metronome clicking sense into my soul as I lay in the tracks.
On the sunny side, I tweaked the setup of my recording rig today, eliminating some unwanted microphone noise from the mix. Though this does not compare with completing a song for the final project, a cleaner audio signal is nevertheless an important accomplishment.
Friday, April 9, 2010
A Nip and a Tuck
Regular readers may remember a scratch recording posted here in January. Its a tune called, "Slips Away," and it is the first full-length song form I completed for the Redline Project.
I hunkered down in Studio Redline for hours yesterday, carefully considering the ups and downs of the rough cut. I rerecorded all the vocals, added some electric guitar, polished several midi tracks, and added an all-new bridge to the mix. A little elbow grease later, a decent piece of music emanated from the monitors. If not all the way polished, "Slips Away" is now varnished with a thick coat of semi-gloss.
Though half-witted recordists would undoubtedly scrunch their noses at the music's imperfections, I am pretty well pleased with my work on the song. I let it loop through my sound system for a portion of the afternoon, mostly looking for imperfections but also enjoying the first fruits of my loving labor.
Motivated by this milestone, I proceeded to open each of the 29 files I have produced since January, jotting comments in my sketch book with every listen. When I dove into this project, I was sure that all scratch recordings would need to be completely scrapped. This is proving to be false, which is a pleasant development.
Most of my tracks need significant work, many will require complete start-overs, and some will never, ever, ever be opened again. None are even remotely ready for launch. I can cope with files that require pounds of turtle wax; I definitely favor dealing with existing music over taking it from the top.
My goal is to have another final recording in my back pocket by the conclusion of the weekend. Accomplishing this task will leave only eight pieces in need of a shoeshine, bringing the goals of the Redline Project ever closer to accomplishment.
I hunkered down in Studio Redline for hours yesterday, carefully considering the ups and downs of the rough cut. I rerecorded all the vocals, added some electric guitar, polished several midi tracks, and added an all-new bridge to the mix. A little elbow grease later, a decent piece of music emanated from the monitors. If not all the way polished, "Slips Away" is now varnished with a thick coat of semi-gloss.
Though half-witted recordists would undoubtedly scrunch their noses at the music's imperfections, I am pretty well pleased with my work on the song. I let it loop through my sound system for a portion of the afternoon, mostly looking for imperfections but also enjoying the first fruits of my loving labor.
Motivated by this milestone, I proceeded to open each of the 29 files I have produced since January, jotting comments in my sketch book with every listen. When I dove into this project, I was sure that all scratch recordings would need to be completely scrapped. This is proving to be false, which is a pleasant development.
Most of my tracks need significant work, many will require complete start-overs, and some will never, ever, ever be opened again. None are even remotely ready for launch. I can cope with files that require pounds of turtle wax; I definitely favor dealing with existing music over taking it from the top.
My goal is to have another final recording in my back pocket by the conclusion of the weekend. Accomplishing this task will leave only eight pieces in need of a shoeshine, bringing the goals of the Redline Project ever closer to accomplishment.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Sifting Through
To the moment, I have composed ten pieces of music for the Redline Project - fairly prolific considering that I launched this effort at the beginning of January and progress is relegated to nights and weekends. Total playing time for these tracks (once finished) will probably land around 45 to 50 minutes, which is on the short side of a respectable full-length album.
My wife, who is famous around our house for practical wisdom, suggested I run with these rough recordings, sculpting them into final cuts that will land on the finished product. This seems a good tactic to me. Should this batch wrap up with days left over, I can always add new music at that time.
I like this approach because it turns the heat down two notches. According to my project schedule, I should complete all rough tracks by May 15. This puts the Redline Project a month and change ahead of the next deadline. Whoopie-woo!
Opening these rough tracks over the past two days has been a little like Christmas. Each scratch recording that I unearth coaxes a set of emotions. One piece needs a tweak or a touch to be presentable - like unwrapping a shiny red guitar. Another cut must be scrapped entirely in favor of a complete redo - evokes the sentiment of peeling back paper to find a six pack of striped tube socks.
So far I am making mental notes only. Tomorrow I will dive into thoroughly tearing each track apart and penning the critiques into my journal. From there, the Redline Project moves into the new and exciting phase of producing final music - tracks that I sincerely hope will make their way into the iPods of 10,000 listeners.
I feel a welcome glimmer of hope tonight that has been absent for weeks. Time for a celebratory bowl of Lucky Charms.
My wife, who is famous around our house for practical wisdom, suggested I run with these rough recordings, sculpting them into final cuts that will land on the finished product. This seems a good tactic to me. Should this batch wrap up with days left over, I can always add new music at that time.
I like this approach because it turns the heat down two notches. According to my project schedule, I should complete all rough tracks by May 15. This puts the Redline Project a month and change ahead of the next deadline. Whoopie-woo!
Opening these rough tracks over the past two days has been a little like Christmas. Each scratch recording that I unearth coaxes a set of emotions. One piece needs a tweak or a touch to be presentable - like unwrapping a shiny red guitar. Another cut must be scrapped entirely in favor of a complete redo - evokes the sentiment of peeling back paper to find a six pack of striped tube socks.
So far I am making mental notes only. Tomorrow I will dive into thoroughly tearing each track apart and penning the critiques into my journal. From there, the Redline Project moves into the new and exciting phase of producing final music - tracks that I sincerely hope will make their way into the iPods of 10,000 listeners.
I feel a welcome glimmer of hope tonight that has been absent for weeks. Time for a celebratory bowl of Lucky Charms.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
International Collaboration
Jan Fisher, a distant relative and one of the most faithful Redline Project blog readers, recently asked me to send him the audio files to a scratch recording. Living in Germany, Jan is an accomplished guitarist and recordist, and I have been eager to hear the results of his musical input.
His guitar textures and lines are nothing short of brilliant. What I heard in my head as a major progression (I, IV, I, IV for all you theory geeks), he interpreted as a solid minor chord (vi). I am invigorated by this choice as it brought a new darkness and mystique to the original sound. Jan layered guitar lines and built the texture slowly from a distant hum to an energetic burn. Nice, nice, nice!
In short, I am thrilled to share a wavelength and I hope this is the first of many trans-Atlantic collaborations with this fine musician. This is an invitation to any and all readers: I am thrilled to paint the canvas with anyone who wants to give it a swing. Contact me if you want to get something going.
His guitar textures and lines are nothing short of brilliant. What I heard in my head as a major progression (I, IV, I, IV for all you theory geeks), he interpreted as a solid minor chord (vi). I am invigorated by this choice as it brought a new darkness and mystique to the original sound. Jan layered guitar lines and built the texture slowly from a distant hum to an energetic burn. Nice, nice, nice!
In short, I am thrilled to share a wavelength and I hope this is the first of many trans-Atlantic collaborations with this fine musician. This is an invitation to any and all readers: I am thrilled to paint the canvas with anyone who wants to give it a swing. Contact me if you want to get something going.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Circling Back
In many ways, tonight's work on the Redline Project launches a new phase of the process. Instead of working on new musical ideas, I reopened one of the first songs I wrote for the album and got busy analyzing the delightful and wretched elements of its scratch recording.
There were many tracks, especially those performed in MIDI, that are keepable with a bit of tweaking. It is encouraging not to have to scrap everything in the initial recording, which in turn gives me great hope about the editing of other works in progress.
This success holds hands with discouragement though; this song alone could soak up two solid weeks worth of recording and editing time, and those hours will be difficult to find. I am certain this album will be produced and released by the deadline, but on nights like this I wonder how it is all going to come together.
There were many tracks, especially those performed in MIDI, that are keepable with a bit of tweaking. It is encouraging not to have to scrap everything in the initial recording, which in turn gives me great hope about the editing of other works in progress.
This success holds hands with discouragement though; this song alone could soak up two solid weeks worth of recording and editing time, and those hours will be difficult to find. I am certain this album will be produced and released by the deadline, but on nights like this I wonder how it is all going to come together.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Lessons from Glen and Marketa
To say that I had a great time on America's highways over the weekend would be a grand understatement. The Redline Project is not a venue for personal pontification, so I will reserve my bouquet of wanderlust tales for blogs that exist elsewhere.
The trip's relevance to the Redline Project is somewhat limited as I did not write songs, record tracks, or research software techniques while away. In short, a fuse in my mind had blown, and I gave the old brain a weekend off. I am pleased to report that my cranium is operating at full tilt, and I am ready once again to dive into the deep end of this project.
Of all the dashboard crooners that meandered around the Gulf Coast with me, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova spent a considerable amount of time singing through a stack of songs from the movie, "Once."
Have you seen the film? If you have not, go rent it tonight. If you are busy tonight, put it on the list for tomorrow. "Once" is the story of two brokenhearted musicians who meet each other in Dublin, Ireland. The two form a beautiful collaboration and discover a life-giving friendship in the process. The film is gorgeous, the plot delicious, and the music sumptuous. One lovely detail about the movie: the main actors realized their music was meant to exist past the scope of the picture and started a band that still performs today.
Why are you still reading this blog post? Go to the rental store now, or at least hit up your Netflix queue.
Beyond enjoying the music at face value, I spent ample time listening deeply to Glen and Marketa, trying to understand lyrics and their constructions, considering song structures, analyzing chords, pondering vocal techniques.
Neither Glen Hansard or Marketa Irglova have perfect voices. On the recordings, there are notes out of tune, phrases unaligned rhythmically, and even an occasional wrong note. Why then is the music so gripping, so compelling, so haunting?
Part of the answer lies in the performers' abilities to bring their songs to life with emotional conviction. Their voices cry in sad moments and rip during choruses of rage. The two singers invite the listener on a journey into the story behind the song, and it is impossible not to taste the bittersweet sentiments carefully penned for such a purpose.
I have over-thought every lyric I have written for this project, trying to saturate every line with as much meaning and emotion as it could hold. Because I deem my voice an unworthy instrument, I have relied on words alone to create meaning in the songs I am trying to sing.
With Glen and Marketa as role models, I am going to practice using whatever voice I have to deliver compelling performances of the poetry I am working so diligently to write. I would like nothing better than for my songs to be compelling and perfect, but since I have to choose, compelling may be the way to go.
The trip's relevance to the Redline Project is somewhat limited as I did not write songs, record tracks, or research software techniques while away. In short, a fuse in my mind had blown, and I gave the old brain a weekend off. I am pleased to report that my cranium is operating at full tilt, and I am ready once again to dive into the deep end of this project.
Of all the dashboard crooners that meandered around the Gulf Coast with me, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova spent a considerable amount of time singing through a stack of songs from the movie, "Once."
Have you seen the film? If you have not, go rent it tonight. If you are busy tonight, put it on the list for tomorrow. "Once" is the story of two brokenhearted musicians who meet each other in Dublin, Ireland. The two form a beautiful collaboration and discover a life-giving friendship in the process. The film is gorgeous, the plot delicious, and the music sumptuous. One lovely detail about the movie: the main actors realized their music was meant to exist past the scope of the picture and started a band that still performs today.
Why are you still reading this blog post? Go to the rental store now, or at least hit up your Netflix queue.
Beyond enjoying the music at face value, I spent ample time listening deeply to Glen and Marketa, trying to understand lyrics and their constructions, considering song structures, analyzing chords, pondering vocal techniques.
Neither Glen Hansard or Marketa Irglova have perfect voices. On the recordings, there are notes out of tune, phrases unaligned rhythmically, and even an occasional wrong note. Why then is the music so gripping, so compelling, so haunting?
Part of the answer lies in the performers' abilities to bring their songs to life with emotional conviction. Their voices cry in sad moments and rip during choruses of rage. The two singers invite the listener on a journey into the story behind the song, and it is impossible not to taste the bittersweet sentiments carefully penned for such a purpose.
I have over-thought every lyric I have written for this project, trying to saturate every line with as much meaning and emotion as it could hold. Because I deem my voice an unworthy instrument, I have relied on words alone to create meaning in the songs I am trying to sing.
With Glen and Marketa as role models, I am going to practice using whatever voice I have to deliver compelling performances of the poetry I am working so diligently to write. I would like nothing better than for my songs to be compelling and perfect, but since I have to choose, compelling may be the way to go.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Redline Project Complete
Today is a prodigious day. The Redline Project final album is ready to be released.
April fools.
I plan on posting verbose paragraphs and recording three songs over the holiday weekend.
April fools again. There; got that out of my system.
Actually, the wife and I are headed out for some unplanned road tripping adventures around the southeast. We will be camping along the way with little or no internet access. You are welcome as always to visit the Redline Project blog, but you will not find any new material here until Monday, April 5.
Hey... everyone needs a vaction from the diligent work of blogging, right? Sincere thanks goes to the handful of readers who may actually be a touch disappointed by this. While the Redline Project fan club may be thin in numbers, its members are fortified with brilliance and creativity. Much appreciation to each of you.
For those into Good Friday and Easter, I hope you revel in the glory of life overcoming death. For those not observing the holiday, I wish you a restful, rejuvenating handful of days. See you on the other side of the weekend.
April fools.
I plan on posting verbose paragraphs and recording three songs over the holiday weekend.
April fools again. There; got that out of my system.
Actually, the wife and I are headed out for some unplanned road tripping adventures around the southeast. We will be camping along the way with little or no internet access. You are welcome as always to visit the Redline Project blog, but you will not find any new material here until Monday, April 5.
Hey... everyone needs a vaction from the diligent work of blogging, right? Sincere thanks goes to the handful of readers who may actually be a touch disappointed by this. While the Redline Project fan club may be thin in numbers, its members are fortified with brilliance and creativity. Much appreciation to each of you.
For those into Good Friday and Easter, I hope you revel in the glory of life overcoming death. For those not observing the holiday, I wish you a restful, rejuvenating handful of days. See you on the other side of the weekend.
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