datamusicata

Tomorrow I am driving down to Irvine to the Far West Folk Alliance (www.far-west.org) , where I will be doing a premier showcase to try to convince people that I am worth of some work and some recognition.

Since I began Datamusicata, I have been trying to think of everything that might help you and may have appeared like someone who had it completely together.  Nothing could be further from the truth.   I waste more time than I should.  I practice less than I should.   I prioritize like a person who either has an eternity to fix mistakes or else I am a complete idiot.

My plan when I got back from the road was to practice every single day the set that I would do at Far West to ascertain that I presented my best efforts.

And true to my word (for the first day back) I did practice.  Then life interceded and the recording of my new CD, Backstage at the Resurrection interceded and I ended up practicing the set…NOT AT ALL.

Now it’s Thursday and I have some of Friday and Saturday to practice a little.    I have said this before and I know it to be true.   Practicing fifteen minutes every day takes you farther than practicing two hours once a week.

I have made a peculiar choice here.   I was so excited to work on this CD, that I want done before the end of November , that I may have blown another opportunity to make a difference in my own life.

On the plus side is the fact that I have practiced and performed tens of thousands of hours in my life and do have a professional level of expertise to fall back on.   But that’s not the same as simply being completely prepared, not just with the guitar and the voice, but mentally.  Knowing that I did the work would make it much easier psychologically to deliver the goods.

As it is, I will practice tonight (it’s now 9:30 pm) and I will practice at the hotel tomorrow and again on Saturday and will do the best show I know how, but I wish I had followed the suggestions and the what I know to be truths that I have tried to impart to you here at Datamusicata.

I will try to post every day from the conference just to keep you all in the loop about one of these music networking conferences in case you haven’t been to one and I will try to give you an honest assessment of my showcase.

Now I’ve got to go practice…finally.   Shame on me.

Year ago, I was on the road with Bonnie Raitt, doing some northern California dates and a harmonica player by the name of Norton Buffalo (www.norton-buffalo.com)  sat in.   He was brilliant, musical and a really fine fellow.   Even though I was a relative unknown, he treated me like a peer.  He was gracious, accessible and fun.

Through the years our paths crossed at various gigs and functions and he was never less than he appeared the first time I met him.  And it turns out that not only was he a brilliant player, but everyone knew it.   He wore his fame very comfortably and was never  too cool to be approached.  He always returned emails and calls from me.

 I just heard of his demise on October 30^th due to complications brought on by pneumonia.

He was only diagnosed with a problem a month ago.

I bring all this up to point out that the real artists are always nurturing and accessible to anyone who is approaching the craft, be it music, theatre or art.  They are always there, they don’t make anyone feel excluded.  

Someone told me years ago, that a real gentleman would never make anyone feel uncomfortable in their presence.  I always remembered it and strived to be that way.  And one of my inspirations was Norton.

If you are unfamiliar with his work (though I doubt it) his website will provide you with an estimable discography, biography and history.

He always delivered the goods when he was on stage or in the studio.   His is an admirable legacy.

We would all be better off if we emulated this fine musician.

Rest easy, Norton, you will be missed.

Friday we talked about melodies and how the instrument that they are created on can restrict the melody.   Today we’re going to go the other way and hear how the instrument can expand the melody and it’s emotional impact.

 (clipped from the newspaper and used by permission of Universal Syndicate)

If you have a melody, written or borrowed., let’s start with that.    Let’s put it in the key of D and let’s say the song is in 4/4.  

Now the simplest chord progression that we all learn is the  D, G, A  or I, IV, V progression.   Try applying this over the melody in several ways.

Take the first phrase of the melody and only play the D chord; for the second phrase the G chord and for the third phrase the A chord.   Listen to the way the melody is affected by these changes.

Now take the same melody and play the D chord for two beats, then the G chord, then the  A chord for two beats and then the G chord again for two beats.    Do you hear the different way these same chords affect the melody?

Now try playing it one chord to each beat, so that the chord progression is a rolling thing under the melody.   Brian Wilson used this kind of thing a lot in his later Beach Boys hits.

You can try these chords in any order and for any length.   Every choice you make will affect the unchanged melody differently, with at least interesting results.

Okay, so far, we have stayed in the key center and been very diatonic.   Let’s try a little experiment by adding the C chord to the progression.    We’re still using the same melody, but the progression we’re doing to try this time is:

D for two beats, C for two beats, G for two beats, and A for two beats and repeat for the length of the melody. 

Listen to the affect.   What happens emotionally?   It’s just amazing.

Play with this.  Try it with four beats each or one beat each, and listen each time you do it.   Can you hear what happens to the melody when you change the chord underneath it.   

For me, this demonstrates how much freedom there is when arranging and composing.    Changing the chords to a song you’ve already written is also always a fun way to experiment.

And we haven’t even explored the changes from major to minor chords (tho some accommodation must be done to the melody in some instances).

Last night I saw a wonderful film entitled Songcatcher.   It is the story of a female musicologist who goes up into Appalachia in the first decade of the 20^th century and discovers this treasure trove of Scottish and English ballads that have been unaltered by the progress of the late 19^th and early 20^th century.

Using a grammapone, she records these mountain people singing acapella the songs that their ancestors had sung; playing the banjo that was actually brought back into the mountains from contact with African slaves who basically invented the instrument; or employing the  guitar or fiddle with the vocal.

It is a fascinating and compelling film, especially for anyone with more than a passing interest in folk music, but what was most fascinating to me were the way the melodies of these folk songs were structured.

As each centuries old melody was sung, (with the exception of the new song co written by the director’s husband), all of the melodies had a drone tone that could be sung against the entire melody.

I know you all know this, but just in case someone  doesn’t, a drone tone is a consistent unaltered pitch that can be sung or played across the entire piece.   There is always a drone tone in classical Indian music.   As a matter of fact, there are drone strings on every sitar.

At first I wondered why these melodies would accept a drone so readily., as my own melodies tend to drift (compellingly, I hope) through key centers and there this drone would not apply.   Then as I thought about it, I realized that many of the people who settled in Appalachia were of Scottish descent.

The instrument for which the Scottish are most known is, of course, the bagpipes; an instrument that employs a drone as part of it’s sound.   Now it began to make sense.

Any melody composed against or over an instrument that was providing a drone and thus a very strong key center, would have to accommodate that drone.

Then I began to extrapolate and realized that any instrument that you compose a melody on, is going to be restricted, in a sense, by that instrument.

So my suggestion to you today, is to try to compose a melody without using any instrument.    Then if  you have the means, record it, acapella, just you and the melody, no chords, no accompaniment of any sort.

On Monday, we’ll start the second phase of this experiment.

What do you think is the biggest misconception or mistake of young songwriters?   A question asked of Tom Russell, veteran songwriter:

(Laughs.) I could go on and on. At South By Southwest, I wasn't there, but Little Steven got up and made this speech. People asked me if I wrote it for him. He said: You people come from all over the world, and you're all trying to network your way to fame. None of you young songwriters are doing your homework. You're not learning other people's songs, staying home and learning the craft. You're not playing bars for 10 or 15 years, paying your dues. And that's true. When Dylan came to New York, and he's the supreme example, none of these people will top that catalogue, he knew a thousand songs. He could steal from Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie, and he could play blues. He came through that scene very fast because of the homework he'd done. You could say genius, but he did a lot of hard work. We've made it very hard for young songwriters, with these stupid bullshit conferences, South By Southwest, Folk Alliance, Songwriter Magazine. There's this idea

 that there are gimmicks, tools, networking that can help you. But they haven't helped anybody. They've limited people. The Beatles had four tracks and a guitar. All this science, this introspective look at songwriting, it's put hobbles on songwriters. It was a heavy scene that Dylan and Cohen went through. Fred Neil, Tim Hardin, those guys, were in the Navy and Marines, and had been exposed to hard drugs. By the time they hit the scene they were adults, they had character. You don't run into that type of kid anymore.

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/atoz/2009/10/interview_outtakes_tom_russell_off_broadway_october_16_2009_interview_dylan.php

just received this in an email and I thought it would make a really good topic.    Little Steven from Springsteen’s band evidently made these comments and Tom Russell quoted them.   The full article is on that website.

He does have a point, tho the dissing of the conferences could only be made by someone who is already famous.     No matter how good a songwriter you are, people have to hear your songs to know that.   Dylan, et al, came up through that NYC scene, because there was a real scene there.   A scene that was supported by the media and by the public.    That scene does not exist anymore, so networking and getting your music around has to be done differently, and I suggest to you that going to these conferences and playing for your peers as well as the hundreds of venue people that show up will give you a chance to expose your music, be exposed to other music, compare your work to others to see how you are doing, and get some work, if you are good enough.

Some people take exception to the idea of comparing your self to others, but comparing yourself to how you were doing two years ago will only give you a gauge of you now verses you then.   A good thing to know, but when you hear  a truly great singer, guitar player, songwriter, etc, you are impacted and you learn from it and you have to compare yourself and your work to that level.    And it is a competition…not a fair one, I’ll grant you.   There are far too many mediocre talents in our industry that are celebrated for me to pretend that if you do the work and have the talent you are guaranteed a first class seat.    Not always the case in terms of popular acceptance, but in terms of artistic satisfaction, absolutely.  

After a certain level, you are only getting better for yourself.   Only other devoted players are going to appreciate what you had to do to get there.    Unless you get SO there that you are Chet Atkins and everyone can hear it, no matter who they are.    And that being said, there are many people for whom Chet’ s unbelievable playing just doesn’t do it for them.   

Though it is wonderful to get the support, you cannot trust the majority in this regard.  

What Little Steven said about getting some life experience I have to agree with totally.   You get some scars, some knocks, some pain, you end up creating stuff with more depth and hopefully more resonance.