A few slower days as I transition from programming to music. The Snow Business project has one day to go, so I've started to enquire about a presentation event.
Yesterday was spent testing Gunstorm II, and wandering around Crewe a little, following on from some Sunday shopping.
Today has been full work on the recordings of Excessive Consumption, and particularly 'Rock and Roll is King'. My music creation work now reflects that of my paintings, lots of fine detail that takes hours of refinement. Many hours today was spent, for example, on the hi-hat patterns of 'rock. This is an early example of a tune written primarily as a backing track to perform to, but of course it will be added to for a full recording. It's notable as a 1950s-style rock and roll song for having no guitar (yet, at least). I have planned for one in Excessive Consumption though.
Each day I've been practicing the blues track, Pictures On My Telephone. Blues in chord structure it might be, but this song has more of the mood of a cowboy song. I'll be playing this entirely on piano and singing, which makes it more difficult to perform. I'd like to shout it more, express more, and this needs more drill to master it to a good enough degree. Musically it's extremely simple, as is Rock and Roll. I'm reminded that on guitar the song would be much easier to perform than on piano, and this, as well as portability and performance image (greater visibility of the performer, freedom to move etc.), may explain why the guitar definitively beat the piano as a rock performance instrument; but musically the piano is superior and all of the best composers are piano players.
These songs are aimed towards the next open-mic performance, so constitute training. Each of these special and limited events must be treated as opportunities to leap upwards, both push and refine, and always improve.
The start of a month is here so I need to target a new ambition and project. One thing I need to do is complete more existing album scores. The new Salome book, my first book with sheet music, and our first as a Fall in Green book, is just about ready.
Onward.
