Wrote the first part of this earlier this year. Wrote the rest yesterday, and recorded this demo this evening so I don’t forget the parts.
I only have vocals over the intro (no other vocals written). Demo is kinda rough: wasn’t done to a click, levels could be tweaked, single (less than perfect) takes, but you get the idea. One pass was the guitar. Next pass added the vocal to the intro. Next pass added the rainstick/shaker, and finally another pass for the vibraslap. I added some automatic panning to the rainstick and vibraslap just to make it interesting.
Feedback welcome.
My initial thoughts are that I should make the middle section longer – that’s the most “exciting” part, and it’s short. Also might try writing a flute part for some sections. Maybe a drum? Dunno.
(The picture is a link to the MP3 on Dropbox.)
Recording notes:
Guitar is an all-mahogany Alvarez parlor (MPA66ESHB) recorded in stereo. Left track is the guitar’s pickup into a Fishman Aura Spectrum DI pedal. Right track is a Shure PGA27 condenser microphone positioned near the neck/body joint.
The vocal, vibraslap, and rainstick were all recorded with the same Shure PGA27 microphone. They were all recorded separately (each was another pass over the recording).
Added reverb and EQ. Put some automation on the vibraslap and rainstick to pan those around the stereo space. Roughed out the levels and exported to WAV and MP3.
Very promising piece, Jason
Interesting chord progression and song structure. Lots to like.
I agree, I enjoyed the mid-section the most and would be interested to hear what it might sound like with even more (drums, flute, bass, kitchen sink… )
Would you think of a couple of bars just guitar before starting to sing?
In the second half, I had images of an old man living in that little pueblo watching, as another unsuspecting stranger enters the glade…
Lots to like so far, Jason. All the guitar parts sound good on their own and do flow from one to another.
I find it hard to judge the length of the middle (at least what I think is the middle) is without vocals.
I think a lot depends on how the song evolves with vocals. And that could influence the arrangement in terms of additional instruments. I can imagine that flute will fit well. How you might blend instrumental with vocal will be interesting.
I agree with @brianlarsen, the start seemed a little abrupt.
As usual, even your rough production sounds pretty darn good to me.
Latter part sounds like it shares some of the chord progression of paranoid Android.
Playing and song sounded pretty good. It did seem to lose too much energy when transitioning to the last part, so much so I thought the song was ending. So I wonder if making the lull not so dramatic might be worthwhile.
I really liked the middle and the transition into it at the end of the vocal section. However, it could possibly work as an intro and then the abrupt start to the vocals would seem more fluid.
Thank you for the feedback, everyone; it is appreciated.
Definitely will work on a less abrupt beginning. I’m also going to expand the middle section (which should really be the heart of the piece), and will work on better transitions between the sections. I’m thinking that vocals in the middle section will be minimal, if at all. I’m more inclined to add other instruments, instead. The outro section may get some additional vocals. (The singing and playing on this demo is not my best, either – will do better on the real version.)
I usually post some notes on how the recording was done, but neglected to do so earlier, so I’ll add those to my initial post, now, as an edit.
Hey that was great, Jason! Love what you’ve put together already, a great foundation to build from
Agree with your thoughts here. I loved the section starting from about the 1m08s mark, sinister, foreboding vibe to it, very cool! The riff initially brought Paint it Black to mind, which I thought was excellent as it delivered that same dark atmosphere and really pulled me in. I would be keen to hear what you do with that, especially if you retain the feeling it currently holds
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