I’ve restored all the mp3 audio files up to my server finally, so I thought I’d take a few weeks to review some of the improv sessions that I recorded throughout 2005 and 2006. I do plan on getting back into the swing of things with playing and recording, but in the meantime it is fun to look back and see what I’d been cooking up in the kitchen.
First thing’s first — download the improv session from March 19, 2005 (part one). I’ll give a minute/second marker of some of the things I’m introducing in the piece.
0:00 - To star out, I’m using a basting brush for the hi-hat/brush snare effect and tennis ball/kick drum and finger snare on my acoustic.
0:30 - Adding a layer of “liquidy” acoustic guitar in there for sustained audio
0:43 - Using an octave pedal, I introduce a basic bass line in there to get me going and then eventually onto some melodic lines on the acoustic to start telling the story.
2:45 - For some contrast, I bring in the distortion pedal and do an on/off stepping technique and then come full on with some distorted melodies to continually build up the lines.
4:06 - Switching back to a cleaner acoustic tone to contrast with the harshness of the distortion pedal.
5:19 - I start contrasting between high and low patterns and then bring them together at 5:30 with an octave pedal.
The whole idea of this piece was simply just to explore some contrasts with a somber pattern as the foundation, exploring emotional waves and cycles within that structure. The thing that I like about improv is that it doesn’t have to be anything profound in my opinion. Sometimes, like in the case of this tune, it’s just meant to be one of those pieces you sit back and absorb, and drift off into your own thoughts or consciousness.
This song never made it onto either of my instrumental CDs, but I may take another stab at it, put some more structure around the phrases, and release it at a later date. But for now, enjoy this lo-fi recording. 