I recorded this one tonight with my 1 man band minus the harp. When I listened back I thought of Adams song contest. There is no prize here but there is lots of room for some harp playing. If anyone wants to put some harp to it go for it! Walter
pimping on the harp when I hate myself I get loaded I want mine do you want yours walk me down them shinny streets
---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
yes it is in E. Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
This song took me right back to in the flesh of the hardcore street alcoholic coming up in your face. The guy at the end of this video sums him up(1:40 mark). This video is of my street playing partner when I lived in Belguim. TT Fingers(now back home in SF). TT thankfully has quit drinking or he would be that same guy by now. No matter what state you go to, whether it is hot or cold, their profile is the same. It will be interesting to see what sounds come from you guys. Walter
---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
oooo if I have some time this week in between helping to juggling three pre teens I will give this a shot. Haha my girlfriends kids are down(err up) for Spring break so my house is a bit on the full side at the momment. Myself, my girlfriend, my two year old, her two 11 years olds and a ten year old :)
and since I plan to give this a go I will wait to listen to others entries so as to avoid being influenced :)
Thanks stan and tooka. It's just a Standard MB, with the covers opened. And some build in adobe audition effects. Maybe they add to the gritty sound..too bad you hit a wall. I know what It's like. You can always focus. On just making the harp sound Nice and keep stuff simple, that's what i do at times like that. Practise vibrato a little etc. Goodluck!
Thanks stan and tooka. It's just a Standard MB, with the covers opened. And some build in adobe audition effects. Maybe they add to the gritty sound..too bad you hit a wall. I know what It's like. You can always focus. On just making the harp sound Nice and keep stuff simple, that's what i do at times like that. Practise vibrato a little etc. Goodluck!
Volumes not too bad jd. Least you got it up and running. I've spent all day on this and just keep screwing up. It's difficult because you don't just want to fill in when Walters not singing plus you don't want to drown out his voice when he is. It's harder than you think when you have a go. Well done.
@JD Yeah the harp is good man. The tough thing is you never know when he's going to sing..he probably don't know him self.
@tookatooka f..ck screwing up (as I told myself this mornig). Put one up and have another one! I think there is some art in making mistakes sound good, Walter has it I think. I don't but such a 'hit and record' may be the way to go
I wouldn't know.. Just post it! I think you can always repack your self after a few 'off' licks, just keep going! I'm including myself here, I hope you understand, It's usually not me to give such direct advice but I'm drinking very cheap wine here (no shit) but not 75 p, damn it
I have enjoyed listening to the stuff you guys put on the song. It is always interesting to hear what people do with my music. Listening is bringing back memories for me. Tookatooka I remember listening to guys like Lightning and saying- man this stuff is easy to play along with. It was a lot easier listening and thinking that then when I starated playing along with it on records. But I soon found I was way overplaying and not really in sync with the groove, Once I got pretty good at that it I thought I was ready for the big time but it was like starting over again when I got onstage with those guys. I learned not to play anything often until they looked at me and gave me the ok. Often I wouldn't play anything for many songs. Most people think they have to be playing something if they are onstage. I learned to sway to the beat and feel the groove and usually when they turned me loose I did ok. The simple stuff can be the most complicated because there is so much space and whatever you do stands out. The good news is there is no right or wrong. It is just a matter of if you like what you played or not. Walter
K Hungus: Good on you for just going for it! I dig that approach. My music is technically a mess much of the time but it is the feel of the song that is what moves somebody or not.
diggs: Your playing is stellar and much different that what I would have played. Did you use natural or machine delay?
jdblues: At times you really hit the groove. You slid in and slid out. That is the root to what I do and is what I learned from playing with the old blues guys. I am not complicated. My songs slide in and out vs. power in and out like most players do with songs.
tookatooka: Forget thoughts of standard riffs, and such and let it flow without thought. You may not like the results right off, but in time it will lead to becoming the groove. Great roots musicians know groove more than any riffs or technical stuff.
---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
K Hungus: Everyone is a winner here. The prize is you are welcome to come by my studio anytime. It has a full bath and bed in it. I guess the 75 cents line is showing my age. We use to buy pints of night train- fine pear wine for 75 cents and one of those got you lit up real good and quick. I love stretchng time in subtle ways so as to the casual listener it all sounds so darn simple a 2 lesson under their belt player is more advanced than me. I love hanging back. I don't jam with others much because the time is almost always way to strict for me and if I try to play with them I feel like I am being rushed all the time and when they try to play with my groove they feel like I am holding back the train. I learned that way back stuff playing with the old blues guys that played unorthodox with time and changes. This was my natural way of playing and I was very confused and frustrated playing with others until I met them. Yes, I have no idea what is coming out of my mouth or instruments. Put all this together and it adds up to a very addicting thing. So much so, I have said no on many offers on big name projects because they were too rehearsed for my interest.
Another thought on this song- there is no harp in it so you guys are challenged to create something. If it was a standard song you would have a ballpark idea of what the scene considers acceptable riffs for it. ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
I thought I would try something. This is my first take, but I like the groove and I think I might have another go at the weekend when I have some free time.
K Hungus: Where do you live? I learned face to face and carry on that tradition. When I met Louisiana Red in a club one night and complimented him on his playing a conversation began that ended up with me leaving with him and moving in his house. I learned my music this way from lots of great bluesmen and they all are dead. I will keep this tradition going til I die. This new seminar model that is growing all the time doesn't fit my way of teaching and I sort of figured I was out to pasture with the new model. Then Jim invites me to his harmonica college weekend with no adgenda. I will just hang out and if I connect with someone or someones we will sit off in a quiet place and do like was done with me. Maybe I will find a nitch with this. It is very exciting because I get to teach the way that comes naturally. Whatever happens, my door is always open to a passionate soul. Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Glad you liked it Waltore. Believe it or not I did it in Garage Band The effects were all Garage Band. I played along with track once and got levels and did the finale track. I used the mic in the Mac about two feet away.I used a Golden Melody that had only had the action adjusted by me. ---------- Emile "Diggs" D'Amico a Legend In His Own Mind How you doin'
Still not listening...and damn I want too :) Have a little medical procedure tomorrow but maybe can get to it if I am not to out of it from the anathesia :) Although hey that might help :) :)
@Walter hey it's me Karel from Amsterdam, from the cd's you know..
I very much appreciate your invitation, and gladly take the offer if I ever visit the states. The only problem is that big pool of water, who knows. I'll keep dreaming, thanks!
I liked that tookatoo. Very subtle. If you want to make the harp cut through a bit more there is an easy way. Just lower the frequencies of the middle and high on walters track.
And perhaps the 3 can use a bit more bending here and there.
tookatoka: I will listen when I get home. One thing people can do with prerecorded tracks like mine is this. My track was fairly well mixed/mastered with reverb included. If one is going to add a harp to the track they can do all the eq'ng and adding of reverb/effects just to that track. I noticed on K Hungus track the reverb and eq'ng was done to both his track and the pre recorded track. By working on the balance, eq, and effects, on just the overdubbed harp track one will get a better blended sound to the original. In this way you are not messing with the original eq/mastering on the prerecorded track. Does this make sense? FYI I used a plate reverb on this track, and all my tracks. The plate reverb I use is killer one from universal audio. It is a plug in emulation of the famous EMT 140 plate reverb of the 50's. It was used on countless recordings in all genres of music. Pink Floyds dark side of the moon album was mixed with one. ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
@Walter. Thanks for the tip. I'm using my video edit software which can also mix sound. It's the first time I've used it to add a track to an existing track and I need to get my head around all the controls etc. Next one will be better, I hope.
tookatooka: You are welcome. I am not very versed in typing directions about recording. I started way back as a kid with a ancient, cheap, reel to reel. From there I went to cassettes, jam boxes with built in condensors mics, adat, dat, reel to reel, mini disc, video camera, and lastly the computer. The computer is the best bang for your buck and most already have a computer. The thing I have learned is like an instrument, one must put in the time to master it and even if one has a great instrument, it will only sound as good as ones skills are. I feel like the recording thing is just getting to where I am ok with the sonic quality. It will be a lifetime thing, much the same as my instruments are with growth. The good news is if you start on funky gear and grow into the good stuff you will have the sonic ear developed. I started on funk because I was forever broke due to music being my livelihood most of my adult life. Now I have a good job and am able to buy all the stuff I dreamed of with music gear. Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
If I can, I'm going to re-do it. You were right about adding effects over the whole soundtrack Walter. I'll try and find a way to isolate my track and modify that without affecting your track. I'm learning more good stuff today. Thanks. My next attempt will not have the psychadelic light show. Takes a huge amount of memory and time.
Diggs has made great job with his. Good quality all round.
Last Edited by on Mar 13, 2012 11:32 AM
tookatooka: I enjoyed your track. Minimal is best suited to my my music for me at least. The more an artist controls his complete sound the more reflective it is of what he wants. this goes for playing ablities as well as how it is recorded. I have never felt better about where I am musically. I hardly do any gigs anymore (that may be on the change!) and have little connection with the music scene. On paper I am at an all time low but in reality it is an all time high. I control every aspect of my sound. When someone listens to my music it is just how I want it to sound. Very few pro musicians can claim this. They allow studio engineers, label execs and countless others to shape their sound. I never did get that and probably never will. Keep on that recording thing you guys. It will not only allow you to present your music as you percive it but also will let you hear just as it sounds and the better you get with it the more accurate it will be to the music that comes out of you. Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
@Walter I didn't do much on your track. If I record harp, I've created a default setting that consists of EQ (cutting below 80 hz and the highest frequencies), compression, reverb and a little echo. In that order.
The compression setting is a default one called 'classic softknee' I've no clue what that means. I tried educating myself but couldnt understand it. I believe its a mild compression, that's why I use it. The effect is very apparent on the chords/vamping stuff, a more clacking sound, I can't explain it well. I hear that same effect a lot on Charlie Musselwhites recordings. Before I thought it had something to do with tongueblocking, but now I know it's the compression. the reverb and delay I tweak so they are not too much over the top.
The problem with mixing the harptrack with a complete instrumentaltrack is you always have to lower the audio of the whole track if you want the harp to sound fat.
With your track I lowered the frequencies in the middle just a little. When I had the mixdown I used an effect called 'stereo expand' I dont know what it exactly does, but usually it makes the whole sound thicker and the harp louder. Although I also creates more reverb, that's what you heard. Maybe I should have left that out, who cares! I'm ready for the next one!
belfast harper/bronze wailer: Both tracks fit pretty good to my ears! I was trying to explain putting the backing track on one track and the harp on a second track and then mix/eq/effect the harp track to fit the pre recorded track. If you start trying to eq the pre recorded track and your track together there are way too many sounds be affected by global eq'ng and the general result is not very good. Focus on getting your track recorded as clean as possible. from there add you eq and what not. Here are a few examples of ones I put harp/vocals(same time) to the pete anderson guitar center backing tracks (free). Walter
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10500607
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10503324
---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Thanks Walter. I am pretty much a novice when it comes to recording. I just had your song playing through my PC's speakers and recorded everything into the PC's mic. Thanks for the recording tips. It was fun jamming along to your song, anyway. I thought "What would Walter do?" and just went with the flow, no idea what I would do before I started playing. Thanks for sharing!
thanks bronze wailer! I don't know what I would play to that track so you did the right stuff! If you can put a pre recorded track through your headphones and then record the harp on a seperate track you will then have 2 seperate tracks to work with. That way you do whatever you want to the harp sound without affecting the pre recorded track. Anyway, I am very interested in the art of recording. It keeps me playing. If my recording gear was taken away I would probably only play at live gigs. Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
BronzeWailer: I can assure if you approach each time you play with no idea of what words or music will come out of you, and allow the universe to guide you on where to go, it will keep you in the moment :-). That is what is so addicting about Spontobeat. Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Wow, I love the energy in TT Finger's playing! And I am very familiar with the drunk getting up in your face!
I'll do some harp over this song asap!
I'm more into this than note for note solo reproduction, and that is no diss to people who excel at that. I am jealous of them, because I know they are on the fast track of technical development.
My musical path has probably taken way longer for technical development because as a personality I am Hell-bent to do it my way, following my passion of the moment exclusively.
But it is a commitment to following the internal muse that has me relate so much to your approach Walter.
I do like to cover songs, but it is an opportunity to put my own spin on something familiar.
I also love to "write" songs, although the only things I have written that have been worth a damn are the ones that pretty much came out all at once!
I am in a transition period between Dallas and Austin but I am going to try to fit in a commando record and upload session, and I am trying not to listen to other contributions on this thread until I do so but I am inspired by all the participation brothers of the harp!
shanester: You should have heart TT 30 years ago before the hard life he led had really caught up to him. I purposely didn't say anything about what to play on this song. I prefer to hear what people do on thier own. Have fun! Walter
Steam Rolling Stan: thanks. This was a spontaneous thought to post it on this thread. I had a long very physical day the day after recording it and when I went out to my studio I was too tired to record and read adam's contest thread and posted my song instead of recording. I appreciate the thought but am too busy making music to commit to doing backing tracks or tracks minus harp. If more come I will post them here or if I come across one from the past I will post them here. See you. Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Many technical explanations on those five or six versions, but could it be possible to explain the "artistic" method you used to achieve this. Mine is definitly not good, listening to Walter's tune during ten seconds, and then trying to put something good sounding on it, it means progressing bit by bit. At that pace, I'll complete the attempt next year. So, what's YOUR method? Thanks.
I usually play with the track once or twice then I record my track. Since I've played more gigs than I can ever remember my brain has its own way of processing musical information. I think of it as organic software. It's pretty spontaneous and is what you might call surfing the now. ---------- Emile "Diggs" D'Amico a Legend In His Own Mind How you doin'
