"Dancing on the Ceiling" con't

So having 'nailed' in the intro after only, what, a half an hour dicking around with it, trying to make it sound like it WASN'T played by a 12-year-old Suzuki Piano student (no offense), i proceeded to lay a drum track.

But before i could do that, Reaper pulled some of its delightful snafu for no reason bullshit. today's flavor was Reaper saying

'you know what, let's screw with this poor bastard. it's late at night, he's tired, he won't know what the fuck to do. c'mon waddya say...let's fuck with him.'

Yeah, and fuck with me it did.

The problem was it didn't 'see' any MIDI inputs. Now for the uninitiated, this might not sound like anything you'd need to care about. but you'd be wrong. you see, if Reaper doesn't recognize that there is something coming in, nothing will come out.

In other other other words, you can't record something from nothing. So because Reaper refused to allow for the reality that yes, there is a MIDI instrument connected to the computer thru the USB port that is running through a USB MIDI interface (that would be my Edirol UA 25-EX for those keeping tabs on such things, it wouldn't allow any recording to take place.

Which of course meant that i was up the creek without a paddle (pronounced crick, me being from a land east of the Mississippi and all).

So wah wah wah, piss and moan and throw myself down feet and arms flailing about like some goddamn hooked fish

Finally i just shut the damn thing down and rebooted. that did the trick.

But THIS IS A TEST now: what did i do just before i killed Reaper? C'mon now, you should know this.

Again., what did i do just before shutting down my recording program, (my music editor as charlie insists i call it).

Yes. the little guy in the back. good for you. someone's been paying attention.
Yes. i went to FILE and chose Save Project.

And (this is for you charlie) i saved it in a place where i know i can find it...just where it belongs: in the folder i made called 'Chet's practice tunes' right there in plain sight on my beautiful (uncluttered) desktop.

all right then.

So when Reaper reincarnated and got all populated with the correct tracks and files etc., i made a few passes at a drum track for reference. it's not what i would call stellar but it is serviceable, in a 'this is only for my ears, not for anybody whose opinion i remotely hold in any kind of esteem' sort of way.

But before i moved on, i decided to copy and paste the short drum phrase i just recorded. this was a mistake.

It was a mistake because i ended up dicking around with it for way too long. it proved too much for me i guess, to try to get all the areas lined up and accounted for and smoothly transitioned. sheesh what a hassle.

I used this experience to inform my next efforts: to wit: (whatever the hell that means) i recorded the entire drum track across the anticipated length of the tune. but more about this later as that too changed.

The changes i put down in a new track took a few times to get right; i had to punch in a spot but only one, which is actually pretty impressive given the length of the form. i ran a few dry verses and choruses (passes through the form without recording them) before going live.

Then i laid a bass track using the same technique; making a few empty passes then recording it and going back to punch in for the few spots that i fucked up.

one thing i realized during this segment of the project.

When playing a bass line on piano (instead of a bass) it's a little easier to make it through without screwing up if you leave your hand in one position, say in 'first position.'

First position i think is where your pinky finger is on the root of the tonic while the thumb is on the fifth.

Ok, so for those whom i just left in the musical dust, what i mean is:
Your thumb stays on the tonic, the first scalar step in the key you're playing in.
for example:

Say the tune you're playing is in Cmajor. The first scalar step would be.....C...right.
The next step would.....D....very good.
The next step....E
The next...F
The next...G.

Notice the names of the scalar steps: have you seen these somewhere before...in precisely that order?

Yes, the good ole alphabet. uh huh. i always feel bad for those folks in places like Egypt and Mongolia when i think of this coincidental arrangement between music theory and literacy.

anyway.

I discovered that you can use this arrangement: this root (the first step) through the fifth to your advantage when playing a bass line on piano. I mean it's not a cure-all for making mistakes; for one thing, as soon as the changes (the chords, remember?) diverge away from I-V and chords in between, you're pretty much screwed.

Oh, one thing before i get too far afield from laying the rhythm tracks for this tune "Dancing on the Ceiling."

The introduction of the tune i designed to be played without bass or drums but i added a little snare and kick snap just before the first verse. it made it sound much less stilted and more live. gotta remember that for future recordings.

On to "Deep in a Dream"