OK, OK, I know, I was going to record all my songs and work 24/7 on them till they were recorded....so what happened?
Well....where to start.....
OK, I decided the first thing I was going to have to do was go through the SSG and retrieve all my songs from there - had to go way back to page 40 for the first one. June 11th 2004.....
So I've retrieved all the lyrics....written them out longhand. I was going to print them out, but the printer had no ink - so I went out and bought some. Turns out printer wasn't just empty, printer wasn't working full stop....that took two full days. I did manage to record a couple of backing tracks for a couple of songs - guitar, bass, lead guitar. Then I came to record drums......
There's a saying somewhere, "don't buy any piece of technology whose manual is thicker, or weighs more, than the equipment." As the Aussies on this forum might (well, probably would!) say, "Too bloody right mate!" Trying to master the art of mixing pattern A (containing fill A without moving to pattern B) with pattern B (containing fill A without moving back to pattern A) and changing the tempo mid-song is beyond my poor befuddled brain cell. At least without a couple of weeks serious study. It probably would have been easier to buy a drum kit. I'm good at hitting things. Usually my thumb or fingers, if blunt or sharp instruments are involved.
So I tried plan B with the drum machine - play the pads manually. Forget it. I have all the natural rhythm of a train wreck, though without the cool sound effects.
So as far as drums go, I really am going to have to study this machine and find out how it works. On the bright side - yes there is a bright side - I might not be able to keep time with a drum machine, but playing a song through on say, rhythm guitar, my timing's not far off perfect - I can play a song all the way through, then add a drum pattern, and as long as the tempo's the same all the way through, I'm pretty much spot on.
I even tried a little experiment......I imported a song I know really well - Substitute, by the Who - to Audacity. I fixed it so's the instrumental break was silent on the playback, and played along with the rhythm chords. I was spot on when the song came back in!
So what am I going to do about recording?
Well - I shouldn't have tried to run before I could walk. I'm shelving the whole project for a couple of weeks till I can learn the manual for the drum machine inside out, forwards, backwards and in French, Spanish, German and Italian. I think I'll have to join a gym as well - take out membership and pump some iron for a couple of weeks till I can pick the damn manual up.
But what I've learned is.....I need to know the song inside out before recording. I need to program the drum pattern(s) first, while running the song through my head. After that, it doesn't matter in which order I add instruments and vocals....that's the easy bit!
The drum machine may have won this battle, but it's going to be a war of attrition - and I'm going to win it!
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Hi Vic,
You have my deepest sympathy for your heroic struggle.
I have a similar manual to grapple with - 147 pages of technical JapAnglo speak that supposedly explains my 'simple' 8 track recorder. :shock: I think you get an automatic Doctorate if you can master all the pages.
The drum machine does have some preset - 510 of them - but am I really going to work through them all and choose one that's roughly what I want?? No... And I have no idea what the hell they're talking about - either from a drumming or a programming point of view - when they talk about building your own rhythm pattern with fill, bells, whistles, candles, cornices, gargoyles, or whatever the heck it all is.... :?
It also has a drum machine with pads but, like you, I think it's easier to play real drums. I did finally find one of the 510 that suited me though. It goes: Ting! click, click, click, Ting!, click, click, click, Ting!, click.... etc
So I'm currently working on my timing - which I appear to have overlooked in the past, preferring instead to rely on my 'natural rhythm' .... which it now turns out that I don't have... :roll: Well, not as accurately as I thought...
Fortunately for me, my ambition is to get it all right for just ONE song. I'm aiming for a single song with a rhythm part played on one part and the vocals recorded separately on another. Then I'll move on to learning how to start with drums and work up adding bass, rhythm, lead, vocals, backup singers, dance troupe, fire eaters, or whatever else is called for.
I'm taking provisions for a long journey.... so be sure to leave some maps here as you go... :wink:
Cheers,
Chris
The drum machine may have won this battle, but it's going to be a war of attrition - and I'm going to win it!
Well, it is a different instrument, innit?
Even the most ambitious can't just dive in and play a new instrument well, without a bit of learning.
Try not to give yourself a hernia with the manual. Nor drop it on your toe. :wink:
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
Keep at it Vic, you'll master that drum machine yet! :D
Dan
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
Keep at it Vic; who knows, you might actually enjoy getting to grips with the darn thing!
"don't buy any piece of technology whose manual is thicker, or weighs more, than the equipment."
hmmm, that happens when all manuals come on a CD? :lol:
Pete
ETD - Formerly "10141748 - Reincarnate"
Nah, it ain't no defeat man. It's just a speed bump. Just be careful not to get any paper cuts from reading that manual. Might try some reading-gloves.....
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Nah, it ain't no defeat man. It's just a speed bump. Just be careful not to get any paper cuts from reading that manual. Might try some reading-gloves.....
Roy, are you hinting in your subtle way that I'm just the teensiest bit accident prone?
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Nah, it ain't no defeat man. It's just a speed bump. Just be careful not to get any paper cuts from reading that manual. Might try some reading-gloves.....
Roy, are you hinting in your subtle way that I'm just the teensiest bit accident prone?
:D :D :D
Vic
NO, not a bit. Besides, I'm one to talk. :oops:
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
I'm shelving the whole project for a couple of weeks till I can learn the manual for the drum machine inside out, forwards, backwards and in French, Spanish, German and Italian.
Vic, let me know if you need some support with the Spanish part. :D
As you know I run marathons. Before the race or when I'm running, I never think on the 42 km. Just I think in the next kilometer. Record the first song and, from there, record one song more!
hmmm, that happens when all manuals come on a CD? :lol:
LOL!
Unfortunately this is how we learn things, as we need them. I wish WE could be pre-programed ourselves, that way we wouldn't have to go through all the trial and error and error and error and HEY that actually sounds good! Oh wait, that was the TV. :?
But, though trial and error we eventually get it. And the rewards are very sweet!
Start small, finish big!
Hi Vic,
You have my deepest sympathy for your heroic struggle.
I have a similar manual to grapple with - 147 pages of technical JapAnglo speak that supposedly explains my 'simple' 8 track recorder. :shock: I think you get an automatic Doctorate if you can master all the pages.
My God Chris, that is exactly how I felt trying to get through the manual on my 8 track recorder. I couldn't understand why they didn't write it with the amatuer in mind@! The one I bought (TASACAM) has a web site with the "quick start guide" that tells you in plain English how to get a recording done! When my husband found it I went off on another rant, " Why the h3ll isn't in the manual like this in the first place!!!" Of course then I thanked him for finding it, and moved on. :oops:
Vic, amybe ther's a similar guide or blog online somewhere for the drum machine!
Falling in love is like learning to play the guitar; first you learn to follow the rules, then you learn to play with your heart.
I bought a Tascam 8-track recorder a couple of years ago - after struggling vainly with it for a few weeks, I gave up. Sold it to someone who knew how to use it - he actually had a Degree in Electronic Engineering!
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
