Faith In God Above
I started thinking about recording all my songs sometime in 2019 and recorded initial demos into GarageBand on my computer. And I didn't really look into doing any more to it until 2020 when the Covid lockdowns began.
It took 2 years for the first single to come out. During those 2 years I ended up having to buy a new computer and also transferring all the recordings across into Logic Pro, which is more than enough for me to do the recording at the level I'm at.
Of course, you can read here on my blog that I re-recorded and re-mixed some of it early 2022 as the initial recordings from GarageBand somehow didn't sound as good. Logic also allowed me to 'fix' some timing issues I had form those recordings and it sounds pretty much as I intended.
My son James did the drumming for me and he did a great job, as you can hear. It was a challenge to get them sounding good and it's something that will always be a compromise with the equipment and space that I have. But nothing beats a real life drummer and he is an excellent musician that lifted the whole thing to a better level.
If I'm honest, I will say that it is my playing and singing ability that is probably the weakest part of it all and it is something that I will battle with as I go through my list of songs. The biggest evidence of this is the bass line.
I recorded it originally in 2019 and did what I thought was a decent job. But when it came to playing something similar 3 years later, my hands weren't able to play as fluidly as I did then. So I went back and used the original 2019 demo recording. It does show just how 'rusty' you can get when you don't play regularly and as you get a little bit older.
The track was mixed and mastered in 2022 and released. Mixing is, I've discovered, a completely new experience and it has shown me why people can make a career out of this one element of releasing music alone. It's a steep learning curve and one that I probably won't master anytime soon! I do hope that I will get faster at it least as time rolls on.
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Just Like Me
The first thing this song needed was to have its key changed. I wrote it in 1993 and hadn't performed it since 2004 and even then it was just a bit too high. Now I can still hit the notes today, but it didn't sound good and if I ever perform it out live then it would be just too difficult.
I know that I'm not a great singer, but I don't need to make it sound any worse. It has taken me a bit of time to get my head around singing it lower, it feels unnatural because I sang it the same way for so long but it's better.
I also looked at the lyrics and fixed them to what I would sing today.
The initial demo recording was done in 2019. I then recorded James' live drums in 2020.
Once I decided upon the style of the track, the arpeggio guitar was worked out and recorded at the start of 2021 along with any other guitars. All the vocals and the piano were done in early 2022.
The mixing and editing process took quite a bit of time to get right. It is something that is both subjective and time consuming, especially as I'm learning and forgetting an awful lot of it all, lol. But it sounds a fair bit better than what I started with in 1993 and what my I produced in my 2019 demo.
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Horseman Of The King
I can tell you that the original recording was a very rough affair and there have only been a handful of ‘lucky’ people who have heard it and cringed!! (And this is the way that it will stay!ð)
Because of this, it’s been a great pleasure to redo it 30 years later with the melody and chords exactly the same as when it was written. So really what I had to decide on was how to present it.
First thing I did was to re-write the lyrics for the verses and make it relevant to the song title and to the inspiration behind it. (Click here for details).
After that was done, I felt that it needed a bridge section to add some interest and to make it a little less repetitive. So that was a completely fresh 2022 addition.
I also wanted to experiment with the production too, as I want to challenge myself creatively and have fun with this whole musical experiment.
So I decided I wanted an orchestral arrangement alongside the guitars and drums.
Now, I’m not an orchestral type of musician - I can’t read music for a start! But technology today has allowed me to have a decent bash at it.
In Logic (my computer music software) via MIDI, I’ve been able to write out a basic string arrangement which I’m very pleased with.
And I have to thank my wife Sarah, who is a violin player and CAN read music for keeping me right and also pointing out to me (many times) where I was clashing notes and just making it sound worse…
(At this point, I’ve been told to put in the disclaimer that any mistakes or rubbish bits are entirely mine ððĪŠ)
I also have done a bit of an experimentation with the drums. Recording live drums is difficult, from both a time and logistical perspective, so this is my first foray into programming the drums. I’m pleased with the result and I’ve given myself a good starting point for my next song.
I also came to like the idea of the harmonies being used at the start of the chorus, for the ‘Horseman of the King’ line. It’s something I’ve never thought about before and it works very well.
Again the mixing and mastering of the track took a bit of time. It is something that will be a work in progress as I continue, but on the whole, I’m pleased with the final result and it’s so much better than what’s on my cassette from 1991…
