i got an email from kevlar yesterday bemoaning his inability to work with a click track. my response to him went something like this:
the bottom line is that playing with a click is really useful if you work alone (sometimes). it gives you a frame of reference so that you can do things in multiple takes and get it all in sync. but the reality of the situation is that music hates a constant pulse. think about how much give and take is in the tempo of a folk song or any piece of music from the “classical” canon. if i were to play a bach lute suite straight, with no lilt or give, it would be a ridiculous parody of the work. even in dances (or especially) there is a subtle shift in the distance between the beats. music wasn’t meant to be the slave to a metronome.
how do you balance that? with loops, you don’t. but think about what that means when you make music out of loops. what do we lose when we lose the subtle variations? i’m not questioning the utility of these things where music is a part of a whole and the synchronization of events is so important, but i do question it in music that is meant to be heard.
so if you’re trying to do something tribal, write it out. make your blueprint and play one part through. be musical. let it breathe. then record the next track over that one as though you are performing with yourself from 10 minutes ago. layer it up until it reaches what you want it to be. i think you’ll find the give and take among the parts is better and more powerful.
what a wonderful problem technology has brought to us: how do we play as an ensemble with ourselves?
that made a lot of sense last night when i was slugging it out with today’s release. i wanted to add bodhran and talking drum tracks to my 12-string and bass arrangement. i picked a nice clave and let it rock out for me. sadly, i really like to stretch out certain sections and i think you can really hear where in this recording. one take per track. i couldn’t push my luck with recording drums after the dude went to bed, so they are a little softer than i might like. still, i think it sounds ok.
in total i have 8 songs ready. i’m seriously considering starting the process of recording them all in logic with all of the proper mojo. if i can get 8 of them down, i will know where to fill in the gaps. i’m pretty excited, so we’ll see where it goes. after all, my mom is coming for a two week visit so there will be built-in babysitting!
anyway, here’s the track. let me know if you can dig it!
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