Photos from a Holiday week
My spouse and I were just on holiday. Here’s a bit of the beauty we enjoyed. I’ll be back to music-making tomorrow. And it looks like I will bring plenty of inspiration with me.
inspiration
Escape May Be An Option – Ritual Escape
Is there no escape? We live in challenging times. Tyrants, fascists, and bullies too often have the upper hand. But … And … At the same time, there are examples of human beauty rising up. People are turning to community and art as ways of accenting the good. Sometimes, the flood of the sweetness and
Creating Through Limitations – Scales of Creation
I’m supposed to be confined to my long-term project. But here it is again: a brief interruption. Confined Since I was off the rails of my folk song album, I decided to give myself a challenge. “Hey! If you’re going to mess around, at least do it with purpose.” This time, I chose limited instruments,
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Forms: Passacaglia and Fantasia or Fugue and Fantasy
“Classical music” can be interpreted so many ways. Is it an era of composition or a musical genre? Does it pay more attention to form than to substance? I know that Classical and Baroque periods of music are European, white, and male-dominated. Because this is part of my background, I have influenced by it. I
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Clouds and More from the Finger Lakes
In a time of war, I seek peace. In a time of deadlines, I turn to beauty. Clouds My sister and I continue to share cloud photos with each other several times a week. Here are a few that I captured in the Finger Lakes region of central New York state. No matter how many
Release, release, release
I have three music releases. I’d call them “new”, but that would only be 33% true. My B3 Release on Bandcamp Coming to Bandcamp for the first time is my 2021 release “Be (5) Yourself”. Though it ended with three tracks centered on the sounds of the Hammond B3 organ, this was a fun and
The “other” day job – what matters
Some things matter. Some things matter more. Nothing Wrong With A Day Job I’ve gone through periods when my only income was from music. However, throughout most of my adult life, I’ve had a non-music source that provided most of the money coming into my accounts. In addition to writing, composing, arranging, performing, and recording
Tracking The Toughest of All – Singing Vulnerability
Vocal tracking is challenging. And who is the judge of that? Vocal Tech I could say that the most challenging thing about recording vocal tracks is the technology. It’s true. Vocal tracks require as many or more plugins (or modules within plugins) than other tracks. Typical vocal tracks benefit from a de-esser, a compressor, and
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Why “Wayfaring Stranger”? Why now?
It’s simple. And it’s not stranger than usual. Or maybe it is. Strange, but Not A Stranger When I started working on my folk song album, I knew that “Wayfaring Stranger” needed to be part of it. For one thing, I’m always attracted to this song. It was the first song I sang without rehearsing
Staying On Track – Detours Galore
I try to stay on track. But there is so much vying for my attention these days. Flustered Mustard My next album will be nine folk songs. A few of these will be new versions of songs you’ve already heard. There’s one “cover” song that I’ve already released to my VIP subscribers. And the rest