The Best Laid Plans...

You can't say that I didn't have good intentions. You can't say that I don't have the skill or the desire to create. But you can say that I don't have the absolute go-getter attitude that gets things done.

In my post, It's About Time To Let The Music Flow, I mentioned on online course that I was pretty excited about that I was sure was going to get the music flowing once and for all. Honestly, it started out great. I spent the first 2 weeks jamming out a half hour of ideas everyday. With the Garage Band running I just played, not really thinking about what I was doing just basically going with the flow and letting my unconscious mind send those notes down to my fingers to be played and recorded. It was a little frustrating at first but as the sessions added up the ideas became more complete and more interesting.

By the last session I was feeling good with the amount of original material I created as well as the quality of that material. But when it came to listening back and picking out those ideas the momentum quickly faded. Those ideas that I was so excited about were few and far between and even the ones that I was most interested in still seemed dull and overall uninteresting. At that point I felt like the last 2 plus weeks had been wasted and the album that I was going to have to show for all that work wasn't even one song closer to being in existence.

Since then, things have changed a bit. I've continued to write like I always have before, letting the ideas come as they do and building them slowly into a somewhat cohesive piece. I currently have 2 or 3 songs stuck in that oh so common phase of mine that involves me playing what I've completed over and over again until it makes me sick only to be perpetually stuck without a bridge, a solid ending or an interesting enough hook.

It seems to be my curse and overall I feel like it comes down to confidence and the lack of drive to just sit down and get things done. I so badly want these songs to be completed and see the light of day. I want to share them and be proud of them. I want to jam with some other musicians and turn these songs into a complete composition. How I do that is the question of the century.

I'd really like to take a lot of these principles from the course and run with them. I already know that they have a major difference in my songwriting by the quality and number of ideas that have been arising even after I kind of gave up on the program. I know I've probably said it a hundred times but I just need to do it, as insanely hard and idiotically simple as that is.

Stay at home

Posted by Filiberto Garcia

Being a stay at home mom has been great for my kids and my family but terrible for my relationship. I know it’s all me but by the time my husband gets home I’m just exhausted from watching DIRECT TV all day and dealing with screaming kids and not really having any adult interaction – it’s no good for any of us. I know my husband really misses the extra income I used to bring in but for now I feel like this is the right decision for all of us because I can give the kids the undivided attention they really need at this young age. But there are definitely times that I wish things were easier between Mark and I and I surely hope we can make it through this tough time. It’s hard being a mom in this day and age and sometimes I feel like I’m totally dependent on my husband or that I’m supposed to be able to do everything AND be a great mom. It’s a lot of pressure for a woman.

It's About Time to Let That Music Flow

Yes, it's about time for some music creation to hit the front burner. I've always wanted to be super productive and create music that I'm proud of and people will enjoy, but I've never really put in that true commitment. Now is the time. I'm taking an online course that is going to jumpstart this brain of mine and the music will soon follow. I can't wait to get rolling.

One of my first exercises is to fuel my unconscious brain. To do this I've simply been listening to music. For starters I stuck in my favorite album "Clumsy" by Our Lady Peace. I strapped on my Bose headphones, laid down on the couch and pressed play. It's an amazing feeling to just lay back with nothing else on your mind but the music that is pumping into your brain. You notice all of the little details that you might never have noticed before. You feel the emotion, you picture the raw sound behind your closed eyes. Such a great feeling, especially when it's your favorite album. You truly get lost. It was like Raine was pouring out that signature falsetto just for me and as Big Dumb Rocket had it's turn, it took all of me energy to stay relaxed and lay there, just appreciating my favorite tune and not rocking around the room belting the lyrics.

Next I picked another album from my cd shelf. I dug a little deeper for this one. I searched for a disc that I hadn't spun in a real long time but still had that way of tugging at my internal rock strings. I came across "Lemon Parade" by Tonic and knew I had to give it the treatment. Man, was it worth it. You tend to forget sometimes how good music is when you haven't listened to it in a long time. As Open Up Your Eyes, Mountain, and Wicked Soldier blasted through my headphones and drove it's way into the pleasure centers of my brain I was taken back to high school when this album was on constant rotation in my cd player. The heavy guitars, full acoustic strums and soaring vocals had me floating in musical bliss. No offense to Tonic, but I was so relaxed I even fell asleep for half a song. Considering how loud it was in my ears I see that as a compliment anyway.

The third and final album of this exercise is going to be something a little different. It's going to be an album that I've never heard before from a genre that isn't usually my cup of tea. I combed through Grooveshark for a few minutes and decided on "Hands All Over," the newest album from Maroon 5. I enjoy their radio singles for the most part but their music has never really driven me to keep listening. Hard rock has been my thing ever since I picked up "Sunburn" by Fuel and "My Own Prison" by Creed back in my high school days. But I'm excited to give it a shot and feed my brain with something that I would never listen to otherwise. I'm hoping moving to another genre and taking in the music for the experience of doing it will truly be a good step in making my own music that much better.

So now it begins. I can't wait to get this program going and get some music pouring out of my head, hands and throat and out into the world. I don't think I've ever wanted anything so badly in my life and there is no stopping me now. I mean come on, if my current homework is just chilling and listening to awesome music how can I complain? I can't, that's why music is so incredible and I'm itching to make some of my own. I look forward to giving updates of my progress.

Rock on!

Mom is Tough

Guest post from: Bruno Smith Moving was tough but the hardest part of all was having to redo this house. I was worried I wouldn’t know enough about carpentry and stuff like that to get it under control but I tell you one thing, when you’re in that situation you really do learn fast! I wish I knew more but I’m learning as I go and I already feel better about being able to do things like put up bathroom tiles and lay carpet. My husband is more concerned with things like adt Nevada and getting the surround sound hooked up but you know, that’s all superfluous to me. I just care about getting this place livable compared to what I’m looking for which really isn’t all that much. We’re both getting better at contracting and I’ve gotten really, really good at hiring people to do the stuff I can’t. This place looks totally different than when I started with it and I count that as a success at the end of the day, I think!

Like A Broken Record

My songwriting goes through quite a few stages. Some of the stages are consistent while others come and go depending on the song. But no matter what, every song I write goes through this specific stage that I call "the broken record." I'd say it is the most frustrating step of them all, even more difficult to overcome than working from the original idea at the birth of a song.

Basically, this step in the process involves playing a completed section of a new song over and over again. And I mean over and over and over and over again. The drive my fiance insane give myself blisters kind of over and over. For example, I'm working on a new tune called "Set You Off." I have a concrete main riff on the guitar, a first verse and a chorus. I have been looping this section over and over again in it's entirety day after day, week after week.

Logically, I'm replaying it to eventually add on and complete the song. Some of my best ideas have come while just playing and fumbling upon something.  Yes, there's always the option of recording that clip and listening on my headphones, in turn, not pushing my finance and neighbors into madness with my incessant strumming and screaming. Even though I always do record my progress, it's never really worked well for me to write without my guitar sitting in my lap.

The most frustrating part of this stage is not knowing how long it will last. Sometimes a song comes together in a day or a few days without having to play the riff into oblivion. Other times, like this new song, weeks go by with the same riff, the same melodies, the same lyrics going unchanged, rolling on like a broken record from hell.

Especially lately, things have been working out for the best when it comes to this monotonous stage of my songwriting as I've written more songs this year so far as I did all last year. (Good songs that I feel confident and proud of to boot. Like "Forbidden.") Really I just need to push through, concentrate and continue to do what I love doing, not worrying about what people think. In fact, right now it's time to stop typing and grab the guitar and play this riff a couple hundred more times before bed time. This song isn't going to write itself. Sorry honey, I'll try to keep it down.

Making Money In Music Production

I've been writing a lot and I've been working a lot. Those are the two things that are on my mind constantly these days. Most of the time, thoughts of music tend to win out. I find myself humming melodies and jotting down lyrics during the work day while having the overwhelming feeling that I need to get home to my guitar before I lose that precious inspiration.

Whenever there's actual thoughts of work that clog my head, those thoughts wander toward getting out and doing work that I would enjoy in the long haul. As much as I've been writing music lately, the idea of making a career in music production haunts me, whether it be making music in a band, writing songs for other artists, or working in a studio helping other people create music. Where I would even begin is mind boggling and how to make a career out of it seems beyond fathomable. 

Today was one of those days that I truly had to get out. I left my job as a screen printer early today in a haze of toxic solvents and exhaustion wondering what I could possibly do to get out my rut and take a leap toward doing something that I would love to do instead of just being content. I've thought about dabbling in video production. My mediocre knowledge of computers aside, I've always enjoyed making videos that involve my music. I don't see any money in that at the moment, more than anything it would be a chance to branch out and try something a little more creative. Though it steers away from my music a bit, I've also thought about things such as voice over work. I've always felt I had a really decent singing voice but the main challenge with doing voice overs would be becoming more confident in the sound of my speaking voice. 

Overall, I'm getting more confident every day in my skills as a songwriter. Turning my love for music into a career would be a dream come true, even if it only played a supporting role. Anything would beat how I feel about my current job sometimes and I definitely look forward to taking the risk. For now, with money tight and a wedding in the near future, money is my focus. So as long as I can keep writing my songs in my free time, I am content with being content, getting paid and daydreaming about all the things that could lead to a career in music.