FAWM 2016

It is that time of the year, when several thousand songwriters, attempt to write 14 songs in 28 (well 29 days this year) days.  It is time for FAWM. (February Album Writing Month)

I've done this challenge for the last three years, managing 3, 6 and 9 songs respectively.  So getting closer to completing the challenge with each passing year.

Last year, my 9 songs were split between this project (2 or 3 songs), the Hair Thieves (2 songs), which is my main musical project and my occasional instrumental Sineglider project (3 songs). The other songs were abandoned, since not deemed up to scratch.

As I write this, early, on day 7, I should have 3.5 songs written, if I am to achieve target.

So far, I have finished two demos  of instrumentals, (thus Sineglider tunes).     

The first is called Koleti

Named after a star system, I am currently in, in the game Elite Dangerous.

This is a free form (ie to no time signature), is totally improvised and was an experiment on creating something ambient, in an hour.  I also lmited myself to only using synths by Steinberg.





The second is called El Sol
This was a challenge on Fawm, which was to write a song based on the South American Loteria cards.  I was given El Sol (the sun).

Thinking of Holst's The Planets, I used this as an excuse to play with some orchestral instruments.  To learn more about programming them and use of articualtions.  

I think this is quite unfinished.  I will revisit it later in the year and flesh it out.  Maybe add some woodwinds and brass, to make it more orchestral rather than the current string sections and percussion.




I am also currently working on finishing two other songs.

The first is musically written, the challenge was to write a song with the title "Playing with fire" in an hour.  I managed the music, but not the lyrics.   I may stay with the title, I may not.

The second song, is untitled, but driven by me wanting to learn more about some synths I have.   In a mad two minutes, I ended up with a dance drum kit in 3/4 time.   So a kind of modern Waltz.
Hopefully, this will have lyrics, it is early days, so I will see how this pads out.

Regarding the current state of the solo album.

"A Winter's Memory" is finished and ready to be released once I have another track to go with it and finish the video.  It won't be this month, due to FAWM.

A couple other tunes are ongoing.

Two of the songs I have music for, which I really like, have both been given back to The Hair Thieves.   They started as Hair Thieves songs, got abandoned, I picked them up years later and worked on them some more and decided they should be Hair Thieves material, so have submitted them to E.

One will be on the next Hair Thieves EP.  The other probably the one after, depending on how other songs pan out over the next couple of months.

So the solo album is on going.  Hopefully, FAWM will give me a couple of new songs for it, or at least the b-side for "A Winter's Memory".

I'll post another FAWM update next week.

Sweet Lemons

Ok it has been a month since my last blog update.  I was hoping to get out the next blog in the ongoing musical history, but they are time consuming and I haven't had big blocks of time to do one.

So I will start the next one and save it as draft and chip away at it.

The last month, we reconvened on recording the new Hair Thieves EP.  So a lot of the time I have been doing music has been recording and writing for that.

As far as this project is going, I have gone through my archives and songs from this years FAWM and realised I have sixteen potential songs to work on for this album.   Most of it is music only, only a couple have completed lyrics.

So I have been playing with a pair of old Hair Thieves tunes, called "Sour Grapes" and "Sweet Lemon Mechanism".  These were going to be the start of the previously planned Hair Thieves album, but when we decided not to do an album, but only do EPs, they were dropped.

So I am trying to ressurect them.

The main problem with them, is in some cases, I don't have the VST instruments (like Groove Agent 2 plus some others) nor the effects pedals (Digitech Whammy) to rerecord sections of it again.

So I am struggling with getting new grooves I like to work with the tracks.   Stupidly, in the case of Groove Agent 2, I recorded the audio output of it and not the midi.   I have Groove Agent 4, but that doesn't have the kits from previous versions.

I think I have decided on the first tune to release.  "Persephone" was planned to be the first track released, but I have decided that "A Winters Memory" will be the first tune, since I think I have an idea brewing for the video.

This will be backed by a track called "Tabanid" which is another rejected Hair Thieves tune, with no chours.  This was almost finished, but I aim to re-record it in a slightly different style for this release.

So I am chipping away at this project, though not as fast as i would like.

More soon.

Fawm - Week 3 Summary

Fawm (http://fawm.org) is an annual event to write an album in a month.  The idea is to write 14 songs in 28 days and release an album.

Musically a mixed bag this week.

I decided I didn't want to put any effort into writing music for Sunday's skirmish, entitled "I found my happy place".  

I decided I would try and finish the song I started in week one.  The one in 5/4 time.  So I have spent some time re-working it, so now the verse music is the chorus and the chorus the verse.

As a demo I am happy with it.  I just need to write some lyrics for it.  I tried yesterday, but my muse wasn't having none of it.

During the week, I met up with Ian, the other half of The Hair Thieves.  He had started working on a synthy instrumental for Ep7.  Even though we already have a instrumental for the EP.

I had a listen.  There was a part of it, which was screaming out CHORUS to me.  So we re-arranged and recorded a few bits, until we had a proper song structure.

I have worked out a vocal melody.  Added some guitars since.  I just need to write some lyrics. Again, I tried yesterday, but my muse wasn't having none of it.

I have however started a new Sineglider instrumental.  Called Onionhead.



It still needs a bit of work, possibly a lead guitar, more synths, in the intro / breakdown.

But I'm quite pleased with it so far.  A bit more upbeat than my normal songs.   Plus I got to use the new bass guitar I bought during the week.

So current state of play.
6 songs Demo'd
1 set of lyrics I probably won't use.
2 songs with music needing some lyrics.
1 week to go, until FAWM finishes.

There is a skirmish, I believe tonight.  So I will have a go at that.

At the start of the month, I was never really planning to have fourteen songs at the end of it.  I believed I would get at least six and really would be happy if I could get nine songs done.

So with a week to go, I am very close to achieving that.

Then I can concentrate back on which of these new songs will make it on the solo album and crack on and get the first single out sometime before the summer.

I want to get the album released before March 2016.  So much more work to be done (as well as Hair Thieves EP7 / EP8 to complete and a Sineglider EP in 2015).

I'm excited.

Fawm - Week 2 Summary. (and a bit of week 3)

Fawm (http://fawm.org) is an annual event to write an album in a month.  The idea is to write 14 songs in 28 days and release an album.

Mixed week this week.  I was happy to have done three songs in the first week (after only managing six during Fawm 2014).

So week 2 should have started with an instrumental on Sunday morning as part of an exquisite corpse game (each participant writes a one minute tune.  The first person writes there and sends the last 10 seconds to the next person, who carries on the tune. etc.  When the last person finishes, it is all stitched back together into one long song).

However, the person in the list before me, didn't manage to do theres.


So on sunday, I finished the demo for "A Winter's Memory".



Starting to really like this.  There is more guitar parts recorded than ended up here. I will re-work this after February.


On the sunday there was another skirmish.  This time the title was "The Devil's Highway".

So I wrote a quick song about my love affair with the M6 motorway.  So glad I don't have to drive down that each day (like I did for 5 years).


Originally, I wasn't going to put this to music, buy some people on the forum said they wanted to hear it.  So here it is.  The demo was made using EZKeys to come up with something really quick.

I'm quite happy with how it turned out.  Not sure if I will re-record this for use later.  Maybe it will be a b-side or bonus track.

During the rest of the week, I struggled with starting a song from the drums upwards.  Spent far too many hours trying to import some .rex files into Cubase.  Cubase seems intent on importing files that are in 5/4 or 7/4 in 4/4 time, regardless as to what the song's time signature is.

After several nights of trying, I gave up and went back to using Ezdrummer.  

On Friday, I was told to start the Exquisite corpse song.  So in three hours, I wrote a one minute instrumental called "Lorana".   I have sent the last ten seconds off to a chap called Tim in Australia to carry it on.

Obviously, I can't yet spoil it for everyone, by posting the song.  I will post the song once the Exquisite corpse is finished.
So Saturday I was home alone.  I re-recorded the devil's highway vocals, since the original second verse didn't work for the melody I wrote for verse one.  Added the music to the bridge (which I thinks needs an instrumental adding before the final chorus.

I then had a go at the failed song.  So far I have some chorus music in 5/4 time, with a guitar riff.  I then proceeded to write a verse chord progression in 4/4 time, that seems far too happy.

So this needs re-working further and lyrics writing.

So the scores at the end of the week are five songs demoed.   One song on the go.


So this is the start of week 3,  I wrote some cliched lyrics for a skirmish entitled "I found my happy place".

Really insistant that I won't write music for this and will use the rest of the time to finish the other song in progress.

"I found my happy place".

In a world of fears and regrets
Wars and famine
Children distressed
All of the illness
and all the duress
I've found my happy place

In a world where we ain't equal
race and creed
hatred begats evil
All of the pain
And all of the suffering
I've found my happy place

Because
In you, I see a shining sun
In you, I see love for everyone
In you I see hope and a reason to be
In you I see courage and the will to be free

I've found my happy place

In a world of rich verses poor
Terror, disorder
Banks rotton core
In all of the sadness
And all this disease
I've found my happy place.

Because
In you, I see a shining sun
In you, I see love for everyone
In you I see hope and a reason to be
In you I see courage and the will to be free

I've found my happy place


So at the end of Sunday at the start of the third week.  I have five songs, one set of lyrics (not) needing music and a partial song musically.

So with two weeks left, I think I will improve on last years total of six songs written.  

So happy with how February is progressing so far.

End of Year Round Up.

Well, the good news is, I thought I started this blog in January 2014, so my lack of progress, was really a wasted year and quite depressing.   Then looking at the blog, I see I started it in June.   So that made me feel better.

I started with great intentions and dreams and got sidetracked by the day job, The Hair Thieves EP6 and EP7, the world cup, the Xbox and me temporarily killing my music PC whilst trying to upgrade it.

I'm glad to report the PC is now fine and back up and running, so no excuses for 2015.


I have been through some of my backlog of abandoned and rejected tunes and done rough mixes of everything so far.  I think I probably have ten songs (in various states of completion) I could work on, with about 25 minutes of music so far (the shortest idea is about a minute. The longest about 5.  Only one has complete music and lyrics).

So I am going to set some targets with dates. as per week one of the Ariel Hyatt book that is now somewhere on my Kindle at about page 8.  I haven't given this any thought, I'm just going to type five things and see how it goes, whilst trying to make them achievable.

So the immediate plan.
1) Finish and preview new song March 2015.  (This will probably be called Persephone).
2) Do Fawm 2015
I did Fawm 2014 and managed five new songs.

Fawm is an annual attempt to write 14 songs in 28 days.

Of the five songs I wrote in 2014, one made it onto the Hair Thieves EP6.  Another of which is about Bacon.  Another of which I stole for an instrumental project. Least said about that last two the better

Oh go on then.  Here is a song about bacon!



And here is the instrumental.



So we shall see what next February brings to the mix.

3) Launch website March 2015.
4) Start practicing guitar / singing with aim to start playing open mics in Spring 2015.
5) Release EP (or possibly album) September 2015.   (ideally an album. Must be finished by 6th March 2016....)

bonus task
6) Finish '80s musical journey blogpost Jan 2015
7) Finish '90s musical journey blogpost Feb 2015
8) Finish '00s musical journey blogpost March 2015
9) Finish this decades musical journey April 2015.


So that is a rough plan, that I now need to stick to!  (I will finish this and update my task management system appropriately)

At the top of the page is a video of me messing about with a synth.  It is by no way an indication of where I am going with this project.  I just stumbled across it on my phone today and have no recollection of actually recording it.

Hope you all had a wonderful 2014 and hope you get a better 2015.   I'm off to practice my guitar....  

Week 1 - Getting Mentally prepared.

It is the first of June 2014.

The start of the the journey into creating some music and blogging about the process.

Some of this will partially be based on Music Success In Nine Weeks by Ariel Hyatt, for no other reason than I need a plan.

Given, my musical priority is and will be The Hair Thieves nine weeks is a little ambitious.  So I will spread the nine weeks out over many months.

I will assume Arial thinks I might already have material written, gigs on the go and what not.

I am starting from near scratch.  Just a collection a few under developed ideas and lyric snippets. Song is different tunings and time signatures.

At the moment I only have two rules for this project.

1. If the song starts sounding like it should be a Hair Thieves song, then it should be and I will show it to E to say if we should use it.
2. Given the The Hair Thieves brand tag is"An eclectic mix of ambient indie pop rock punk jazz soundtracks", this project should have a focus and not be eclectic. I have an inkling as to what I want to do.  More about that soon.

  So, back to Ariel's book.

The tasks this weekis to set some goals and set some dates for those goals.

Apparantly, only 3% of people have their long term goals written down and it has been proven that people who track their goals are more likely to achieve them.

I have been a been advocate of David Allen's Getting Things Done: How to Achieve Stress-free Productivity methodology. I have had a system in place for about eight years now.

It mostly works, for me. I will blog more about my time management system in the future.

So I already have a working task tracking system in place.

The bit of Getting Things done that I have always struggled with is the big picture.

What are my life goals?

I don't have issues with goals for individual projects, but what is my life goal.  I really don't know.  Ariel also iterates the need for lifetime goals.  I'm still unconvinced.

So for the purposes of this experiment.  I will limit my goals to twelve months and this one project and reserve the right to change them whenever!

So this weeks task are to

1. Write down each day. 5 victories.   (Now I used to do that years ago, so I will start again)
2. Write down six Focus areas for the next twelve months
1. with dates
2. that involve me only
3. are realistically achievable

In the book, Ariel mentions money goals.   I'm slightly uncomfortable with that.  I would be happy to make enough money to sustain my musical hobby.   I have no ambition to be a full time musician.  I love my day job enough to want to carry that on as a career.

Right, so whilst I get my mind thinking of what I want to achieve for this project.   I have some immediate tasks to get on with namely :-

1. Name the project
2. Get the domain name
3. Get the social media names for it
4. Create project structure on my music PC for it
5. Create a project structure in my lyric writing system.

So let's begin and get all of this into my task management system.

later

Rollasoc