If you're just joining us, part one is here.
Okay, folks, time to get you up to speed on what I've been doing the last couple days. When I left you, I had recorded 2 guitar parts and had fleshed out the structure of the song: verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-verse-chorus-chorus-chorus-end.
Simple.
Okay. I had some busy days at work, so I had some time off from the song, then I had some time to think about it, listen to it in the car, in headphones, on the laptop... Then, yesterday I got some time on my own to work with the song some more (I've got two young kids - this happens rarely!). So, last night I added a bass guitar part and a simple rock organ part to flesh out the chords and harmonies a little bit, and expand the sonic palette a little bit, if you will. Also, I got the copyright issues resolved with Soundcloud, so I'm going to test out their widget on this post:
You may notice that I've skipped a version number. I'm jumping ahead because one version was adding the bass and the organ, and one was re-recording the rhythm guitar part to correct some wonky timing issues I had from laying down the initial chord progression. You can visit my SoundCloud page to hear the intermediary. When I get an idea like this and I want to capture it right away, I usually just fire up Logic and start recording, just to preserve that burst of inspiration. Usually, that means just playing along with a click track. Admittedly, that's not an ideal circumstance for me - I tend to settle into a groove much easier with, at the very least, a drum track or second guitar track playing. So, I tend to go back and re-record parts once I have more elements of the song in place, because I can get more comfortable, and more accurate, with my playing.
Next up, I've begun work on a lead guitar part that helps build the bridge and leads into a solo for the verse section immediately following the bridge section. I'm still working on the overall shape of the solo, and of course polishing it all up so I sound competent. Stay tuned!
HEY! FREE BONUS!
Here's another song I've been working on for the past few months, with the working title "Transitions 2." It features a killer guitar solo by my friend and co-worker Doug Kern, who can do things with a guitar I simply cannot.