Back in your head

My favourite Tegan & Sara track by a long shot. Sara wrote it. The bassist is Matt Sharp, formerly of Weezer, and it was produced by Chris Walla (of Death Cab for Cutie, of course!).

The bassline in the second half of the chorus was the thing that initially attracted me, but upon further inspection, I think the entire track is ingenious. The bass isn't present during the first verse - the piano hold its place. It enters during the chorus. In the first half, it kind of harmonizes with the melody being played on the piano. Then in the second half, it goes way up the neck into a bloody gorgeous countermelody that makes the entire song, in my opinion. (Plus I like how the end of the chorus hints at a C section that doesn't come until the second time around.)

The pure brilliance comes in during the second verse. The piano is playing the same thing it did during the first verse, that is an F major chord. But here the bass is playing a D underneath it, causing the entire thing to sound as a D minor seventh chord. Essentially, the bass makes us hear the second verse in a different harmonic context than the first verse. It sounds darker and heavier, just as the lyrics become more claustrophobic. Man, I don't know if it was the producer or the bassist (or even Sara) who made this decision, but whoever did, they know a hell of a lot about music.

The recording process is dirge-like, because it's such a thickly produced song that I'm not sure which parts to leave out and which to keep. I might hear some keyboards and go, "Extraneous!", but then I discover that they're contributing to the overall harmony and are thus essential. Listening to the song so many times, I've gotten a bit too ambitious because I seem to have fallen in love with the whole thing instead of just the bassline. Anyway, I'll post what I have so far before I destroy it by trying to cover the entire thing. Hope the beauty of the bass comes through!

Back in your head

My first professional recording experience

The middle of a wednesday

Yesterday, after two weeks of half-hearted looking, I finally found my olive-green notebook from 2006. It contains Occupant lyrics, other lyrics, lists of my favourite albums (which haven't changed too much, which is either good or totally embarrassing), guitar riffs, band names (some of which I still think are really great), and notes on a board game that Stella and I were developing. It's quite the thing to find.

But today, I'm actually in a state that I very seldom fall into. It's a state that can really only be brought on by one's own laziness, or in this case, being blase about all the things that are available to me in my abode. That state is the mental poison known as boredom. I tried figuring out the chords to The Best of Jill Hives by GBV, but I was highly ineffective. I kept thinking, "there are probably only about 4 chords in this song, all of them barre chords, but I just can't get them!" Eventually I cracked and looked it up on the internet. I soon found a tab that sounds really quite accurate, and was astonished to see chords like Amaj7 and E/D# smattered in there! So that's what I get for underestimating rock music...

I also called a few people, but none of them answered their damn telephones! I guess they have call display, eh?

Well, here are Thee Ahs featuring that divilishly attractive Veronica girl:

Instead of doing the work, I shall complain about it

I was just thinking about where I can register general complaints. I figure this is the place to do it!

I'm on spring 'break' now, but it seems I have the equivalent of three weeks worth of homework to do. I have to do some kind of project on human rights (obviously a relaxation-inducing topic), write as much poetry as possible, and do some journals. I ran out of journal topics before the end of grade ten - need to wade 300 words into a bunch of random topics, which is too much for an irrelevant topic, and far too little for anything that's actually worth thinking about. I also need to think about a model of the universe (this will probably wind up being an enlarged photo of my face in the end).

I also need to figure out the chords to The Best Of Jill Hives!

On the Roof

Hello there children,

Back in merry old August, Fab and I played a couple of tunes out at UBC. I thought I ought to post a tune from this landmark performance. It's a tune I wrote called On the Roof, and as you will hear...well, it's pretty sick.

Click here!

You can't really hear my spoken invocation at the beginning; basically, I'm just saying, "Close your eyes and picture rain as you hear this."

Another large day

Today, we moved a PA system from O'brien's abode to Liza's with the help of The Fab. O'brien scooped this item from the tai chi garage sale yesterday. 2 monitor speakers, 2 mics, 2 mic stands, and a mixer. Liza and I had to rearrange the better part of the abode to accommodate the system, and our livingroom-studio now looks much larger. Last week, we also received a pair of congas from the Nils abode. They were taking up space in storage. So now we have percussion, which will sound even better with the reverb supplied by the new mixer. (I guess it could sound good 'clean', but we'll leave that for people who can actually play the congas.)

Did I mention jazz is back? It's at the Libra room from 5 til 7:30 on sundays. Of course, I couldn't go today, because we were working with the PA until a few minutes ago, and also no one is around to go with me. Jason is in Japan until around the 21st, and without him there, it's a bit difficult, especially since there's a much different group of musicians there now.

Fab and I have been practicing the tune I wrote a while back, On the roof. The form is AAB. The A sections have a quiet, rain-like quality, and the B section is loud and mostly just one chord. (That's not to say it's exactly like a Nirvana song...) The focus of the band is on providing tension and release using elements other than harmony. I got this idea when I was reading a Jamey Aebersold book, and there was a table listing different things that provide tension and release. On the tension side, there were things like playing loud, ascending lines, faster notes, and dissonant harmony. On the release side, there were things like playing soft, descending lines, longer notes, and consonant harmony. So I thought, why not write a tune based mostly on dynamics? A good thing about this format is that it forces me and Fab to listen to each other.

Anyhow, we have to have it down by next sunday - we have a half-hour performance at IDEC that we're preparing for. I am also preparing for the finest concert ever conceived, which will occur on friday. The Liars opening for Radiohead....wow.

String trio

This is a string trio I wrote in about 3 hours a few days ago. The title of it is 'Snap' - an homage to a particular video game....Fab knows. I hope you enjoy the talent of the 1-mm high musicians who live in my computer!

Click here to hear it

or

Click here to download the program I wrote it with

At least I got the tip jar once.

I had the teeth removed on wednesday with Matty, Ilsa and Kler in attendance in the waiting room. I felt nothing, and there was some bizarre fashion show on the TV in the ceiling, so I felt no desire to pay attention to the proceedings. My face was totally frozen on one side on the way home, but I was almost fully recovered within a few hours. I recuperated for the next day or so, but was awake enough on friday to see Paprika at the ahht gallery with Kler.

Sax playing was out the window for a few days, but I've been taking stabs at it yesterday and today. It does cause me pain, though, so I was forced to spread my attention equally between all of my instruments. I've been working on learning tunes off the record, which can be fun, but it can be quite frustrating. For instance, Eric Dolphy's Serene has only a bass outlining the chords, and it's not always audible, so figuring out dem changes is a colossal struggle!

A while ago, I borrowed a piano book called Blues Hannon from Marg. I was looking at it today. I figure if I can learn some basic blues piano starting now, and practice a lot, I'll be able to play things like Equinox or K.C. Blues within 6 months....school permitting. I'm not looking forward to that.

Guitar-wise, I've been working on pinch harmonics. I used to screw around with those all the time, but only on the high frets, and I didn't even know what note was gonna come out. And finally, bass-wise, I am the best bassist in the world, as usual.

I got an e-mail from Yiorgos today saying:

"Well, the rumours were true and The End Cafe has been sold. It is officially changing hands on Wednesday and will be closed down for a week for renovations. It looks unlikely that the Sunday jam will be continuing there...."

So that's that! Of course, the End gets the prize for being the first business to survive for more than two weeks in that location. So, thanks to the whole band for making it happen, and to Kler, Tamlyn, Sarah, Nello, Kim and her friend, Melissa, Kian, SAMMEH, Liam, Adrian, Watson, Jacob, Luc, Luan, Logan, Pixie, Anne, Peter, Ernie, Margie, Liz, Victor, Cole, Gary, and Ilsa and O'Brien for coming out to support us.

The band:
Jason, Joel, Jon, Jim, Jim, Jeff, Ian, Steve, Alexei, Nathan, Aleisha, Mike, Graham, Gerry, Yiorgos, The Fab (and his friend whose name Ian can never remember), Andrew, Caralyn, Catherine, Pete, Peter, The Girl with the Vibes, Eric (the one time he was there, he was great), and everyone else.

Specks

Yesterday Kler, Ilsa and I went to Loan and Persuade to purchase a Saxophone, who we've named Dot. We then proceeded to the Krazy! show at the VAG, where we perused some Manga and watched part of an Anime movie in a room that, contrary to what the VAG seems to stand for, was very comfortable. Then we went to the gallery cafe to sharply inhale some sustenance.

Today, we threw a frizbee around during our Cookie-walk, then Ilsa went to teach the girls in west Van. In the afternoon, I sat down at the paezano for a couple of hours and wrote a tune employing mostly Lydian (super-happy) chords. It's the first jazz tune I've ever completed! It even has a title - On the roof. Fab was over and I gave him the lead sheet to take home. We're also working on a song that will include elements from jazz, funk (ya right), metal, prog rock, and the blues.
I wrote a wicked bassline for a guitar riff of his, too.

Tomorrow, I am for sure getting my wisdom teeth out at 3 o'clock. I'll be wise no more!

The Yanks did'n invade....

I was supposed to get my wisdom teeth out today, but it turned out the dentist didn't even know if it was necessary! So I have to consult my ortho tomorrow.

In cooler news, I had a two-hour sax lesson with Jason the other day. We went over phrasing, breathing, articulation, and other important things. I've practiced a lot in the two days since, and it's hard work! I don't get bored, but I get overheated (sax playing is not particularly cooling) and tired. I have a lot of things to think about, and a lot of tunes I want to learn. I was thinking of learining Segment by Charlie Porker, and I worked with it a lot, but those quick ii-V7-i's get me! I can already play the melody for Autumn Leaves, and I pretty much have the changes memorized, so I'll work on solidifying that tune tomorrow. I also need to work on Cousin Mary, cauz it's a fave, but I still don't have it down.

Screaming time signatures

I am now consistently going to the End cafe twice a week. On thursdays I go there with Stella, and on fridays I meet Fab. Fab and I then proceed back to Stella's to write, record, jam, listen, and then we go to O'Brien's for 'cartoon land'. Anyways.. We wrote for a while yesterday. So far the composition consists of just guitar and forte. It will show up on the glissando blog when it's finished and recorded. In the meantime I'll soon be posting a sax-forte jam.

Last St. Patrick's day, I had Fab and Sylvia over to record on the good old portastudio. It was my first portastudio recording. The song was 'Polly' by Nirvana, and I had previously laid down the ukulele (yes) track, along with bass and my own vocal track. I wanted, however, to have a take with Fab on vocals. It actually never got mixed down. Anyhow, this year I had them over to do another cover of the same song on the day after St. Patrick's. I went to work a couple of days early using my limited knowledge of chord substitution.

The original progression goes Em, G, C, D in the verse. I changed this to Em add9, G6, C, D. The top note in a chord progression conveys melodic transitions. Thus, if you'll take a look at the top note in this progression(see chord chart below), you'll see it forms a primitive melody that goes F#, E, F#, E. I made a note of this, thinking a brief interlude could be added featuring this melody. I also constructed a bassline based on the chords that I immediately knew was superior to the original bassline, which was obviously slapped together in an offhand manner.
We wound up working on it for about six hours. It is now mixed and still needs to be digitised before it can appear on glissando. Hearing it will be more informative than me describing the recording process.

More dreams! Two nights ago, I dreamt endlessly, but unfortunately I can only recall the last one I had. I was at a very loud and screamy concert reminiscent of the Blood Brothers concert I attended in december. The singer was the only band member visible, and she was in the front of the crowd instead of on stage. They launched into what was obviously their big hit, featuring the singer counting the time signature. "1-2-3-4-123456-1-2-3-4-123456", screaming the 6/8 bar.
Last night I dreamt about having these massive bruises on my legs. I went to see a doctor about it. I think he seemed sort of impressed. Anyways, I wound up going into a packed auditorium for the Windsor House presentation of The Wizard of Oz. Before the show, I saw these two little kids from Windsor House dancing together. They looked amorously at each other. The play began, and it actually had nothing to do with The Wizard of Oz. There were mysterious singing voices coming from backstage and some disgruntled guy dressed as a tree or something on stage. The audience took up the singing while clapping. Some people continued to clap a bit too long, and the tree guy went, "Stop that, and let me clap to show what that sounds like" in a very pissed off voice.

Pixie has reappeared and begun a new blog which is located here. It's highly enjoyable.

Man from another place

In the last couple of days I've been experimenting on the newly acquired pianoforte, or forte as I tend to abbreviate it to. It's been called 'piano' for so long (when it should have been called pianoforte) that we must even it out. For every time it's been called 'piano', we must call it 'forte'.

I had been meaning to record one of these improvisations, because I thought it may help me to come up with some ideas. So today, I did just that. I'm presenting the improvisation here, in four sections. The total run time is about nine minutes. The website I'm using to publish them is new to me, so I'll link directly to the files.

The first section, Land of Sketchy opens with one chord repeated a few times in the bass, then the right hand enters and plays extensions of the chord before playing a very brief melody. An arpeggio in the deep bass ensues. Then more chords, with fairly fucked-up-sounding extensions. Then some large, hopeful chords mutate into horrible wrecks(melodic ones) and it ends with two blasts of, um, death.

The second section, I can't get comfortable is mostly a slow melody in very low registers. The notes slowly link and form a chord, which is repeated ploddingly while some high melody notes enter (again, altered extensions). The bass notes then crawl lower into extremely low registers, and the high melody continues. When the melody has finished talking, the bass thinks for a minute and then stops.

The third section, Hm(sigh). is very short and probably my favourite of the four. It opens with a mournful bass arpeggio that I most certainly will be using in the future. You're hearing it here first! Cookie contributes percussion and then chords, extensions, melodies succeed. It keeps its mood for a while, then begins to see the light. Then it gets extremely frustrated and it kills itself. Dramatic! But if you're not paying attention it will appear to fizzle out meaninglessly(and boringly).

The last section, Blunt Instrument emerges with a quiet percussion intro. Some seemingly happy chords begin and establish a 3/4 beat before minor extensions prevail. It speeds up and gets quite riled up, relaxes for half a second, then accelerates intensely before the percussion and plucked-string outro.

I can't get stopped

One of the things I have to do with my life is inform the public of the full name of the piano. The full name is pianoforte, which means softloud. The earlier harpsichord could only play forte. So the name pianoforte is derived from the original italian name for the instrument, gravicèmbalo col piano e forte, literally meaning 'harpsichord with soft and loud'. So if you think about it, pianoforte is itself an abbreviation, meaning piano is an abbreviation of an abbr.

I have been playing the sax for about two months now. I'm trying to learn a bunch of songs so I can, you know, know a bunch of songs. The two I'm currently working with are Blues for Alice by Charlie Parker and Epistrophy by Melodious Thunk. Once I get them I'll most likely post mp3's here to sort of guage my progress.

I have discovered a chord that I like very much. It's the maj9-5. Below are two ways of playing it on a guitar, but the voicings are a bit strange in that they each contain only one root note.

This blog will be good. I promise.

Hello all y'all.

I left my old blog to die nearly a year ago. Too much of it was, "Then the vending machine ate my quarter, which sucked". This one will attempt to be slightly less mundane. I've had to use the Occupant blog 'til recently, but I grow weary of not being allowed to use the font of my choice.

The name of this blog is the chord sounded when you play the strings of a guitar open. I figured that out myself! I'm tired so I'll write a better entry tomorrow.