Blog: Startling Research In Musicology

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I was in work a bit late this morning, for LO! i have been playing the PIAAANO. Wel, the keyboard with PIAAANO settings, but still. Last night i commenced "work" on the song "Closer To You" - as ever it took AGES to do the drums and GTR and guide vocal bits (which is the main disadvantage of DIGITAL recording, i find), but then i SET to with PIAAANO ACTION.

It seemed to take FOREVER. When FINALLY i'd worked out something to play for the verses and got it sounding OK i realised it was a bit BARE. I am not the greatest PIANIST in the world, i must learn to live with that FACT - after all, i learnt to play piano on the STREET and let me tell you, that is not a convenient place to learn it. The music flies off whenever a car goes by and you have to watch out for dogs. Anyway, i can, these days, JUST ABOUT manage to play with four fingers and one thumb (not all on the same hand) which means that everything i do sounds a bit clunky. HOWEVER i realised that i could - AHA! - record ANOTHER track of piano featuring the notes IN BETWEEN and then COMPOSITE (or "comp" as we say in the RECORDING BUSINESS... and also in our spare room) them together.

That was GROUNDBREAKING INNOVATION NUMBER ONE. I bet NOBODY has ever thought of THAT before! I then spent a frustrating HOUR playing the first BIT of the verse, but being unable to work out the second - it was the i hit on GROUNDBREAKING INNOVATION NUMBER TWO. Rather than trying to guess what to play i WROTE DOWN the Chords, worked out which notes would work, and then WROTE THEM DOWN TOO!!!!

YES! I know it is hard to get one's head round something so radical, but by actually WRITING DOWN what i was supposed to play it was suddenly MUCH MUCH EASIER. Really I shouldn't be showing off about this on a webpage, i guess i ought to PATENT it or something, but HEY! i am here to share the LOVE!

It was all very exciting, and it was all i could do to TEAR myself away from the keyboard ready for BED. This morning I sat down and did exactly the same thing with the MIDDLE bit and it was all MUCH quicker and easier... although i MAY have done a bit wrong. I realised this only when I'd done the BASS track too (i was EXCITED!) and it didn't quite work, so i might need to REVISIT the track later. This worries me not though as - AHA! - i have WRITTEN IT DOWN!

It's the GRATE IDEA that keeps on giving!

In other news from THE STUDIO: having got fed up of watching documentaries about "Lord Of The Rings" (I'm on disc SIX of the appendices now and, yes, Mr Jackson and co, i GET IT: you were all very sad to be finishing! ENOUGH ALREADY!) i decided to watch "SPACED" whilst having my tea. I've now watched most of series one, and BY GOLLY, it's still BLOODY BRILLIANT. Most of all i am amazed how much of it i remember, and how much has slipped into my daily vocabulary, and i haven't even GOT to the Robot Wars episode yet! I've only got two and a half days left RATTLING round the house, but I'm SURE we can get the second series watched by then too. Would the women of my household be pleased or AFEARED, i wonder, to be greeted by me and the three cats saying "Hullo Brian" at the door?


posted 9/6/2005 by MJ Hibbett

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