Tag: Recording

RPM Challenge Day 3/28 — #RPM2017

Last night I put together a file on my iPad that has three eight bar phrases. That’s it. Not really a song form yet, but a start.

Today I did something totally different, for me at least. I bought a new amp and as I was putting it through it’s paces I had the iOS Music Memos app open. I put down four little licks or phrases. Most are sort of similar, but they all count as the start of an RPM song idea. There was also that video that I posted earlier today. That has another riff that seems useable.

That’s eight ideas so far. Only two are ready to start actually recording, and some of the music memos might be combined together into one song, but who cares. The ball is rolling. The ideas are coming. The game is on, brothers and sisters!

RPM Prep Work — I am Such a Nerd

I started some of my annual RPM Challenge prep work. I created a new soundcloud account to use for listening to works in progress on my various mobile devices. Also, I created a new trello board to keep track of the progress of each new idea. It’s not much, but it’s a start.

I still have to do some test work with my new MacBook Pro. I’ve used GarageBand on it, but I haven’t recorded any live audio. I have to make sure my Lexicon audio interface will play nicely with the USB 3 connections via an adapter. I don’t expect any issues, but who knows. If I can’t get audio into the computer then it will be another iPad based project. Of course, Apple went and updated GarageBand for iOS yesterday. Couldn’t they have waited until March so I wouldn’t have to waste time learning any new features? How inconsiderate of them, eh?

Then I have to set up my amp and my pedal board and my mics so that when the urge hits I can just plug in the lappy, switch on the amp, and play whatever needs to be played.

The January prep work always makes me feel like a super nerd, but I don’t care. It’s fun… in a super nerdy way.

RPM 2017

I just signed up for the 2017 RPM Challenge. I’ve been playing the game since 2007, and playing it successfully since 2012.

Given the political climate in the United States these days, I think we can safely assume there will be a lot of songs about hating fascism. I can’t say for sure that will be the case (last year most of the songs were about how the Earth is not flat…really) but if you are a betting man/woman…

I have already decided that my Fender amp and my pedal board are staying at home until March. If I’m going to do this, I want to do it right.

The musical chaos begins on February 1st.

Vocal Explosion

50/90 isn’t quite over yet though my chances of reaching 50 songs is long over.

When I woke up this morning I had seven songs finished. Four others were lead guitars and a mix away from being done.

This morning before work I wrote the lyrics and melodies, and recorded the vocals for five songs. Wow! At lunch I squeezed in another, and then after work I added two more. That’s eight vocal parts written and recorded today. That’s insane! I bet when I listen back all of the melodies will be identical. Heh heh, probably.

That’s One, Babie!

It’s official! I did not get shut out in the 50/90 Challenge this year!

Song idea #28 becomes completed song #1, and only two months late!

Written and recorded on my iPad on Monday and mixed on my iPad tonight. The guitars are my Les Paul.

One down, 49 to go (in 25 days, yeah right)!

50/90 – Day 13

When I woke up this morning I had 22 songs in progress, four with rhythm guitars recorded, and one with a vocal idea sketched out.

At this moment I have 24 songs in progress, eight with rhythm guitars, and still just the one vocal idea.

I don’t feel too terribly well today though, so there’s a good chance all the stuff I did today will need to be re-done.

We’ll see.

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Left Overs

For this year’s RPM Challenge I worked on 23 songs. One was just too awful to keep alive and I dumped it. One other never got further than one or two bass lines on the iPad. Of the remaining 21, 10 made the final cut. Eight were completely finished but I put them on the B list. Three others were pretty far along in the process, but I ran out of time before I could finish them. Those three might have been good enough to make the final submission, but now we’ll never know.

I made a playlist for the left overs, including the three unfinished songs. I will finish them in the coming weeks, but for now they are just rough mixes of instrumental nothings.

I think if you listen to both playlists you will see that dropping the songs on the B list was the right thing to do. At least I hope so. Either way, I got a ton of new tunes.