Dad3353

Well, despite 'stuff', I managed this ... Here is my contribution to the August 2022 Basschat Composition Challenge, inspired by a picture chosen by one of the previous winners: Upside Downer. Well, she said 'Platform 2, eight o'clock.' It's now... Let me see... Hmm... Half-past midnight. Maybe she's not coming..? I'll give it another hour or so... Can't get much more minimalist that this, this month. A few minutes of me, loosening up on the drums. It's an e-kit (Millenium MPS850...). Recorded 'live' (that much will be obvious; no re-dubs or editing at all...), directly from the module into a USB stick, and transferred to Reaper, so the sounds are those of the e-kit itself. No treatment, other than my standard Reaper NY Glue compression on the Master tracks, as usual. Thanks for listening, if you already have; if you're about to, enjoy.

28 is not 'just short of 30'..?

No chance of having 'em at the back, in the middle (behind the drummer..?)..? If not, I'd put one each side, just for spread. There may, technically, be 'dips' in the spread at certain frequencies, but I doubt anyone will be measuring, anyway. Have a great gig...

This 👆 is wisdom, but the downside is the risk of attempting to gild pure gold, and paint the lily. Better can become the enemy of Good, unless one is disciplined enough to know when enough is enough. Just sayin'.

Indeed not, but it was the Popular Music of its time, and nearly three centuries later, still gets played, worldwide. ... and, of course ...

The chord structure is shown here, and should be easy enough to 'wing', 'walking' from one chord to another in the style..? Sympathetique chords tab... It's easy-going, laid-back, with quite a lot of repetition, so shouldn't take too long. Good luck with it all; that sounds like a nice gig to get.

Born in Salzburg (1756...), in the Holy Roman Empire, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. His father took him on a grand tour of Europe and then three trips to Italy. At 17, he was a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position. While visiting Vienna in 1781, aged 25, Mozart was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He stayed in Vienna, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years there, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas. His Requiem was largely unfinished by the time of his death at the age of 35, the circumstances of which are largely uncertain and much mythologized.

Typo fixed.

I don't (read 'can't, don't know how to'...) write 'songs as such; it's more 'composing', in which I 'see' (hear, feel...) a structure of sorts, typically with a beginning, a middle (sometimes several...) and an end. Often enough, there seems to be some kind of 'echo', or 'rappel' of the beginning in or near the end. I don't think in terms of 'beats' (disclaimer : I'm a drummer...), but rather tempo (long, languishing, increasing in urgency... that sort of thing...), and duration. Some sections have to be necessarilly short, others may extend, but not so long as to tire the ear or lose the plot (if ever plot there was...). The instrumentation comes at quite a late stage, really. 'Modern', with guitar, bass and whatever..? Classical orchestral, with a particular penchant for cellos and woodwind..? More 'roots', with primitive flutes and/or tam-tams..? On rare (very rare...) occasions, a synth-style 'futuristic' sound may force itself between my cloth ears. I have a selection of pianos, one of which is extremely lightweight, with which I often try out melodies, chords, arpeggios etc, only to ditch that sound for the 'real deal' once it's been honed a little. Of late, my physical ability and aptitude for actually playing stuff has dimished somewhat (t'was never virtuose, to be fair...), so I take to sewing together samples, gleaned from many sources, including my own stuff played years ago. Tempo matching/stretching, pitch adjustment, 'shoe-horning', sprinkled with a very hefty dose of serendipity, whereby 'by accident' things sound good (a relative term, that...) all combine with the above to create a new piece. I often strip things out, towards the end, as I have a tendency to clutter, and muddy the waters; getting back to basics, purifying, is the last stage, really. The whole 'process' goes at a steady, frenetic pace until 'finished', as I can't really relax whilst it's all going off in my skull. Most are a 24-hour or so, non-stop stint, then I can sleep. Once released into the wild, it's rare that I go back to anything to fiddle with it; with many of my older pieces, I have no idea myself how or why I came up with such ideas. A bit like Topsy : 'it just grew'. Method..? Pah..! Can't be doin' with such...

Sorry, cloth ears. I hear nothing untoward, there nor elsewhere. Old age..?

I've just played it again, with only my PC screen, so no 'visuals', and, for my part, I found it has its own musical validity, however it was produced (by MIDI piano-roll, keys, bass or whatever...); it was simply too short, s'all, being maybe simply a showcase number. I don't subscribe to this notion of having to be 'impressed' with everything (or even anything..!). It's good, musically on its own merits, in my view. Whether one likes it or not is another matter, of course, but I equally watched the recently-posted videos of a couple of 'metal' bands, with lady virtuosi, and I know what I'd rather listen to (and watch..!). To each his/her own, but 'tape à l'oeil' doesn't go far with me, I'm afraid.

To me, music is an ephemeral medium, lost as soon as it's created, and quite distinct from visuals, either fixed or dynamic. Having the two combined is fine, and they may very well complement each other, but I'd much prefer a concert with good music and no visuals to a concert with good visuals and no music. Disclaimer : I used to do the lights for a very 'active' ska/rock/punk group, and the use of 'blackouts' could be very effective, as well as the strobes, ACL's and moving heads. My leitmotif was 'glauque'. It's all a question of dynamics; 'more' is only 'more' if there is some 'less'.

Define 'visual performance'. I much prefer the sobre aspect of the video above to the exuberant visuals that many bands and players come up with. A seated orchestra pumping out Schubert's Ninth doesn't need pyrotechnics, for me. I'd be just as happy listening to performances such as that above, eyes wide shut.

A bit of a struggle, this month, despite the excellent picture as incentive. Nothing major; just not well, s'all. I did have a go at recording a line of acoustic guitar, but had to abandon, it was so badly played. If I get a late visit from any Muse, it's possible I could come up with something virtual, but it's not looking good as of now. We'll see ...

It's not smuggling if it's declared to Customs upon arrival, and any relevant VAT/Duty paid. The economy would be the transport cost, including its associated taxes etc. Not declaring the acquisition would make it liable for seizure if/when caught, plus fine. The X-ray machines used these days would certainly 'see' a bass body/neck in a suitcase.

[Pedantry] Decimalisation in the UK started in 1971, so that would have to be 9d, not 9p (the 'd' stemming from the Roman 'denarius'...), but would more likely have cost 6d (sixpence, or a 'tanner'...) at the time, really; the equivalent in pence would be 2½p. [/Pedantry]

Paranoia /ˌparəˈnɔɪə/ noun A mental condition characterized by delusions of persecution, unwarranted jealousy, or exaggerated self-importance, typically worked into an organized system. It may be an aspect of chronic personality disorder, of drug abuse, or of a serious condition such as schizophrenia in which the person loses touch with reality.

Good. You'll be first to be notified and offered the position.

Malice..? Who the fu...

Altough with all the racket you make, you wouldn't hear even a bulldozer knocking through the front wall..! ...

This may be a taste of what the shows could be; it helps, then, when listening to the disks to better make the connections between the music, the lyrics, the ambience and the visuals...

Doesn't work for everyone.

The group... Hawkwind. The venue... Kingston Polytechnic. Stardate : early '70s. I left, despite the excellent 'show', when the pyro started to be let off around the stage. A nervous glace at the long drapes occulting the high windows all around the hall brought on visions of an inferno with no escape, so I made my way outside. To be fair, we could hear just as well outside as in, and, by chance, the curtains didn't ignite. Hawkwind, eh..?