A little bit of work

So, I'm still working on "like a lighthouse gone mad from loneliness" and...it's pretty much working out  the way I want. I still feel like I'm missing something in the songs, so I've been thinking about the density and texture of the vocals. I believe that I need a lot more harmonies, which just take a ton of time to do on your own. I'll just try to do a few songs and see whether I like the results.

I was asked to write a piece of music for a dance student at North Port High School. The choreography is based on a poem entitled "Balloon" and I am doing the background music. It ended up being kind of a strange piece; I played acoustic guitar through a reverb unit and doubled that track to make it repeat a few milliseconds after the initial sound. Then I added a woodwind/string sound as a complementary instrument. Very spacey. I may take it and incorporate it into "like a lighthouse...", but I haven't made a decision yet. But I like the piece.

The studio is running pretty well. I've added a second pair of monitors to get a better idea how a mix is working. As it stands, I usually listen to any mix with Sennheiser HD414 headphones (one of the best open air headphones ever made, in my humble opinion), a pair of Klipsch ear buds, Alesis Monitor 1 speakers, JBL Control 1 speakers, the surround system in my house (Sony), and then drive around in my Nissan truck. If a mix works in all of those, you are finished! Since I do my own mastering, I had to find a way to reference a mix. I've used this method for over twenty years. It works for me.

On a totally different subject, I miss painting. I haven't taken the time to do any watercolors in months and it is starting to eat at me. I have to take the time and just do it. Instead of doing other things, like watching movies, or The Gilmore Girls on Netflix. Or playing around on my iPad. Or enjoying a sunset in Key West.