#Frail Autumn,, #Lyrics, #music, #songwriting

Onwards to a different music theme.

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Song choices for a ‘Collective’. To be added to this list of possibilities are ‘Stars above the Dunes’, The Be-Bop song and a song called ‘Innocent Victim’. Until I get together with Steve and John again, I’ll let them hang as possibles.

The recent two blog uploads regarding GarageBand (GB) progressions on a particular song are being rethought. I feel it is needed to provide a different song of simpler development. The song ‘November, the Stereo and You….My Friend’ has lyrics that I wrote about 15 to 20 years ago. So have moved the two blogs to ‘Draught’ status.

The song’s subject was borne from my nurse training days. I was picking up the acoustic guitar far less during Nurse training. So it must have been an emotive time of cohort/lecturer discussion and having to write an essay on the subject that produced those story type lyrics. It happened again on my Masters Degree where the social and mental health aspects were spoke of about cultural and gender differences in health attitudes and experiences. Men’s symptoms certainly were of interest to myself, particularly as a male nurse. Of course the female colleagues were focused on the subject too.

When presented with men’s attitudes to Health Matters within the Social Studies Module on the nurse training course, I wrote about the subject of male depression as the lyrical content to the ‘November, the Stereo and You’ song’s theme. ‘The darkness turning the mood to blue’. And ‘my friend’ being the antidote wished and hoped for. The song’s lyric content is not my personal story. But I have empathy with those dark days’ experiences. I met my wife at 18 and it has been the best choice of my life. But over certain points in past decades, the ugliness of the darkness has been a Summers’ visitor. Albeit less frequent and therefore much gratitude goes to my inner spirit’s combatant nature. Certainly since retirement I have found complete peace.

I mentioned in the blogs that it was a difficult song to expand upon. Both emotionally and instrumental structure and dynamic. I feel it is based within the overall feel of the subject and the song’s structure with textures of instrument inclusions that would have to be relevant to the theme.

I will do another ‘Progress on a song’ blog theme. Probably on a new song of lighter content.

Be nice to put an album of about 14 songs. The ‘Album’ sounds pretentious. It’s just a bunch of songs that can hopefully work well in collaboration. A synergy of sounds that marry well. Yesterday I was actually thinking of what was useful from the GB songs so far. So I made a ‘focus’ list of the songs I have been dabbling with and further ideas to plan ahead. I definitely need to rediscover a bit more rock and roll drive. So need 5 more really. So the next 5 songs have to have, as said, upbeat rock and roll vibes. So ideas need to come a tumbling down.

Anyways, I’ll leave the audio from yesterdays ‘November, the stereo……’ just to keep it on the ‘Published’ blog arena. It is only vocal and chug guitar as yet. So has to be rethought later down the line.

I’m currently sitting here this morning listening to a few Paul McCartney CDs. If this guy can’t inspire…….then nothing will.

Oh! The electronic drum machine and bass drum are here now. So onwards and upwards….

Yamaha DD65 electronic drum kit with the KP65 ‘bass’ drum which connects into the DD65. Needed is a bass drum kick pedal now. The Hi-Hat HH65 pedal to arrive over the next couple of days.

11 thoughts on “Onwards to a different music theme.”

    1. Thanks cookie. 51 years now. I suppose you just get on with life and let the challenges give you a good fight now and again. Inner spirit is a gem of an attribute. I read a book about a name for certain patients. The Expert Patient. I found that some people were able to rise to the oncoming storms. Expert? Because they knew what they were dealing with and knew that they had to continually update their ammunition to fight the weirdness of it all. Angie is a motivational person. So it kind of rubs off on you.

      And of course……..the music! Always the music. A Nirvana blessing to be able to self express musically above all. Good fortune and best wishes from Summers-land to cookie-ville.

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  2. I also have empathy with dark days/nights (especially during my first two marriages), thankfully none since I met Richard, the love-of-my-life. I love that you met your wife early in life and continue to recognize being with her as the best choice you’ve made in your life. I agree that gratitude goes to our inner spirit’s combatant nature (fighting spirit) to pull ourselves out of darkness. I hear you about retirement helping to bring about complete peace. I am feeling more peace all the time.
    Yay that the drums arrived! Listening now…

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    1. I understand your own combative nature Sheila from reading past posts. Having moved recently, you must find a more therapeutic dynamic in life too. Family orientated. Retirement, from day one, shed the stresses of all matters. The massive home and garden challenges were like music to my ears after the nurse role. Something about coming back to music though.

      I actually do not care at what level I achieve musically now. Our manager from those 70/80s band days was always seeking for us to write a massive song. The perfect hit. To get him the monetary outcomes in the main I suppose. So just sitting and doing this project now is glorious fun. Of course, inner self wants to put the songs out there into internet land. But it is truthfully only to share this experience as a portrayal of music as a tool for well being. Music, as we have discussed before Sheila, is all healing. Your stage vocal proved its worth to the collective too. Others get vibes that benefit them too.

      The November song was too emotional to put out there as a piece of work in progress knowledge about using GarageBand. So a nice tidy bit of punky-rock and roll-pop should suit more appropriately. Cheers Sheila.

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      1. Ah, yes, Gray! This is one of the big things we have in common—music as healing, health promoting, happiness promoting, mentally calming. I love your tune. The work in progress is inspiring. I love that you have no ego in putting it out there, warts and all. All for collective learning and consciousness. Your heart shines there AND you are leaving a legacy for the ‘grands’ too (what I call grandchildren).
        I can understand why your manager wanted a hit. They want to make money. Yes, that’s understandable. But those of us who feel our soul is more important than money will never sell out. The joy is in the doing, the creative process (even if it irritates us sometimes)! Ha!
        A great guitarist/singer in Long Island, NY is Jesse Kinch. My daughter and I saw him years ago and voted for him on one of those TV singing shows. He eventually won but when they offered him a contract he didn’t take it. We figured he wouldn’t sell his soul and do something that they required and thus, his career never “took off.”
        It’s still a goal of mine to see him play Live in person sometime, since we only live a few hours from where he lives now, I am hopeful. I will share one of his videos. See what you think. I feel his voice right down to my soul. There’s just something about a voice that gets me. Like your voice. It’s inexplicable to me, but I know it when I hear it.

        P.s. he did put one album out aptly titled, I’m not like everybody else. They hit the nail on the proverbial head with that title!

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      2. That’s one powerful voice. I tried singing like that once, but always ended up coughing after a few sung lines from the trauma created on my vocal cords. So, didn’t try. I get most satisfaction when singing along to both Paul McCarney and David Cassidy. I do a good David Cassidy. Breathy style. 😆 But, with singing style, I want my Englishness shining through brightly. Just me getting through my songs….take it or leave it really. I know you aren’t actually hearing my real voice on GarageBand because the app puts you into a library category. So it gives you compressed, dance, telephone, megaphone, fuzz, box, narration, etc. These must changed sound tone to make it sound like you are in those situations. The warmth of singing through an amp and speakers is the way to go really. Not let the technology choose your style. It loses nuance and textures.

        I was singing to Day Hospital Patients with my guitar and my colleagues were saying, ‘Gosh Gray….that’s lovely, amazing, etc.’. Maybe they were being nice. Who knows. But I’m hoping to get better results down the line. Also, confidence when the red light record button starts always blips the results too. You become self conscious with your inner critical self listening,

        I do need to change many of my song lyrics next and get a more forcefully driven and compact descriptive word content. Explore the prose content more. Cheers Sheila.

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      3. Ah, I get it, about traumatized vocal cords.
        I loved David Cassidy’s voice too. I guess that’s it, something in the tone of voice.
        I am glad your English voice shines! I bet you really cheered up those patients and hospital staff when you sang and played for them. Cheers, Gray!

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  3. I wondered why I couldn’t comment on that post….and I had read through it slowly to try and understand lol… interesting and intriguing a process shared there…

    many years there, Gray … and lovely so🤍🙏

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      2. The song is about men’s depression. Messing his relationship up from having his ‘dark days’. So as a progress exercise? It’s a non starter. You need a light ‘rock and roll’ happy vibe type song. Something to sing along to. 🙏🏽

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