#Frail Autumn,, #GarageBand,, #Lyrics, #meanderings, #music, #Retirement Projects, #songwriting, #Team 23

Move into the Rhythm of Love.

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Taken from the WordPress photograph library.

Here below on the audio bar is a little excursion into trying out a song I wrote back in 1981. I needed to change it to suit my current voice.

This morning’s quick vocal trial of Moving to the Rhythm….or Move into the Rhythm.

THE ORIGINAL SONG IS ON YOUTUBE. UPLOADED BY OUR TEAM 23 DRUMMER JOHN HEWITT. YOU CAN LISTEN BELOW.

The original Team 23 version of the song. Nice to three of the band members, John, Jim and Lynn, as they are now. The other photographs are us as youngsters. There is a black and white photograph of the band in the video.
Left to Right: John, Lynn, Ade, Roy, Jerome, Jim and Me, Gray.

This morning it was pootling about time again. After the last 18 months of learning how to record my songs and all the difficulties of getting them over the finished line ….. it has been a steep learning curve to find some success. Nowhere near the level I would really love. But, I realise the aim for my music captures now is simply steeped in one word. Therapy.

The ‘Move into the Rhythm’ lyric I wrote way back in the 1982 song was revisited in a different song I wrote last year. I suppose it could well have been a subliminal calling to past times that felt good. When it was a good time to feel alive I suppose. Don’t worry….I still love life. 😊

Therapy? It is all I want nowadays. To pick up the guitar, plink plonk note melodies on the AKAI MIDI keyboard and treat music as I would an interesting hobby.

Gone are the promises that held your hand…..leading you into the fight.
‘What once was’ is ‘now has been’. So drag yourself into the light.
A lyric from a song I wrote a year or so ago called ‘18 Years was 50 Years ago’.

What is nice is that starting up a few new ideas with improved knowledge of the technical aspects of the Mac M2 little home studio equipment is that it is just switched on now and immediately the ability to record has become a very simple capture exercise.

What used to be a singing into the iPad microphone to capture songs, is now a case of switch on the Mac M2, open up a microphone audio track for acoustic guitar and capture ideas. I have deliberately chosen the very echo laden Echo Strum acoustic guitar choice because it can capture vocals at the same time as playing. I can easily begin to both sing and strum guitar into my old vintage Shure SM58 dynamic microphone without contorting my posture to get close proximity with both head height voice singing and waist height guitar playing. Echo volume is in order to keep it simple. Also with the beauty of the echo? It is like singing in the shower. Provides a very happy state to start the day with.

The 45 rpm. Love vinyl.

I spoke in the very first audio above about creating a more Latin or Coffee Shop vibe on the song Move into the Rhythm and mentioned ‘Eddie just loves to dance’ as a song with a Latin vibe. Here below is the Eddie song for an idea.

Eddie just loves to dance.

On all recordings it is basically myself, Gray Summers, playing all the guitar and keyboard instruments and singing the vocals. I do use drumming tracks from the GarageBand library of drumming choices. However, from now on the future choices will be not to use GarageBand drum tracks at all.

24 thoughts on “Move into the Rhythm of Love.”

    1. Cheers Danny. The GarageBand drum library has a million and one opportunities to be honest. You can choose the general genre styles like rock, pop, heavy, etc.. Then choose the drum kit sound like punk, heavy metal, Manchester, Liverpool, Motown, etc.. Then you add or take out various parts of the kit, change rhythms, tempos, etc. With percussive beats like coffee shop, Latin, etc., you can add a plethora of instruments like ethnic inclusions, tambourines, shakers, etc. you muck about endlessly to be honest Danny. So, yes, could change the vibe to any style. It is like Deep Forest and the multiple remixes that they do on just one song. But, I’m not that capable technically. Too technophobe by nature.

      However, I made a massive decision today to play all percussive and drum beats myself. I have an electronic Yamaha kit. Also various drums and percussive instruments like djembes, tambourines, egg shakers, and much more. Basically I want the music more ‘honest’. So will be taking out the drum tracks on the past songs that have been recorded over the last 18 to 20 months and bring them into a new vibe. Some I may even start from scratch. If I can get a collective of about two dozen songs that are of all my own playing, I will then get a CD together and send it out to friends and family.

      That would be a nice project for this year.

      Cheers Danny. Oh! By the way. Just chatted with John, the Team 23 drummer, and he said I could put his YouTube upload of the original Move into the Rhythm onto the blog. So it is there now. Very different!

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      1. Dropping the GarageBand drums, that is a big move. I’m confident you will add significantly more to the songs than an electronic drum loop. Please advise once Move into the Rhythm is updated and available. All the best.

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      2. Will do Danny. When we released that single, it was all done in a rush really. I would love a new rendition of some old songs now. I have been listening to various new artists which are very ethereal sounding. So am trying to focus on that type of sound currently. Move into the Rhythm will be a different vibe.

        Talking of Drums, my late brother was a great drummer. I have nowhere near his skills from back then. But can get by with rhythm if using drums. Like my African djembe, etc. The difficulty is in playing a drum kit and using all four limbs and with separate movements. But, with recording it is more simple. You build drum sound. I can play patterns separately on individual tracks. So a bass drum rhythm is on one. High hat cymbals on another. Snare drum on another. Etc., etc..

        All the best Danny.

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      4. That’s a good idea. I want to release a CD format of the songs later this year with two CD’s for consideration. Give them away to family and friends. Why two? I have lots of little (and long) instrumentals. Then there are the normal vocalised songs. Having the two genres can support two CDs. Now you have mentioned this, I could do a 3rd CD of older songs written. I have about 10 that I truly loved and could easily be reborn into a new vibe. More gentle and steeped in acoustic basics with simple instrumental additions. It sounds ambitious, but I do have lots of my new songs recorded and completed already .

        I have recently been listening to artists like Devendra Banhart, Mazzy Star, Cigarettes after Sex, which are really hitting home musically currently. Have been listening to Devendra’s album Mala today. So good. Also, the Paul McCartney recordings when he began living the quiet life in Scotland immediately after leaving The Beatles and before his Wings days. Again, really gentle vibes.

        So there are ideas floating around Danny. Cheers for this idea.

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    1. Thank you Destiny. I think it will be a good vibe to record it properly, keep it in a shuffle type rhythm and try to put a huge amount of party atmosphere on it. May include a few background party atmosphere type sounds in a Middle 8 part that is slightly different from the main verses and chorus. Fun times and positivity basically.

      Your feedback is much appreciated Destiny. I shall soon have the courage again to provide a few comments on your amazing poetry. It seems your followers all say the thoughts that I too bring to mind on reading your work. All the best. 🙏🏽🍁🍂

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      1. fun times and positivity…best combination 🙃

        thank you, Gray … your time to read and hit that like button means lots already …
        lol …its mostly laughs and jokes there…🤭

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      2. I do like your name link to the moon Destiny. I wrote a lyric that said ‘We saw Moonbeams as the Midnight Sun’. So see things in that both dark and light exist in harmony alongside each other. Very general really. Your comment on the ‘switch’ of belonging existing between your Father and the Moon was more awesome as it is a personal view.

        Cheers Destiny. 🙏🏽🍁🍂

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      3. I’ve watched him, Gray … writing poetry , writing his songs, playing his
        harmonium late into the nights….it went later after mum but i perhaps was young to understand then – until i walked his path …

        Lol, i think he named me well…🤭

        Your “Moonbeams as the Midnight Sun” … I’m trying to recall if i read it here but its not coming to me… did you share it here before…

        Thank you, Gray…🤍

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      4. Family is full of insightful background Destiny. I found written down stories of my Mum’s childhood experiences during World War 2. So impactful when reading. And of course genetic connections to the arts is fantastic for continuation. Like actors and musicians who have children that carry on in their footsteps.

        Stars above the Dunes has that line. I did include it in a recent blog. So you probably have read it Destiny.

        You have wonderful comments regarding your poetry though. So much positivity.

        All the best. 🙏🏽🍁🍂

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    1. Hi Sheila. This comment from you seems to have slipped through the net. I was going through the app comments choices to check out if any spam was here in the backlog. This wasn’t in spam. But saw it in unreplied. It isn’t often that happens. So I must apologise.

      Thanks for this. And yes, it has been a case of looking through about five old songs to re-record in a newer style.

      I am currently working out how to burn CDs. Planning on getting 100 CDs done by my birthday in September and then giving them to family and friends. There should be 36 songs. I want 48 done really. That would be 12 songs on each CD and the numbers would then allow a four seasons of the year with the 12 months being included too. There are four distinct styles.

      The initial ones with drums. The instrumentals. The echo softer vibe. And a bunch of just acoustic guitar songs being worked on now too.

      I have bought 100 CD blanks, 250 gsm cardboard for CD covers, sticky circle CD labels which will have an art doodle printed on them, and bits and bobs for art ideas. So fingers crossed it all works nicely.

      Cheers Sheila. Again sorry for missing this comment. When a lot of various replies come together all at once, my mind goes awol. 😵‍💫 Old age!

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  4. Ah, no worries at all, Gray. I’m sure I have missed some comments too! (Especially after removing Jetpack from my phone; I don’t get notifications anymore—or at least not on comments are posted on my blog articles.)

    I was thinking of you last night though and was heading to your blog to see what new things you may have written about, but then got sleepy and put my laptop away. I also figured it was better weather there now and perhaps you were busy outside. I know our weather has finally improved. Finally! Ha!

    Your CD project sounds wonderful! I am sure you will complete it and folks will enjoy having those sweet tunes! Blessings!

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    1. Thanks for replying Sheila. A few bloggers are having quite big problems lately where they can’t see others’ posts, etc. WordPress are advertising on YouTube too. So maybe they are expanding too quickly. Lots of little things come up in my notifications too that are irritating. Informing me I have done certain activities. Like Facebook….’on this day two years ago you wrote about….’, etc.

      The weather here is changeable and we are getting rain currently. So concentrating on music and notebook activities. Writing down lots of past lyrics into a song book. Also, trying to get inspiration for lyrics on some melodies I have.

      YouTube is a place for strange video suggestions presently. Weird humour and distraction. I don’t use it as much now. Mainly feel that writing onto paper is far more interesting. It calms the mind so much more.

      Hope all is well in your world Sheila. All the best.

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      1. Ah, I am sure writing does indeed calm the mind more, Gray. Ditto about spending more time doing that than watching videos. I spent some time working on writing 3×5 cards and a spiral map on paper to help me formulate a speech (for an upcoming podcast interview), and found it sooo inner being satisfying—and calming! Richard walked right by me as I was finishing up and didn’t even interrupt me (as he sometimes will), because I think he actually picked up my calm brain waves! Ha! Finally. Yay! (This is a great indication that his brain is healed or very close to being healed post Oct. 2022 stroke.) Ah!

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      2. I received a couple of David Bowie’s albums on CD yesterday. The one titled Heathen has the first song in the lyric booklet with a very dense spiral and the lyrics to the song typed over the lines. All going inwards or outwards. My eyes can’t read them without a magnifying glass, so not sure which way. If it were a vinyl album , it would be larger and therefore easier. It got me thinking of my lyric booklet intentions. How to present them with no contraindications to legibility.

        So, not sure how a spiral map to formulate speech works with each letter/word directions. But if it is calming to do, then it is well worth the exercise. Sounds as if Richard is in a good place Sheila. Brilliant news.

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      3. Ah, I draw the spiral then the text is written as one would write any normal way, but I start from the center and work my way out, or outside in as I organize my thoughts. I posted a picture long while back on my blog, but this new one found me coloring over the words that were some how connected too, so it’s prettier and easier to read.

        That’s cool about Bowie’s album but not being able to read the words, isn’t. I don’t like words written on a curve. Normal left to right will always be my jam.

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      4. Thanks for the descriptive on your style Sheila. Left to right is my fave too. Although I do write randomly when an image is on the paper. Weave the words to suit the image’s shape.

        I’m currently writing down all my lyrics over the decades I’ve written songs. Not as many as Richard, so it is no long task. The A4 pages are uniform with a simple arty lettered title and then plain capital letters for the song’s lyrics. There’s a wonderful fountain pen friendly soft cover Semi-colon notebook chosen for folding out and reading. It’s a nice visual singing source for reading the lyrics when recording. My memory is awful, so need the prompts. I don’t put the chords in them though. Words relate to muscle memory with the riffs or chords. Bass guitar can be played whilst singing. Ain’t I the regular Paul McCartney. 😉 But, because I am playing different instruments and recording them, I can make life easy by singing over whatever I want separately on a dedicated vocal track.

        I am using five little notebooks of A5/B6 type size too. Put them all together in a handmade traveller’s notebook cover. The smaller notebook style has each traveller notebook themed. Early days of Soft Ground/XCerts/Team 23 days in bands. Songs since those days, especially now in retirement. Ideas for single lines of lyrics scribbled down as they arrive in my head in two of them. Artwork doodles for CD inclusion ideas for the cover and lyrics booklet.

        The elastic traveller notebook design allows interchanging to a new notebook if they get full. Once full, they can then each be put into a dedicated outer one. So in the future there can be the early Soft Ground/XCerts/Team 23 songs in one leather/hardback bound source.

        Richard has so many themes. If he has them down in typed files or hand written down, he could put together a themed journal collection of songbook style lyrics. Country, Rock, etc.

        Cheers Sheila.

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  5. That’s such a great project for you and lovely idea for Richard’s lyrics too, Gray! Thanks for sharing such valuable information and insights. Yes, Richard has all his lyrics, both typed and on print pages in notebooks (3-ring binders), as well as with “tabs”—where he has the notes for guitar added, if you know what that is. He never learned how to write music 🎼 using music 🎶 notes, treble clef and lines, etc. oddly enough, I learned in high school music class but never kept up with it and have forgotten. I wanted to be an orchestra conductor at one time. Ha!

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    1. That’s great that Richard is so organised. I thought he would be. And reading or writing of music on score sheets is far beyond my capabilities too. Tabs are a foreign language too. I suppose my ears are all I have to ‘write’, record and hear music. It doesn’t even ‘play’ in my mind either. Like my Aphantasia lack of the mind’s eye, I can’t hear music when it’s not actually playing either. Cheers Sheila. Thanks for your insights.

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