some of the earliest solo improv stuff i did was not extremely adventurous; mostly chording, almost song structure. [i strecthed out and got more & more adventurous as i went along- into free form/experimental/atonal and dissonant stuff]- those 'more normal' tracks could have lyrics and vocals added- OR, as Bill Evans* did on 'conversations with myself' go back and add even more piano tracks. that somehow always seemed like cheating to me, i had thought of doing it several times; i "thought" i had thought of that 1st- but only in reading his* bio "how my heart sings" did i learn he had done that on 2 lps... BUT he was using an acoustic grand AND a frigging fender rhodes [eewwwww]- i'll definitely forgo that, and keep it acoustic. i could possibly wait till i am back in La and add Hammond B3... which seems less offensive.
had planned to mix and edit them in MLU but just didn't have the time or inclination. fall weather got me out of the house and into the yard work... which was 100% better for my mental health, than staying in the dark house hunched over a laptop all day and night. i have maybe 2 - 4 cds worth of that multi tracked synth stuff to edit [some songs 10-12 minutes long]- plus several 'single patch' [no multitracking or overdubs] synth to minidisc improvisations [2 x 74 minutes MDs of improv synth material]
while at home i also did tons of sessions using my electric piano direct to minidisc or direct to laptop. i use the MD or DAT because 1: it never bogs down, slows, or freezes up- like almost all my computers do at some point or another. then i record the stuff into Sound Forge. cut the tracks out, and edit them: i usually only normalize them & add some reverb or FX, if need be, and edit intros and endings- adding some silence to them- and save them as 16 bit wav file. then burn the cd [after choosing the material- which i haven't, except as reference cds] using Sonic Foundry/Sony CD Architect.
i ALSO began two solo piano improv blues sessions in 2008- 30 songs- and never got around to doing anything with them. they were done with my electric piano to my laptop/or PC. cant decide if i want to add lyrics or not. might add B3 as a 'melody', or a guitarist; but i do need to organize ALL this stuff, and soon, and start throwing cds online left and right. every time i get one edited.
for all the acoustic tracks done here in Switzerland i used my Tascam Dr-1 Portable Digital recorded, set behind the piano on a crate, getting the bounce back from the concrete wall. this trip over i brought microphones, cables and my Lexicon Omega/Cubase unit, to put 3 mics on the back of the piano, AND have one for vocal IF i feel like singing, which i don't at the moment. i"m going to try this with the G4 or another newer laptop. BUT due to the ease of using the DR-1, will probably repeat that technique on some tracks, as well.
since i have some time off while here, between shows, this is the perfect opportunity to TRY and get a grip on some of this material before it gets totally out of hand. i need to make a priority list of the stuff i want to work on 1st and DO IT.
also have 4 new 'actual' songs [meaning tracks with vocals and harmonies etc] done that i plan to tweak- redo the vocals- and choose more of the tracks to add vocals to; since my voice is the other 1/2 of what i do- OR 1/3_ vocal/piano/lyrics. a lot of these new songs could never be done live, unless i used the backing tracks. did that in 1985 [techno disco cabaret]- dont think i want to do that now; so just making the recordings should suffice.
have slept for 2 days and nights since arriving- and am now feeling antsy- so need to possibly make notes tonight and begin working tomorrow. went to bed at 3AM last night, after reading more of the Evans bio, watching Chinese tv, and didn't wake until 4PM this afternoon- which tells me all the stress/ depression i was going through at home had taken its toll. i NEEDED rest. feel like i still do. the first concert is Saturday, so i have time to rest up, rehearse, and get ready to kick arse; it'll be great to be back with the band. time for some serious jamming... improvisation... art
[C]2011 DOUG DUFFEY
