So RPM Challenge has started, and given it is a few days in, here are some of my initial thoughts on it all.
I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, I knew I didn’t have the requisite talent and skills to make is easy(er), but I knew it would be fun. And it is fun. My main issue, aside from the talent one, is that old nugget, time. Consider the three days so far:
1. Friday, the first, the beginning
NewNewWork, whereupon I have lots to do. So there goes a goodly proportion of my waking hours. Home for dinner, tidying up and too tired for much else. So some lyric touching ups, nothing much more. (One of my planned songs, which some are aware of, had the lyric called beautiful by one, which chuffed me mightily. There was a touch of incredulity when I said I wrote it.)
2. Satdeh, full day with no NewNewWork to attend
Well now, the squawks are off school, so I can’t just dump everything and hole myself up in the studio. Then we also have the mental puppy, who needs walks. Now, I amn’t begruding any of this, as I love spending time with them, and walking DestrucoDog on the downs is great, especially in this bitingly cold weather. Bracing, that is. Even aside from that, I got about twenty minutes of decent recording done, a few more ideas sketched out and bits and pieces planned.
3. Sunday, another full day with no NewNewWork
More walks, more time with family. A bit of time spent organising the recordings I have, and start putting it together in software. The recording on Sunday was an experiment of mic-ing up a violin, and more getting used to the software I have. I got Ableton with my MIDI keyboard, but am trying GarageBand as well, as people tell me good things about it.
The prospects for the coming weeks aren’t any better. Tae Kwon Do, ancient Greek, the usual ferrying and taxi-ing, Cassandra flies away on Friday (and not back until Monday), and on and on and on. Excuses? Nah, not really, just pointing out that I have a full life.
Oh, and while there is plenty of recording knocking around, none has been finalised, although you can have a sneak of a rough estimate of what will be the intro to the album, before it bursts into life. An experiment in recording strings (played by my youngest), adding drums (software) and then tying it all into one piece. (Yes, that snippet needs lined up, tidied up and spruced up, but the intro won’t be too far away from that. In intent, at least.)
I didn’t need the likes of RPM to make me record, as it is great fun, and luckily I sit on an IRC channel with like-minded souls (both very accomplished, and neither mind me asking inane questions in my quest to get better), but I understand their reasoning. You know, get people in a way that they have to record. As one of my fave books says, Get over yourself, and just record. If you tweak and nudge and fiddle, nothing ever gets done. Publish and be damned, and learn from the damnation.
I need to get some lessons, sort out my time, and practice more. Maybe next RPM, I will be faster. So not sure if I will make it to the finish line, but I am going to give it a good try.
