What's happening October 2021

It's quiet in my house this 31st October 2021 - my wife and three kids are still asleep. It's a special day, my oldest turns 18. this very day. Many, many years ago, when she was not quite 3, I posted a video of Pachelbel's Canon in D and mentioned "I decided that I would learn to play this tune for my daughter's wedding. Seeing as she is only 3, I've got plenty of time to practise." She is not planning a wedding, so I still have time, but wow, where has the time gone?  YouTube first post 28th may 2006; 15 and a half years ago.  This blog first post 25 Aug 2008; 13 years ago. No plans on stopping :-)

I've got songs to record, I have been playing them through every few days.  I keep adjusting them, heh, nothing is ever finished. I have also being running an experiment, a song I have had on the back burner for a year or so, Bob Dylan "It's all over now Baby Blue", It's a simple melody, the chord progression is cool, very Dylanesque. Because the melody is simple and there is plenty of rests, I have been jazzing up the bass line. So jazzy - that the experiment - so as to improvise it every time.  Nothing written down. The beauty of the chord progression and the style of song is that pretty much any bass note is fair game, even notes clearly not even related to the chord or the progression sound jazzy and fine, so the improv should be easy, don't even need to think about what note to play.

You know what?  It isn't easy! But it is cool - it is forcing me to think differently. I find that I will miss coming back in on the melody because I'm pre-occupied with what I'm doing on the bass line.  Most songs where I have learnt a bass line, they are fully on autopilot.  You don't need to think about them.  But improvising a bass line, you need to think, and then suddenly your thumb independence is out the door. "I can only do one thing at once!"  What I think the result of this experiment will be - because I've already noticed it - is that the independence becomes more fluid.  You won't rigidly play _exactly what you've learnt_ you will mix it up.

I do it a tiny amount already - mixing up bass lines and rhythm mids.  Naudo does it a lot. Tommy can play two songs at the same time!  Although, I don't think it is truly playing two songs at the same time, it is programmed in.  I'm sure if you said "Now change the key of one of those songs" he would be able to do it. But if you said "Now play one of the songs 10 bpm slower while keeping the other one the same bpm" - I don't think that is possible without pre-programming it :-)