My Journey into Music continued – April 2018
Playing music, singing, should be a joy I guess, but maybe not, maybe an expression, an outlet for emotions, a war cry, a punching bag perhaps. At the least an outpouring of something that’s for sure, a release of emotions.
I can stuff around with a song and the guitar for hours, trying to get the rhythm, the beat, a melody line even, a guitar lead section. Take my latest challenge, Seven Spanish Angels originally performed by Willie Nelson and Ray Charles, written by Eddie Setser and Troy Seals.
I’ve simplified the song into three, basic chords in the key of D, my singing key. So we have the three Major chords from the D key, these being D, G, and A, a basic 4/4 time drumbeat, Country 1 Straight sticks from the Drum Beat App, at 125/130 beats per minute.
For the first time I can actually strum along / finger pick and sing this song to the beat of the drum, in the garage at least. The test now will be to do it on stage with a band, watch this space. I actually tried it at the guitar group yesterday. I printed up songs sheets with my arrangement, explained a bit, set up the mic and amp, drum machine, and performed it through, did ok I thought, but I got no well dones, any maybe you should try this, any feedback whatsoever, making me think let’s not do that one again. Well the guitar group are pretty much all beginners, so maybe that accounts for it.
But performers do like some positive feedback, for it’s a tough gig when no one throws a tomato. Certainly at the Cool Country Group everyone claps and encourages people for having a go. I mean a lot of effort goes into making that song happen for someone like me and also for other people, so it should be acknowledged. It’s what keeps you trying.
I can play some lead sections, my own devised guitar lead sections as well for this one. I’ve settled on a rift in B and then D. The key of B I believe to be the ‘relative minor’ to D major key. I’ve download some sheet music and figured out a basic melody which I play in B. So I start the lead bit by playing in the pentatonic minor scale up at the 7th fret for a few notes then switch to major scale at the 7th fret to play the melody line. Once the melody bit is done then up to the 10th fret to play in a D minor pentatonic to head back in the B major scale for a finish line in the melody.
There is an Intro Tab available of the net, which I can nearly do but I just can’t make it sound like the song, difficult to transpose into D also as I think the original key was F.
Performing is about controlling emotion.
Well I’ve sung this song in the garage too many times to recall now, always works pretty well and I’m able to keep time with the drum machine. So, here we go, with the band on practice night, know nerves, all set to play a lead section on the guitar as well as the song, and it flopped. Well the bands drumbeat sounded like some foreign tune, my guitar sounded out of key and the melody escaped me. I could not get past the first line. In ‘Cool Country’ fashion everyone tried to help at this stage, the guitarist on stage singing the chorus to me, Rob the rhythm guitarist setting a beat, and Tom from the group up on stage singing it with me. By down though I was overwhelmed, and all though I sang through the song I really have no idea how it went from there. As they say you live and learn and the first song I did ‘Long May you run’ which I thought I may mess up went pretty well.
The problem I believe was initially the guitar D chord did not sound like a D. The reason for that seems a mystery. Then the drum beat was awkward to follow, and thirdly, probably as a consequence of the first two I started to sing out of key and with some left over melody from the previous song. I think as it’s difficult to pin point. I do know as soon as I was in the car driving home I had no trouble singing the song!!!