Jimbob's lost the groove.

November 28, 2010 1:25 AM

This is not a question. This is not a comment. This is not an idea. This is a lament.

So I got a Zoom multi FX pedal for my birthday. Up until now, I've only had individual FX pedals, some of which I would marry (like my Ibanez SD-1), but the multi FX is a huge amount of fun. So I tried recording stuff on my laptop, and discovered the sound card latency is worse than it was 10 years ago... I used to be able to record songs on my old 166mhz Pentium, somehow, because at least the audio I was hearing was in sync, even if the recorded result wasn't...but that was okay, because you could move it to the right place. My modern, dual-processor, 2.6ghz, 4gb computer seems incapable of this. Maybe it's the sound card. Maybe it's Vista.

So anyway, I went out to the shed, and dusted off my old 4-track cassette multitrack. Even more surprisingly, I found some cassettes to use in it. So I set up a dodgy little studio in my spare room; 4-track, keyboard, guitar, amp, FX, iPhone for the beats. And I tried laying down some songs.

I'm shit. I tried the blues. I tried punk. I tried shoegazer. I tried funk. I tried indie. I get my dominant 7ths messed up with my minor 3rds, and the whole thing sounds like mud. Maybe it's been too long since I've played in a band. Maybe I've spent too much time making atmospheric ambient music in Audiomulch, but damn it, I can't even make a simple song sound good any more.

I'm going to keep trying, but I feel like I need an aim, a target. Someone give me an idea, something they want to hear, and I will work on making it real.
posted by Jimbob (11 comments total)

A crisis of confidence apparently has you in its grip, but don't despair. Inspiration will come, and probably from somewhere you least expect it.

Someone give me an idea

Tune all the strings of your guitar to the same note. Or use some unfamiliar alternate tuning, something of your own devising. Take that guitar and make some music that strikes you as almost absurdly simple. Try to keep it as uncomplicated and un-intellectualized as possible. Don't use canned beats. Don't use keyboard. Don't try to make it fit into any of your above-mentioned categories (shoegazer, etc.). Play as though you were a child. Bang on the guitar. "Prepare" it by sticking paper clips and rubber bands and such into the strings. Don't think so much about making a "song" as about making some sound. See where this approach takes you.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:56 AM on November 28, 2010 [4 favorites]


Yeah. That's the shit. Wait for results.
posted by Jimbob at 2:19 AM on November 28, 2010


Two things always get me going:

One is to step away from the multitrack and just bash out chords on an acoustic (or unplugged electric) until I have something that feels a bit like a song. Usually that means a verse part and a chorus part (the bridge, if there is one, usually comes along fashionably late).

Once I have a verse and chorus, then and only then do I take it to the multitrack. Now I'm really motivated to hear what it's going to sound like once I start adding in 'real' instruments.

The second thing is to buy a new instrument, sad to say. It never fails.

I agree with Flapjax that de-categorizing is crucial. When you pick up an instrument after a lay-off you always initially fall into a bunch of stale grooves that we part of you putting it down in the first place. It's really important to kick them to the kerb and start mapping out some new space for yourself. Experimenting with different tunings is a great idea. Also, what have you been listening to recently that you've never tried to play? What songs do you love that you've never figured out?

It's super-easy to hate on your own playing. We all suck. I really, really suck. If you saw the number of takes I need to get something sounding adequate, you would faint.

It's good to listen to your old stuff with a sceptical ear and think: what do I like about this? What do I not like? The qualities you like in your own playing are absolutely crucial and that's what you need to work on and expand. How can you make your playing sound more like you?
posted by unSane at 4:22 AM on November 28, 2010 [2 favorites]


PS I saw this incredible deal yesterday and maybe it's just what you need?
posted by unSane at 4:25 AM on November 28, 2010


PPS When I say 'we all suck' what I mean is that in our own eyes we all suck.

Cycle racing is an absolutely brutal, torturous sort. Cyclists who start racing often hope that as they get fitter, the races will get easier. There's a great line in response: "It doesn't get easier, you just get faster". Playing instruments is like that. You don't suck any less, you just shift the point where you start to suck.
posted by unSane at 4:34 AM on November 28, 2010 [2 favorites]


So I tried recording stuff on my laptop, and discovered the sound card latency is worse than it was 10 years ago

have you tried asio4all ?
posted by pyramid termite at 9:12 AM on November 28, 2010


Yep, pyramid...asio4all gets me down to about 30ms, which is still enough to be extremely annoying.

I will take these ideas on board, and proceed.
posted by Jimbob at 12:11 PM on November 28, 2010


I've recently found that I can get the ball rolling by singing one short phrase, like three to six notes, with or without words. It doesn't have to be a brilliant one. Get that down, then start playing it or a simple part that will go with it on a instrument. Oft times, those parts will resonate fairly strongly with me, and then I build on it from there.
posted by ignignokt at 3:18 PM on November 28, 2010


Maybe you could try oblique strategies. Try a few of the random cards.
posted by umbĂș at 3:47 PM on November 28, 2010 [1 favorite]


Something I do all the time when I suck really bad: Find a song recorded by someone else and record your own song over it. Simple songs with few chord changes work best. Add parts one by one and then take away the original song. It isn't exactly writing your own song, but the results can be surprisingly good.

Generally, I find that having restrictions placed on my creative process really helps. It just seems easier to keep moving forward if there aren't too many lateral moves to distract me. YMMV & etc...
posted by palacewalls at 2:16 PM on November 30, 2010


and discovered the sound card latency is worse than it was 10 years ago... I used to be able to record songs on my old 166mhz Pentium,

If you are playing guitar aren't you monitoring via a guitar Amp and recording with a Mic? if your DAW is setup properly the playback latency shouldn't matter at all. The DAW will line up what you are playing.

You should be able to Direct Input Monitor by flicking some switch in the interface settings.

I monitor via Mixing Desk and then record the Direct Channel Out in Cubase. So my playback latency could be say 2 seconds and It wouldn't matter a bit.
posted by mary8nne at 3:43 AM on December 1, 2010


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