Blue Sketch #2

A little test of my new setup, with me on piano and trumpet.

This is a sketch of a song I'm still sort of working on; it was recorded through my pair of new MXL 990 microphones and my new Tascam US-800 usb mixer; the system was Cubase running on Vista. (I'm getting slightly better on trumpet, but still a little shaky. Heh.)

• play
• pause
• min volume
• max volume

posted by koeselitz (7 comments total)

You know what? I think it's awesome to hear trumpet that sounds like this. I was taken aback by how different it sounds to my ears. I listen to a lot of guitar music that relies heavily on simple strums and chords and repetition, but I don't think I've ever heard horn work that really captures that quality the way you just did. When I hear horns, they almost always sound like the person has practiced 2 hours every day of his existence, so I found this really refreshing. The breathiness is great, never straying into a territory that is overly challenging to listen to. I love this. Are you teaching yourself?
posted by Corduroy at 1:28 AM on February 14, 2011 [1 favorite]

I fully agree with what Corduroy said above. We're all very accustomed to hearing all manner of "bad" or "unskilled" guitar playing, so much so that it's often not really even an issue, and in fact is sometimes a welcome quality. But "bad" horn playing, yeah, you hardly ever hear that. I too found it refreshing. Sure, a wee bit more polish here and there might not be the worst thing (particularly as concerns pitch) but by and large, it's the "I haven't practiced 3 hours a day for my entire life" quality here that makes it.

One thing I'd reconsider if I were you: that shifting panning of the horn. Seems unnatural and superfluous to me.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:28 AM on February 14, 2011 [1 favorite]

Thanks, all. Regarding the "shifting panning" on the horn, oddly enough, was produced when I moved around unthinkingly while playing; heh. Duly noted.
posted by koeselitz at 7:54 AM on February 14, 2011

... and yes: I'm totally teaching myself, no lessons whatsoever. Played a little in junior high, but haven't since then, and that was twenty years ago. It's a fun process, learning a new instrument.
posted by koeselitz at 7:57 AM on February 14, 2011

Just chiming in to say that I agree with those guys. Kinda funny about the unintended panning: I can totally imagine you moving your head and horn around as moved by your performance ala Stevie Wonder. Thanks for sharing this!
posted by snsranch at 8:35 PM on February 14, 2011 [1 favorite]

good stuff.
posted by dubold at 2:00 AM on February 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

Yeah, the sort of unsteady quality is cool, here. I'm digging the piano, too. Recording-wise, I'd probably have done the trumpet in mono, unless you've got a particularly nice-sounding room (in which case, back off the mics a few feet and let it in).

I'd really like to learn trumpet, but mrs ozzy would probably kill me if I took up another instrument without having anyplace to put it (time for a bigger apartment).
posted by uncleozzy at 12:31 PM on February 15, 2011 [1 favorite]