Tags
abstract, aleatoric, baseball, bass guitar, double bass, intuitive composition, Lee County Community Orchestra, music, solo, soundscape
An ambient aleatoric intuitive composition soundscape created by me.
I needed to cut loose after a terrible dress rehearsal tonight with the orchestra. I was like a pitcher who can’t find the plate and gave up a 5-0 lead in the first inning. I expected Reinette, the principal bassist, to come out to the mound and send me to the showers- but she’s too kind for that.
It is so frustrating having expectations so much higher than your actual ability on a difficult instrument. With the double bass, I have to struggle with every bit of minutiae, since I’m a beginner and because it is so difficult to play, especially being self-taught. The bass guitar comes naturally- I can ask “what can I do to use this creatively?” Nowhere near that on the double bass yet, and it’s frustrating.
By the way, if you’re in the neighborhood, our concerts are at the Grace Chapel Church on Highway 1 in Tramway (Sanford), NC on Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm. Admission is free. C’mon by if you’re not doing anything.
Radical Totality 
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I just can’t get my ears around the electronics–my lack! But you’re definitely an inspiration on all fronts. Your bravery in picking up and new, and not whiz-bang easy, instrument and going for it is terrific, and on top of it, your create your way out of any and all frustration. Really great!
Thank you. To be fair, I’m not a new bass guitarist- I’ve played guitar for decades. I’m just using it in a Chapter 9 kinda way right now.
I hear you about the electronics.
I do love the clean sound of the instrument- and playing with others I would play live clean, without effects. However, doing it in this way allows me to add colors, much like a painter mixing colors or adding medium. I can blend harmonics and overtones in a way that-if you can hang in there with it- is very rich.
The other thing that the electronics do is they help mask the imperfections in the recording due to my less-than-professional set-up. I get buzzes and noises that in a clean recording would sound awful! Here I can use them in a Cage-like way, accepting the random noise as part of the palette.
By the way- I don’t know if you could hear- I deliberately added pops, cracks and imperfections to make this sound like it was being played on a vinyl record. I was pretty happy with how it came out.
I’m thinking of taking up the challenge. A clean recording, eh? Am I allowed to use a little reverb?