So, anyway… as I mentioned in the last entry, my solution to the creative void was to bombard myself with loads of new stuff. As far as my music listening habits are concerned, the main feature has been my attempt to gain a more thorough knowledge of music history, working chronologically from the 12th century and listening to as much as I can get my hands on (as blogged previously). But there’s more…
I’d been making a few changes to the Spaghetti Factory studio setup, mostly involving some different valves for my Cornford amp and a new pair of monitor speakers. On a whim, though, I decided to drop myself into a tricky situation by switching my recording/sequencing software from Pro Tools to Logic. Now, for non-music types, that might seem a trivial matter, and in the wider scheme of things it is… almost all recording applications involve a similar set of features and graphical interfaces. However, when you’ve used a program regularly for nearly four years, it becomes a transparent element in your music making, as you work instinctively with, and around, its peculiarities. In that sense, Logic is very different from Pro Tools.
I’m fairly frugal by nature, so just as I used the LE version of Pro Tools, I went for the Express version of Logic. It’s still quite a learning curve, though, especially as I decided to incorporate Propellerhead’s modular music application Reason into my system at the same time, adding even more manuals to read and settings to configure. But there’s still more…
I decided I wanted to learn piano.
I’ve used a keyboard regularly for programming drum, bass and other parts into a sequencer, and I know where all the notes are. But I’ve never learned to *play* the piano in an idiomatic sense… if I write a keyboard part, I’m always thinking of the notes as they’re arranged on the guitar, where I have a better feel for how sounds can be combined. So I bought a book and made a start. I’m in the fortunate position of already being able to read music and knowing how best to use practice time, having played guitar for 22 years, so it’s nice to avoid a couple of the typical beginners’ obstacles. At the moment, I’m working methodically through this one book, and I think I’m progressing reasonably well… much as I’d like to try a few blues licks or Erik Satie pieces, I realise the importance of building up a solid foundation first. Yes, even if it does involve ‘Bright Eyes’ and ‘Sailing’ ;-)