Okay, here is the beginnings of a section of a tune I'm slowly but surely fleshing out. I'm not too sure where these parts will be in the overall composition, and I'll add some other stuff to it as I flesh it out but I thought I'd share it and see what y'all think... The tune uses Harmonic minor as a harmonic foundation, and I'd like to keep it an "all Stick Tune" even though I have lots of guitar and drum ideas that could happen with the riffs... Kind of a "soundtracky-type-thing" maybe...

So yeah, here it is presented in it's most basic form so far (audio clay?) Lemme know what you think, feel free to be absolutely merciless with your suggestions... (I included a rough score of the 2 main sections complete with melody/bass and chord implications that I hope to make)

Thanks fellas, have a good one!

Hi Scott. Man, I have been away too long! Everyone needs a break once in a while. Anyway, I like where this is going. Sounds a little classical to my ears. I think this could be a really interesting bridge to a song, especially as I hear a sort of "strumming" at the beginning and the end(book ends, so to speak). Or it could be a song unto itself. I would say keep going with this. I want to listen a few more times while I am writing this, but there is a disturbance in the force between Stickist and soundcloud where I can only listen once. The bass line sounds so sure of itself, while the melody can't quite find the car keys and probably shouldn't be driving anyway. The sparse chords add a great deal...actually I think I only heard two actual chords being played. Maybe that part could come back around at some point.

This is cool. I am not sure why there are so many views and no comments at this point. I guess it some folks are still digesting it. I will be listening to your other stuff as soon as it is convenient!

Inspiring.

Mike

PS. I printed out your thing. Filed away for a rainy Thursday night.

Hey, Thanks for checking it out, thanks even more for taking a sec to comment! Yep, definitely needs some love, this sort of thing always happens when I'm away from an instrument and sort of "notate" first and then try and play what I wrote down. Takes a bit to find the right way to arrange it, where it fits, etc. Harmonic minor all the way, I have some ideas for it. Might share 'em tomorrow.

As for why some folks will listen and not post - well, it could be a number of reasons, really. Maybe they listened and hate it and don't want to hurt my last remaining feeling, or maybe my penmanship is so brutal that they are scarred for life, or perhaps they're just busy doing fun summer stuff! All good! I share this stuff in the spirit of fun, and an attempt to provoke some musical discussion surrounded around the Stick... Some posts work better than others! lol

Yeah Soundcloud, I dunno... I might have to find some kind of alternative, I've never really loved it, been kind of hit or miss really. Half the reason I share all of my Stick stuff on Soundcloud is 'cause I know that it's a "sketch" and because it's Soundcloud, not too many folks are gonna hear it! hahaha

The beginning and end don't fit. Was that just a way to get into and out of the idea? The A part has a jazz/classical feel; I am imagining light jazz drumming. The B part sounds strictly classical. I recommend listening to Grieg for inspiration, since that is what I am reminded of by the B part.

Not sure, it was just an idea not a "completed" bit. The final placement/useage is pretty up in the air; I will most likely hack it up and rearrange. Lol. Definitely the left hand stuff will get a complete revisit; possibly today. (Even though it's "Sunday") The melody side stuff will perhaps get a better look to see what's what, maybe less Viagra haha to "unstiffen" it... All part of the process!

Greig, eh? I've never really listened to Greig... I'm kind of Bach, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Paganini and Sor obsessed, although Mozart, Chopin and Liszt are on my Radar too... Any recommendations as far as pieces to start with?

I'm more of a Brahms, Chopin guy myself when it comes to Classical. For Grieg, I recommend Peer Gynt (Morning Mood, Ase's Death, Antra's Dance, In the Hall of the Mountain King, Solvejg's Song) and his Lyric Pieces (Erotik, March of the Trolls, Notturno, and Wedding Day at Troldhaugen). I think he misses the mark on some of his other words.

Not sure if I like Grieg a lot haha

Very dramatic. (I like). Would work in the soundtrack for the movie "Brazil" - Terry Gilliam ( I haven't watched it in a long time, I have it on hold@ the library. Very good sci-fi dystopian satire great cinematography) As far as what to do with it, I have no suggestions other than keep doin' it.

Okay, Scott, I missed this completely back in August when you first posted this.

SoundCloud Rant on/
SoundCloud won't let me repeat a song either, Mike! I have to refresh the page by hitting the F5 key to get the web browser to reload it. SoundCloud sucks, and I hate that every time someone follows me, it turns out they're a spammer, or a would-be sex-kitten for hire. Half of my likes and follows are from people trying to pimp their own stuff. And SoundCloud's not even free anymore, because I think I pay $50 a year to them for the pay version, to allow me to change the song file of postings. I prefer to upload new improved versions, rather than having 34 versions, or having to kill the old version to replace it with a new one. And it keeps links intact.
SoundCloud rant off/

But enough about why I suck for missing this altogether back in August (as you said, summer is busy!), and enough about why SoundCloud sucks. Let's look at the song! (Which does NOT suck.)

I like the classical vibe of riff A. Your bass is righteous and minimal, and the melody works well, to include the run that joins the part A with B.

I do not like part B. That melody/riff doesn't do much for me. We all have different tastes, but if you're asking for my taste, B would die altogether, to be replaced by a better B. You've got a C through triple Z in your bag of composition diamond nuggets, and Mr. Jackson, my Composition professor/mentor/sensei, said "Never get too attached to notes." (Rest his cranky, rock-hating, bastard soul--even if he isn't dead yet).

I'm digging every second up until :20. And then I'm back to lovin' it at :35 to the end. But :20 through :35, the B section, would be cut to the floor. Or carpet, in Steve's studio/basement/Mancave/Fractal Palace of Wonder.

Also, I didn't get this as "jazz and blues," but more of "classical" or "neo-classical." And/or Prog rock. Which you know I'm down with the classical feel to my rock, or my New Age Progressive, or my Prog Rock.

And labeling is such an unimportant part of the process (or I'd be better at it), but I didn't get either a blues or jazz feel from this.

So, wrapping up: A is great; bridge transition into and out of B was great, but you could probably slide in a new C-through-triple-Z (pick one) to replace riff B--he ain't working (for me).

Sorry I didn't get you some feedback earlier. It might be too late.

By the way, huge Grieg fan and I played a bunch of his stuff in music undergrad when I first started learning (to read) piano music (along with mainly Bach, of course). Did some (a lot!) of the Peer Gynt Suite. And then as an English grad student, I studied Ibsen and Peer Gynt, so look at me! What a lot of liberal education that I've never used since until this exact moment (I could talk about the Kierkegaardian onion and what it represents to the many layers of Post-Modern identity and Peer Gynt staring at his hands and the symbolism...yadd yadda..yawns while putting himself to sleep).

But all of that Grieg background was to say "Didn't feel like this sounded all that Grieg-gy." Which is a thing. And it didn't sound very Greggy either (Howard--now I'm being silly).

Keep rocking it out, and you know I think you have awesome musical taste and ability, and an eye and ear for composition, and you're a friend, so take my thoughts along with a few grains of salt and maybe a hit of acid or bourbon. Or some fractals. I can help you with 2 out of the three, and I don't really drink, so I can offer a fractal or twelve.

Show us all where this goes, Scott! Can't wait to see where you take it! You're my hero!

(By the way, little known fact: Edvard Grieg and Samuel Clemens AKA Mark Twain are actually the same person!)*



*This statement is false, as is the next footnote after this.**
**This statement is also false.***
***I've now created a logical paradox, and probably destroyed your CPU.

--Steve

Hey, thanks for checking it out! It is indeed just a sketch, and definitely needs some arrangement and compositional love. I'm thinking that the accompaniment is what really needs some love... perhaps today it might be fun to tear it apart and re-visit...