Tag Archives: folkmusic

Listen, New Song

New Song: Hey hey! Hey ho!

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Hey hey! Hey ho!

I wrote this one-liner on Saturday. Or Sunday. Whichever day I thought was the 20th on that day since I thought today was the 21st.

So I wrote it, then I added the “Hey hey!” and “Hey ho!” parts tonight. Feel free to join in on those sections. It’s fun! Shout it! Strain your throat. I did.

By the way: It surely is a hard thing to try and write and record one song every day, even if that song is only one line with a few words. It’s doubly hard when your throat seizes up due to allergies. Apologies to everyone this had any effect on.

Now, I tried and tried and tried to add several different harmony parts. But I have so little clue on how to add harmony parts.

Then I attempted some drums and a tambourine and even a small children’s xylophone. I thought that was a little much, though. It didn’t work anyhow.

So, I just duplicated the main guitar and vocal track a bunch of times, applied several canned effects, adjusted the volume settings, and wham-oh!

I realize it’s a little bit behind-the-times. A little bit, say, somewhere around 2007 or 1998 or 1987 or 1971 or 1952 or 1536. But, this is folk music that I’m doing. This is a folk song that I’m building one line at a time.

If you call what you do a folk song then you can do whatever you want. I’ve learned that over the years. It’s in the folk music manual.

Look it up.

When it comes right down to it, though, I just really like this line or this verse or how these words go together. The music is way less important.

It is in three-quarter time, though. And everything is better at that speed. Try it. Then you’ll understand.

Note: If you have more than the 2 minutes it takes to listen through the whole song once, I suggest listening at least twice. Once through speakers (computer, or otherwise) and then a second time through headphones. It’s different.

Listen, New Song

New Song: I need to have a name

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I need to have a name

Okay. Here’s the second song of the one-song-that’s-only-one-line-every-one-day thing that I’m attempting.

One!

I recorded the harp first for this one. That melody was in my head. I had no One Line. So I laid it down (or is it layed it down?) as they say.

Then I put in some guitar. This was tricky because I did not play the harmonica at an even tempo or an even time signature. Go figure. (This is why I use a harp rack most times. I don’t know where that is, though.)

They I added two tracks of vocals after coming up with a line of words. Might not seem like much now. Just want, though, until I put together all the different one line parts. Then it’ll seem like, well, a longer nothing.

But I’m entertained at the moment. Try not to stare with your mouth open.

(Please listen close on the vocal track. Do you hear that? That’s either my voice going because I’m out of practice, or because I’m coming down with a head cold. Your pick.)

Listen, New Song

New Song: Too loud to hear, too bright to see

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Too loud to hear, too bright to see

Well, here we go. I haven’t posted a song since…this one back at the beginning of May. I haven’t even really touched my guitar or sung many tunes since then. Except lullabies.

Anyway…so, I’m posting this. It’s similar to that last song I posted. It’s the start of a new idea, I think. I mean…it’s the start of me posting a new song each and every day, Monday through Friday, every single week.

You say: “No! Can’t be done! Don’t even try!”

I say: “Hold on, honcho.”

Each song is going to be only one line. Or, one verse/chorus/phrase. Just one. I’ll use parts to add on, as I did in this song, but I can only use the words from the one line that I write on whatever day I write it.

I wrote this one yesterday…on Sunday. I saw it on a book cover sitting on the counter. It’s this book. And, yeah…okay…I totally did not write down the words the same as the book title (which is Too Loud to See, Too Bright to Hear). And the actual book title is way more interesting than what I mistakenly wrote down. (UPDATE: By the way, I have NOT read this book, but just saw what it’s about and that’s kinda funny that it weaves different stories together since that’s what I’m attempting to do with these songs.)

But it’s the first thing I’ve done in two and a half months, so I’m not gonna be too critical.

Now, at the end of a month of doing this, I figure I maybe will have a song that I can piece together. You know…all the one-liners will just fit snugly together in one song and I’ll dust my hands and call it a day.

Or I won’t do that because I’ve never been able to piece together a song. I like to really practice at writing. Like, 5 to 6 thousand words a day. Just anything but also entire songs. Something whole and beautiful and terrible eventually pops out. Then something else. And then a bunch. And then it gets really easy. A lot of the writing is bad. A lot of the songs are horendous. But some are okay. A few work. One or two are successful.

And now I’ve shared too much about my secret process that every other writer knows about and uses.

But, anyway…I’ll try to piece together a big collage song. At least one time. And then I’ll move on to something else, maybe.

This is only a start at becoming.

Vinyl Records

Random Record Pick: The Newport Folk Festival, 1969, Volume 1

Vinyl record of The Newport Folk Festival, 1969, Volume 1.For more photos, connect to @afrancisb on Instagram.

Random Record Pick is a way to organize and archive an always-growing collection of vinyl records. Each record is randomly picked from a shelf or crate or dusty corner of my house, a photo is taken of the cover, and then the entire record is played all the way through, even if it’s terrible.