Forgotten Genre Productions

I have lately been reading this book by Glenn Kurtz. It has intrigued me and encouraged me to think about practicing again. I love the tag line on the book, A Musicians Return To Music. I love the imagery of a musician doing his thing, going through the motions, then being compelled to return to what drew him originally to music. It’s fascinating to follow Glenn on his journey. Glenn started playing the guitar when he was a pre teen and he grew more and more into the instrument as he played it. As he continued to practice his ears and abilities developed to the point that he was making new discoveries in the music he listened to and tried to emulate. Notes that were before miscellaneous suddenly transformed into intervals and arpeggios. At some point Glenn determined to go to music school and pursue music as a profession. After Glenn became a professional he ended up putting aside music for the day to day grind and family issues. Then as he approached mid life he had a longing to return to music and he started to go back to a regimented practice schedule. After the frustration of “loosing,” so much dexterity and ability, Glenn discovered that he loved music. He loved practicing. The way he describes the minutest of details of his experience was compelling. He maid me want to practice to see if I could experience the same things. The way he described the process of filing his fingernails was exciting.

I have started to pick up my bass to really explore the possibilities. My method of practice has been to import a loop into Reaper and loop it for about 6-8 minutes or so and run through scales and modes, slowly at first then building up speed. For me, much of it is finger exercise but there is also the rhythm aspect of playing to a loop that works on my timing. Soon I will work on intervals and theory.

To improve in something is a noble quest. Whether it is with instrument or brush, pen or paper, tool or trial. To gain proficiency and understanding is good. Of course we all have a level of involvement that is appropriate for our season of life based on family responsibilities etc. I often find it interesting that people will say that they don’t have time to practice and yet they do have time to watch there favorite tv show or sleep in, or any of a myriad of excuses. Of course that is  a whole other post.

So get out there and practice. If you need some encouragement check out Glenn Kurtz’s book Practicing

Here are some quotes about the book.

Practicing is elegant, methodical and deeply engaging. It is science and poetry in one book.”—Rosanne Cash

“’Practicing’ is a fantastic example of what memoir as a literary form can best deliver: a person delving honestly, profoundly and fearlessly into… life’s big questions.”

—Samantha Dunn, The Los Angeles Times

As I referenced Brian in my last post I discovered that Brian has a new album out that will be on my new favorites list. First off Brian is one of my favorite drummers. His work with Daniel Lanois I have always enjoyed. He comes from such a deep place. I was not aware he  played anything other than the drums but not only does he play a little guitar but he writes and sings also. His new album Mama Rosa is mellow and folky in a Ray Lemontagne or Amos Lee kind of vein. The song writing is excellent. This is more than a drummer wanting some face time and writing Roses are Red Violets Are Blue and I love You rhymes. This is thoughtful stuff. I have been enjoying it thoroughly. Sonically it is great. It has that Lanoisish focus on the bottom end that is rich and full. Enjoy this video of the process and download the album from Amazon. (Just please not itunes) Let me know what you think.

This past week I have been trying to get my new dbx 900 rack up and working. To do that I have had to pull out the soldering iron and solder. Now for some, soldering is a terrifying idea that causes them to procrastinate doing or compels them to hire out for someone else to do the work. This is embarrassing and if this is you and you claim to be an engineer you need to rethink your title. Soldering is an important part of being an engineer and a necessary skill to have. Let me clarify something here. I am not saying I am good at soldering. I am certainly not a pro but I do enjoy soldering on some level. I received most of my soldering learning from my brief tenure with Clair Bros. I had to repair and test cables and make new cables and looms for various installs. For the most part soldering is therapeutic for me. Let me give you some of my rules for soldering so you can be encouraged to give it a shot. These are in no way definitive or official it is just what works for me.

1.) Always have soothing music playing while your working. For me, jazz works . This helps you get in a zone and relax. It is difficult to solder if you are tense and bothered. Last night for me it was Brian Blade & the Fellowship. I chose his Seasons Of Change album.

2.) Always have good tools. Weller is the industry standard as far as irons go. I use a Radio Shack iron that is less than stellar but allows me to choose between 20 watt and 40 watt which is nice. some things you don’t want the extra heat for (like board work or small pieces).

3.) Keep your soldering iron tip clean. Impurities can get into your solder and make iffy connections and you do not want that. Have a wet sponge handy and clean your tip after every solder. Also tin the end of your iron to keep it clean. Don’t cut corners on this. You can get a small “tin” of tinner at Radio Shack for a dollar or so.

4.) Use a holder for extra hands. Most of the bad, ugly solder joints I have done have been because I was too lazy to get my mini vice and because I couldn’t hold things properly I melted something or burnt my self. Come on people.

5.) Apply solder to both surfaces you are joining and they will go together more easily.

6.) Do not rush. Just don’t.

Like I say this is not a definitive list. I am certainly not an instructor or a pro as you can see by my work. For those of you wondering, this picture was of a connector partially done, that is why the solder is not full on pin 1 and 2. If you need some practice soldering try to repair some of those cables you have laying around that you keep forgetting are bad and throw back in with the good ones. Yea, I know how you roll. If you have any questions do some research. Google is your friend.

I will let you know when I get my dbx900 rack going. The 900 series racks were modular and dbx had different pieces that you could mix and match and put together to suit your needs. You can combine compressors with de-essers or parametric EQ’s or noise reduction or any of there other doo-dads. Aphex also made 9000 series modules that work with dbx900 series racks. Unfortunately that is all that works with this rack. I have six of the 903’s which were their compressors. They are similar to DBX’s 160 series and I am anxious to see how they do. I will probably use them on bass and drums but who knows until I try them maybe I’ll find other uses for them.