I was scheduled to do a performance on a Sunday night in May 2012, and called my regular gig partner to see if he could do the date. Oops, should have checked with him first before saying "yes"! After making calls to others I've worked with, it began to look like I was going to have to do this one solo, which means using pre-recorded tracks, of my own making, for accompaniment.
And what tunes? I have started many songs, but have not finished most of them. I have a vast collection of riffs, choruses, entire song arcs with intros, verses, choruses, bridges, solo sections and outros, lots of grooves, good ideas, not so good ideas, and on and on.
I also have backing tracks that I've made from various popular songs I've found useful to do at these kinds of gigs -- "Why Can't We Live Together?", "Fragile", "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding", etc. But I don't really like singing to canned tracks, both as a performer and as someone who has to listen to that. It's hard to duplicate the original tracks, karaoke style, especially with certain genres. A rocker like WSFAPLandU mentioned above sounds limp and lifeless and sad when done without guitar, even with the best MIDI gear, samples, and production capabilities.
Necessity being the mother of invention, I was forced to look at what I had that might be fit to the purpose. I have a lot of those unfinished grooves of mine on my iPod in their own playlist, so I can (and do) take them with me and work on them in the car, while working around the house, hitting balls, etc. (For another post, another time: how to capture and sweep forward your songs in progress, what to do with them while in gestation, using modern technology or not-modern technology or not technology while birthing them, etc., etc., etc.)
I grabbed one of my snippets in progress and began working up an idea for the lyrics. Once I had a title to the song I had the chorus and then I worked back from that to have verses, a solo, an intro and an outro, and then polished the heck out of it as quickly as I could in time for the gig.
, then performed it live with just the lead vocals out of the mix so I could sing it on top of the tracks. I'm happy with the way it came out! Maybe needs a little solo in the middle to finish it off, but it's close to done -- (yaaaay, from someone who does not always finish things he starts).
https://www.reverbnation.com/christopherfrenchfries/song/16297195-garden-of-love
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Cyclists, Flip Your Feet
I see so many cyclists pedaling with their legs in a fixed, locked position, so that their ankles never move up and down, and their quads and hams are doing all the work. Pedaling this way this is guaranteeing that you'll only be able to crank at 80% of your potential.
Instead, free up your ankles to "flip" through the through the pedal stroke as well, flipping your toes down from the top on the downstrokes and pulling your toes back up from the bottom through the upstroke. You'll immediately see that you have a second set of pulleys on your legs to do the work of moving you down the road. This is what the crank was really designed for, this double-action of the ankle rotation combined with the larger leg rotation.
Once you get comfortable "flipping" your feet through the pedal stroke, you can then experiment with using different combinations of ankles and large muscles, depending on whether you need to press or rest, pull up or push down, or all you've got all at once. Try riding for a mile with just ankle flips, or taking that next hill with a focus on pulling back at the bottom of the stroke combined with ankle flips at the top. You'll end up with ever-stronger legs, a better workout, a more efficient pedal stroke, and more power in your technique. What's not to love about that?
Instead, free up your ankles to "flip" through the through the pedal stroke as well, flipping your toes down from the top on the downstrokes and pulling your toes back up from the bottom through the upstroke. You'll immediately see that you have a second set of pulleys on your legs to do the work of moving you down the road. This is what the crank was really designed for, this double-action of the ankle rotation combined with the larger leg rotation.
Once you get comfortable "flipping" your feet through the pedal stroke, you can then experiment with using different combinations of ankles and large muscles, depending on whether you need to press or rest, pull up or push down, or all you've got all at once. Try riding for a mile with just ankle flips, or taking that next hill with a focus on pulling back at the bottom of the stroke combined with ankle flips at the top. You'll end up with ever-stronger legs, a better workout, a more efficient pedal stroke, and more power in your technique. What's not to love about that?
Cyclists, Sprint with Your Hams
Since my bike commute is so short now, I have to make the most of it by riding it more aggressively, and that means charging all the hills and sprinting out of intersections.
I've found the best way to sprint is not to use the downstroke at all, but rather PULL UP with your legs, letting your large hamstring muscles do all the work. Stand up, grab the top bars, and pull, pull, pull! Not only will you really fly, you'll work your lesser-used hamstrings more AND have the added benefit of still being able to crank fast when you sit down from your sprint, when you can then go to your quadriceps to keep pedaling. Try it and see!
I've found the best way to sprint is not to use the downstroke at all, but rather PULL UP with your legs, letting your large hamstring muscles do all the work. Stand up, grab the top bars, and pull, pull, pull! Not only will you really fly, you'll work your lesser-used hamstrings more AND have the added benefit of still being able to crank fast when you sit down from your sprint, when you can then go to your quadriceps to keep pedaling. Try it and see!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)