:: anne in the attic ::

Create Your Own Countdown

:: Monday, May 05, 2008 ::

I had my own little Woodstock this weekend, just me in my studio. I recorded a cover and posted it, and taught myself some other songs, mostly in avoidance of the growing house chore list of Spring [no matter, next week is slated for that~ my first vacation of the year].

These last couple of days I've been taking my cue from the words and music of Elliott Smith. I mean, even his demo-slash-discards are so far in orbit from anything most people can create that it's astounding. It's at once inspiring and discouraging. "Playing things too safe is a popular way to fail." Elliott said that once in an interview. So, okay.

I came across a song of his that I'd never really heard before [or if I had, I hadn't listened]: the Jackpot Studio demo of "Cecilia Amanda." This resulted from a down-the-rabbit-hole link-fest starting with a MySpace music page called "Steven Paul Smith," his given name. I had gone there because I was looking for something else.

Anyway, glad I did, because after that, something clicked. Today, a song I've been struggling with for years finally came clear to me... just all of a sudden, which is kind of how it is for me: epiphany or darkness-- there is no in between. The picking structure and chords of Elliott Smith's "Angeles" kicked in and I have been polishing it off and on all day, among other things. I attribute a somewhat catalytic effect to having recently learning Gary Jules' "Pills," which has a "Freight Train" fingerpick to it, with a 4/4-to-2/4 rhythm. I spent some time breaking it down because I really dug the song, and it seemed only barely out of reach. So, as has happened quite a bit in the last year or two, plowing through the learning curve of a song that's over my head has proven helpful in learning other songs. Well, duh.

But I guess I didn't realize the scope of some of these basic styles. I remember being bored at the prospect of rote-learning "Freight Train" when studying with Walker, so I never paid it much mind. But now I realize the muscle memory he was after. It's a do-it-in-your-sleep kind of motion that frees up your mind to play all sorts of other things over the top of it, or mess around with variations. The technique is strengthening. And now I hear it in everything. Isn't that just the way?

:: Anne 5:22 AM [smartass remarks] ::
...