Hi again. I've been having a lot of fun: I finally understand the rudiments of hard disc recording. I still need the bells and whistles, but at last I can put some of my musical ideas down in the leisure of my own home. If I figure it takes ten (or fifty) takes to capture what I hear in my head, I can indulge myself. I'll be studyig the manual of this program I'm running so that I can really fine tune it all, but in the meantime I'm really enjoying the luxury of time to get the music right.

I have loaded up several tunes at http://mp3.com/kirklorange These are for the most part chord progression and melodies I've had kicking around for a long time. I don't know about you, but when I'm in the mood to write a song, I usually come up with a chord progression I like first. If it sounds interesting, I know that there will be many many melodies that will sit over the top. Among them, one or two will be killers. One of my greatest pleasures in life is hunting them down.

If you've read any of my previous articles, you will already know that I swear by the "chord of the moment", for it alone dictates what can or cannot be. It is the regulator of the melody, or rather, the series of "chords of the moment" determines where the melody can or cannot go. At each change, many opportunities present themselves and a choice must be made. These choices become the song.

Some writers start with a melody and harmonise it, in other words sketch in the chord progression that goes with it. This method allows for several options also, but not as many as the opposite approach. I've always envied writers who can hear the killer melody in their head. I never could -- I need chords behing it in order to feel its context. It's the context of the melody against the chord that does it for me, that makes my hair stand up or my heart ache.

All are in my favorite Drop D tuning. I still don't have a decent mike, so all the melodies are done on slide rather than vocal. All are illustrative of the various things I've written about over the months. For example, think melody rather than scales. It should stand on its own and be able to be remembered; the chord of the moment should be clearly stated so that there is no confusion about what the options are; right hand muting is the key to mastering slide; heavy brass slides sustain forever; "feel" is what turns a bunch of notes into "music"; knowing the trick described in PlaneTalk gives you free rein of the fretboard; dropped D really is a great tuning for slide guitar

They're all short, to the point and free, so please, help yourselves. If you want any of the chord progressions written out, let me know.

http://mp3.com/kirklorange

Back to work. Until next time, Kirk

http://kirklorange.com
http://www.lorange.kirk.net
http://mp3.com/KirkLorange
http://yourmusicontheweb.com
lorange@kirk.net