My wife and I are going to a 4th of July party this afternoon but I have a song that came to me overnight. I want to save something of the tune to work on later but getting the time to play and get ready to go to the party is a challenge. Still, I must…
Cramming…
If you remember your days preparing for exams in school, you have an idea of the kind of time pressure. Maybe it is more like completing a major project in the hours before school starts. Either way, I want to get the basics down that will 1) remind me how it goes and 2) give me something to work with later. This entails a couple key elements:
- Create a drum/rhythm track
- Lay down the basic guitar part
I am still working with new software and do not have a lot of templates and basic drum parts waiting to be employed. The song isn’t even entirely together. There are some basic lyrics I cobbled together at breakfast but they need work, as usual. All of this takes precious time and distracting work.
Time to play, time to create
When you have a song in mind, original or otherwise, take the time to get it out. Even if for a few minutes! Start then expand. You will get in some smidgen of practice but also may come away with something to work on and motivate you later. The completion will give you a sense of accomplishment at the very least! And you can add a new one to your repertoire.
If you ever would like to play at family gatherings, picnics, or gatherings with friends, this is prep time for you. One of the best things I ever did for myself was get together a couple of set lists for playing at a local coffee house and then prepare for the evening. Now I have a whole repertoire of complete songs I can draw on anytime. When playing with others and the inevitable question arises, “What shall we play?” you have the sets! You can also teach the songs to others and further cement your own educational journey. Win-win!
Consider this the beginning of your coffee house gig.
Taking my own advice
So, I have to get back to my project here. Time is running short! It will show up on one of my Youtube channels. So, be on the lookout!