Gotta Play

The guitars are spending too much time in captivity. I'm doing better at playing regularly but I haven't spent as much time creating new music as I should.That song is called Mirage because of its dreamy surreal sound. It reminds me of how pavement looks on a hot summer day as the heat rises from it. (If a graphic with a play button doesn't pop up in the space above, click on the song title to play it.)

The drums came from a CD I have called Ape Breaks which is a collection of looped drum tracks performed and recorded by producer Shawn Lee. It's actually a series of 5 CDs, of which I own Volumes 2 and 3.

Don't worry, the CDs explicitly say that you can use the tracks royalty free as long as you create a new pieces of music out of them, as I have, so I'm not pirating anything here.

Listening to the rhythm, I just started strumming the chords that you hear. Once I recorded that track, I went back and recorded some spare lead guitar.

I record music right into my PC with the help of something called Guitar Port. Its software has sounds from all different kinds of pedals and amplifiers built into it. I plug my guitar into the external unit pictured at left then connect that to my computer.

It's a great piece of equipment for someone like me who doesn't have a regular amplifier or traditional recording studio-set up. I play right into the computer and record onto the hard drive.

But not often enough. As I make more of my mini-documentaries, I want to begin scoring them with music. If I use my own music, I don't have to get -- or pay for -- anyone's permission to use it. It's also just fun to listen to a piece of music I have done and stop to think, "Wow! I did that!" Or when my brother hears it and asks, "Is that really you?"

Mirage ©2006 John McQuiston

(Not that I expect a problem with that!)