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I got home from work too late to see the oldest granddaughter appear in her play's premiere, so I took the evening off, had a little somethihg that closely resembled supper, and pulled out the banjo and the microphone to see what they could do. You'd think I would have run through one of my own songs, like Crossroads or Dark Lullaby, but I didn't. For reasons that completely escape me Taj Mahal's Fishin' Blues has been my earworm of late, so I did a few practice plunks to figure out a couple of the chords, turned on mic, and away I went.
Here are a few impressions off the top of my head:
1. Damn, the kid is good.
2. Damn, the kid needs to get back into practice.
3. All things being equal, maybe I should not be singing this song in G. The highest note in the song is right at the top of my range and I was straining to hit it. Then again I'm out of practice, I wasn't giving myself the singing support I should have, blah, blah, blah. The song is a natural in G, and I suppose I could capo up the neck to play it in an open C or D, but that has its own problems. Maybe a different tuning? I dunno.
This sound could be perfect for a Seeger-style long neck banjo, which plays in E if not capoed up to normal banjo tuning. However, I have not even researched what such a beast would cost, because (1) buying it for one song would be ridiculous, (2) my wife would probably kick it and me out of the house, and (3) I don't have the money anyway.
(Pete Seeger once told Lee Hays, "Lee, I've got one too many banjos." "Yeah?" said Lee. "How many do you have?" "Two.")
4. You know how your voice sounds different when you listen to a recorded version than the voice you hear inside your head? Yeah. That.
5. Oddly though, the banjo sounds different to me when I listen to a recording of myself playing than when I'm actually playing it. If I was at all worried about it having a sufficiently plunky sound, I need worry no more. Is it because I'm hearing the sound coming out of the back of the banjo rather than what's heading out toward the audience? I dunno.
6. From what I can tell this microphone sounds like it does a pretty good job of accurate sound reproduction. This is good, because – and here's a little secret just between you and me – I've never practiced in front of a microphone. I have very little idea what I sound like to someone sitting out in the audience. Maybe now that I have a mic I can play with my voice a little to see what it can do.
7. The recording has already been deleted. It wasn't worth saving. I didn't even keep the electrons to recycle in future projects.
8. All that being said, the kid has some potential.
9. One of these days? Bandcamp. Maybe. I hope.
Here are a few impressions off the top of my head:
1. Damn, the kid is good.
2. Damn, the kid needs to get back into practice.
3. All things being equal, maybe I should not be singing this song in G. The highest note in the song is right at the top of my range and I was straining to hit it. Then again I'm out of practice, I wasn't giving myself the singing support I should have, blah, blah, blah. The song is a natural in G, and I suppose I could capo up the neck to play it in an open C or D, but that has its own problems. Maybe a different tuning? I dunno.
This sound could be perfect for a Seeger-style long neck banjo, which plays in E if not capoed up to normal banjo tuning. However, I have not even researched what such a beast would cost, because (1) buying it for one song would be ridiculous, (2) my wife would probably kick it and me out of the house, and (3) I don't have the money anyway.
(Pete Seeger once told Lee Hays, "Lee, I've got one too many banjos." "Yeah?" said Lee. "How many do you have?" "Two.")
4. You know how your voice sounds different when you listen to a recorded version than the voice you hear inside your head? Yeah. That.
5. Oddly though, the banjo sounds different to me when I listen to a recording of myself playing than when I'm actually playing it. If I was at all worried about it having a sufficiently plunky sound, I need worry no more. Is it because I'm hearing the sound coming out of the back of the banjo rather than what's heading out toward the audience? I dunno.
6. From what I can tell this microphone sounds like it does a pretty good job of accurate sound reproduction. This is good, because – and here's a little secret just between you and me – I've never practiced in front of a microphone. I have very little idea what I sound like to someone sitting out in the audience. Maybe now that I have a mic I can play with my voice a little to see what it can do.
7. The recording has already been deleted. It wasn't worth saving. I didn't even keep the electrons to recycle in future projects.
8. All that being said, the kid has some potential.
9. One of these days? Bandcamp. Maybe. I hope.
