Busking Decemberists

Hydroman52
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Sat May 07, 2011 11:41 am

I've been trying to upload a video here with great difficulty. I have submitted a ticket and waiting for a response. Wondering if anyone else has had a problem and if they know the fix for this. So there will be a delay before the next video is uploaded.

Sorry,
Hydroman52


Hydroman52
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Sun May 08, 2011 7:16 pm

More description a little later. Without further ado . . . . our version of The Decemberists Calamity Song . . . . . so far . . . . .



PLEASE NOTE: If video was recently uploaded it will not work yet. YouTube will need a little more time to get the video ready. Please check back again soon.


tovo
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Sun May 08, 2011 7:55 pm

Well I didn't miss this one Hydro! I really dug that it was very cool. I know nothing of this band but that is a very nice tune and I thought you guys did a real nice job of it. I really enjoyed it a lot. Thanks for these posts.


Hydroman52
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Sun May 08, 2011 8:12 pm

Tony, Wow you are fast. I just posted the video and before I could get the background information on it . . . . . . there you are! Hey, thanks for the support.

And now the for the explanation. . . . . .

Last Thursday night was a good practice. The prelude was a Cinco de Mayo meal of green chili soup and all the trimmings prepared by Bassman Jerry’s wonderful wife. It was good and spicy, so we were all warmed up before we even made it to the studio.

This song is the Calamity Song by The Decemberists which is the second song on their King is Dead album. In fact, you truly do have the album option, because it has also been released on vinyl. They even made a comment at the halfway break on the Oregon Public Broadcasting performance about having to flip the record.


Here are some observations and things I am learning if you are interested and have the time:

I spent a few days developing the drum track. I could have finished something that would have worked fine in just an afternoon, but spending the extra time taught me a good lesson in the importance of how the drums add to the dynamics of the song and their interaction with the other instruments. Most of the drum and cymbal hits are in the right place, and it actually helped me to learn my part better. When we finally lure a real living, breathing, eating, drinking, unsuspecting drummer to actually sit in with us, I will be better at working with that person to support the song. This also gave me more motivation to practice, because I would need to sing along and play guitar sometimes to figure out where the beats should go. In the end, we didn’t need to alter the track at all from what you hear in the video. It may sound strange, but I feel that the more I understand about the drums, bass, vocals, etc. the better I will become as a guitarist. Sometimes I am actually better off and progress more toward my final goal if I set the guitar down and spend more time looking closer at other instruments and how they work into the music.

We haven’t spent too much time on the vocals, so there are a few sour notes sprinkled throughout just to keep you on your toes. The vocal lessons have helped me out immensely at TG although I am still running out of breath and not getting it down correctly. I’ll be reviewing these instructions more in the future. We are already discussing how to improve there.

When we were playing this, I was thinking that it would sound awful, because I felt I was making so many mistakes. But I just took Jerry’s advice and kept plowing along rather than stopping or hesitating. Listening to it afterwards, I see now that I was making most of the stuff that I thought I was missing and the ones that were missed didn’t show up as badly as I thought they would. This is all new stuff to me, and I’m liking it.

I don’t know what to say about Jerry’s side of it except I feel that he’s always doing the majority of the work. I don’t really notice much of anything bad coming from his side of the room. If there is a sour note, he adjusts and it disappears the next time around. It’s really a joy to be backing him.

Now, how has Totally Guitars instruction helped me on this song? First off, land the bass note clean first, and then construct the rest of the chord. Then, always, always, ALWAYS keep the right hand moving to the beat. In this song, you just cannot stop or hesitate or you will be “upside-down” on the beat. This actually happens with the drums in the chorus section, and it sounds good for the drums to do this, but when it happens with the guitar, it’s not so good. So, (as my high school algebra teacher would say) it is exceeeeeeeeeeeedingly important that you get this right . . . . . . . and that is true, even if you have to sacrifice some fancy-schmancy guitar licks, or if you are distracted. In fact, a distraction happened to me in this song and you can see it in the video. About halfway through the song, I felt someone tapping me on the elbow. At about three quarters of the way through the song, you will see me look over my right shoulder and then turn back and smile. This is when I realized that, in getting into the rhythm, I had moved back into my guitar stand. I had been so consumed by the music that I didn’t even notice it until then. The tapping on the elbow was actually the top arm of the guitar stand.

One more point, and then I will sit down, shut up. Jerry has taught me that, given a choice between getting the vocals right or getting a fancy-schmancy guitar lick right, go with the vocals. This happens here in the second verse when back off on the picking and just strum the chords when the harmonies kick in for the first time. When the singing is happening, everything else is just background noise in support of the singer. If you don’t believe me, listen to this guy (you may have to look past the Bose L1 hyperbole). There are some really good tips here. Be ready to leave your guitar ego at home . . . . it's all about the song:

Cliff Goodwin comments on song arrangement

It's still difficult for me to back off and let there be empty space for others after all these years of playing alone at home. Not really ego, just habit.

Sheez, I’ve gone and written another novel, sorry . . . . my bad. Well, I hope you enjoyed the video as much as we had fun playing it. We will probably pick another song from these guys for our bag of tricks and then move on in search of other material. Hopefully, nobody minds my putting up these videos that aren’t just solo guitar with singing, but I do think it is important to see how the guitar interacts with other instruments, too. And besides, I just get bored playing with only a tick-tocking metronome.

Thanks for watching and any comments are welcome.

Hydroman52


Lavallee
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Sun May 08, 2011 11:57 pm

Hydro and Jerry, you did great again and thanks for the info. I also think that playing other instruments help becoming better guitarist. Your strumming was fun and I really enjoy those slides from Jerry. Great singing too, those whooooooo sounded perfect. Are the headphones to hear the original music?

Marc


Craig
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Mon May 09, 2011 1:10 am

Hydro & Jerry,
Another totally solid effort! I've really enjoyed these, plus you've introduced me to this band. I have to admit I was unfamiliar until this thread came along...Now I've looked into The Decemberists (with the help of Suzi and Vanessa), and I've become a fan. Thank you. I also really enjoy and appreciate the explanation and background that Hydroman has included to go along with the posts... very enlightening and insightful. Thank you and keep up the GREAT work!
Craig


AndyT
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Mon May 09, 2011 2:42 am

I think Jerry is channeling Willie Nelson there. LOL. Sounds like Willie singing for the Dead. Very cool.


suziko
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Mon May 09, 2011 5:45 am

Hydro and Jerry,

Excellent version of Calamity Song! The opening riff was what initially piqued my interest in this song, and it was fun to watch Hydro play it. Again- I think I'll be using this video as a reference when/if I try to learn to play this song. Great vocals from both of you, just like before. You two make a nice team.

Suzi


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daryl
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Mon May 09, 2011 6:23 am

Rick & Jerry, I don't know this band or this song but what fun! Great job all around. I too think having a bass player, drums, and harmonies really fills out a song. And they also help with one's guitar playing. Looking forward to more videos from you guys.....


MarkM
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Mon May 09, 2011 8:00 am

Good morning guys. Another great video. I quite enjoyed this with my morning coffee. You have now made me a fan of this band and certainly a fan of your playing and singing. The "drummer" adds so much to your performances and really tightens the whole thing up. I'm going to have to check into this a bit further as it really brings a whole new flavor to the songs you are playing. Great job guys. Really nice intro on the guitar part as well. Thanks for sharing!!!!


A question on the drum track. Did you have to inpute each and every beat of the drums or did you use any looping technology? Two days seems like a very long time.



MarkM


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