Blogger won't accept the midi player, so...

I guess much of my scribbling, now that I understand better how to go about it at least on the technical end if not the musical notation end, will be at my tumblr:  Here.  I might post scribblings as jpegs or pngs, maybe the occasional pdf. But it seems easier to embed the player from musescore where it will embed.

Oh, here's a better way

Now I know how to do this. Anyway, here is "Boot - Uke/Bass" one more time, but now with a better viewer. The notation plays along with the midi file, but I couldn't get the embed code to work, so here is the link: Boot

Some of the audio from these scribbles

Here is some of the audio from these scribbles I've been writing. I suppose it can only get better one might say. But the last one is particularly not bad. And if I left the drums out of the first, it would have been better. Of course, if it was real instruments instead of midi synth, then it might come across more too. This would be especially the case with the one I wrote for ukulele and bass. Of course, the ones I like best are the ones that use the chord pattern that signifies old time Rock and Roll. I've always liked that one best, and it is found in many pop songs today in different keys. Writing in drums can be hard to do sometimes, at least in this way. Sometimes I write part of the drums in my recording program, and it seems to work better. Hopefully, I'll have a longer more complex piece soon enough. Not too complex though, because I like to keep it simple also. I hope to learn more about using syncopation. I have the link on my blog link list, but for good measure, let me include it here.

A PDF reader version of the musical notation scribbles so far

Hopefully, this will present as a PDF reader presentation of my scribbles thus far.





Go to Archive.org via the link provided with the reader to download.

another format test for scribbles

This is just another format test for scribbles. I hope to put a pdf of all the scribbles made so far too.

compressed png format test

This post is more of a test to see if these scribbles will display on mobile devices after being compressed for web page display.

Boot, Uke and Bass

This is one that is like old time Rock and Roll, simple and to the point.

Something Else # 5

And lastly, for now,  (I don't think I will use the same title over and over, but who knows) number 5. I think I remember that this one came out pretty good. I believe I do have the audio for this one around.

Something Else # 4

And this is "Something Else" number 4

Something Else # 3

Here is the third "Something Else"

Something Else # 2

Here is the second "Something Else."

It seems to me...

That I might even have the audio for some of these. I didn't bother to make an ogg or mp3 for all of them, but if I find some of the audio tracks for some of them, I'll attempt to put it up.

Something Else #1

Here it is, Something Else #1. That's because I did a few simply called, "Something Else" in numerical order.

First Musiscore attempt

Sorry for any cross-posting to G+ but I've decided I need a place to collect my little musical scribblings as I go along and hopefully improve. This one should have been just an improv the drum line, really. If memory serves it is kind of a 50s or early 60s type of thing.

My Version of Amazing Grace

Eventually, I'll get all of my original music posted to this blog, but for now - here is a version of "Amazing Grace" I did today. It is recorded in mono with no effects, no overdubs, and really no bells and whistles. The song is in the public domain.

Unfinished Sci-Fi Novella Link

This is a link to the Science Fiction novella that I've been working on for a long time. It is called, A Child's View of Inter-Stellar War. It takes place in a sort of dystopian future, but much of the dystopia is happening on a planet far from the earth. Won't give away anymore here.....

Album from Archive called "Mr. Nylon"

For some reason, when the Internet Archive saved this one (also a former Jamendo album of mine), they only got track one and six. Still, both of those tracks still seem good to me.

Track number one is an acoustic nylon string guitar and vocals. I don't even recall any overdubs. But, perhaps there were one or two. I'm unsure. Not very obvious if  there were, though.

Track number six was done with Danelectro electric guitar through a small (15 watt?) Laney amp, with vocals. Several overdubs of lead guitar were added. The amp was mostly kept on the clean side, but some of the leads especially were given distortion. The songs are "854" and "Fly Away."

Album from the Archive once called "Western Democracy"

This is one of my early, perhaps 2010 or thereabouts, albums that originally appeared on Jamendo. Good thing the Internet Archive managed to copy and save a lot of the albums of those of us that didn't know we might become nostalgic later on. This is (was?) called Western Democracy. It was done mainly with a small TASCAM two-track. In other words, one might record a track, and then overdub.

The first song has a lot of echo or reverb. I can't remember what program I used to get that effect - and I'm unsure if  I like it now or not. The second song is the title track. I like that one, as I did it in an unconventional way. I played a U-1 Danelectro electric guitar without the amp. So, it has a natural sound (I think) that hasn't been given too much tone or distortion by an amp. It is what I imagine (but could be wrong) playing through a very old, very clean, tube amp might be like. I do overdub leads on that one as well.

Then there are a group of acoustic folk political songs. I believe I put three of them together to make one take. Likely, the post-production for these songs was done on an early version of Cakewalk. That or Audacity, but I can't remember which.

There is one other song. It is called "Money Changers" which is political, but takes inspiration from religion.

Now that I've taken in the content of this album, it seems I must have made it a bit later than 2010 just by the references I put in the songs.

A Child's View (part 9)

He had been using all the skills he had acquired to determine whether he trusted her or not. It was quite possible she had the ability to deceive him on this point, but he thought for several moments, and realized he had little recourse but to go with her. He would worry about the rest later.

Back on earth, the President of China was preparing to address the world. A large audience, understanding that events had reached such a point that some truth, or in other words, some explanation was going to have to come from the address. Joe had his radio on. He listened intently. The speech began and the translation followed. "People of the world, many of you have noticed the increase in sightings of what have come to be called UFOs. This is actually a very old term for unidentified objects in the sky. When this term was most commonly in use, it implied extraterrestrial beings were traveling from other planets in these objects to visit earth, for whatever reason. In truth, our government can not confirm or deny the validity of the claims from that time. However, we can confirm that robotic drone like craft have been discovered orbiting the earth at an extremely high altitude." Joe, in a state of shock, dropped his coffee, breaking the cup as it fell into the sink. He continued listening. "I know previous world leaders relied on deceit. We have said from the beginning that we would follow a different path, and be as truthful as circumstances allow. Therefore, we can only tell you that we do not yet know the purpose of these craft, but they are small and without a doubt pilot-less. They seem to be gathering atmospheric data about our planet. We have yet to decide whether they are dangerous, or to discern where they have been sent from. We have the capability to shoot them down, but have made no decision to do so as of yet. We think it unwise to act rashly." Joe understood the allusions to "previous world leaders" were thinly veiled attacks on the Presidents of the US. The speech was concluding. "We have gathered a bit more intelligence than we are providing, but we don't want to speak to soon about things we are uncertain about. We will not take questions at this time, as we simply do not have answers." 

Joe sat for a long time bewildered by what he had heard. These UFOs are real after all. At least, this is what the world was being told. At this moment, Joe had no reason to disbelieve anything in the President of China's speech. 

Tum followed the girl through desolated areas often covered with foliage. At places, the vegetation was so thick, he had difficulty making his way through it. He was sure he was quite lost. At some point, they came to an opening that led to a rather run down neighborhood. Tum had never given much thought to the privileged background he enjoyed. The sight of what could only be called poverty distressed and embarrassed him. They walked past an open square that seemed not monitored.  Yet, by the circuitous path the girl was taking, he could tell they were travelling in a way designed to avoid detection. There must have been cameras hidden somewhere in that neighborhood that Tum couldn't detect. 

The neighborhood seemed quite deserted except for a small boy playing a game with a handful of stones. The boy glanced at them briefly, but paid little attention to their presence.  

A Child's View (part 8)

He sat for many hours, hoping not to be discovered, as he was thinking. As twilight came, he was getting a bit anxious about the events that had unfolded in the past several days. He tried several ways to gain insight. His main idea was to access, another skill he had developed, the brainwaves floating around through the "sousx" to see if there is anything within any of the patterns that could help him. He did this over and over, but could find nothing of use. Generally, the people were caught up in their mundane thoughts, being so damaged by the "sousx" as to have no comprehension of the servitude they've been placed in, other than that promoted conventional politics used as a diversion for divide and conquer. Although, he could feel the undercurrent of disenchantment building among the masses. As the society loses supremacy and economic conditions worsen, Tum could tell that the trajectory would continue, and society could face a variety of scenarios.  Tum thought it most likely that society would simply face a breakdown of some sort. But the other possibilities he could think of were also quite likely. One of the most frightening was some form of revolt among the masses. This was frightening because he could see the state making preparations for such an event, and could tell that the authorities had no intention of being gentle.

Just as darkness was setting in, Tum was becoming very afraid. The mysterious girl he met the other day appeared. "Your family will get through this fine," she reassured him. "Remember, the authorities can access their chips and their brainwaves through the "sousx." This means that after a time of interrogation and discomfort, perhaps even some of their lesser torture techniques, the likelihood is they will discover your family knows nothing." Although the prospects she presented were less than hopeful, he acknowledged that he would have to accept her description as the way things were for the time being. He spoke, "Well, what do I do now." "Come with me. It is lucky I found you before they did."