Original: "Where The Blue Begins"

[GreedylilPig]

Something I wrote this afternoon after reading my favorite book again, Where The Blue Begins by Christopher Morley. It's a song about home. Well, accepting home.

Comments/critiques very much appreciated.

http://plaza.ufl.edu/bbatson/Where%20Th ... Begins.mp3

[Yakko]

I like it a lot; The vocals are very nice

[mangold]

a very classy song brian. i love the vocals as always although i must say that many of the words are indistiguishable. therefore, i cant comment on the lyrics, but i will say the istrumentals are very nice, i suck at fingerpicking and singing simultaneously.

keep it up you tremendous jerk

[lyrics101]

I like your voice a lot, man. Very relaxing.

[GreedylilPig]

Thanks a lot for the comments thus far.

a very classy song brian. i love the vocals as always although i must say that many of the words are indistiguishable. therefore, i cant comment on the lyrics, but i will say the istrumentals are very nice, i suck at fingerpicking and singing simultaneously.

keep it up you tremendous jerk

Andy, until about two or three years ago, I never bothered with fingerpicking. I've played guitar since I was 7 or 8 years old, but always used a pick. When I got tired of playing Simon & Garfunkel and James Taylor songs with a damn pick, I finally buckled down and started to play everything with my fingers. I was pretty bad for a while, but have come around a bit. Like anything, just practice. With your passion for playing music, you'll likely progress on fingerpicking and singing in no time.

Here's the lyrics:

staring at circles and lines
projecting a mess of my mind
i make my move and pray
i don't run out of time

pen in hand, devising plans
with a one-way ticket, alone
gissing knows it best
the road leads you back home

i just need a share
of that spotlight and i
just need a change, here and there
to find
where the blue begins

walking in the rain
somehow i prefer it this way
i feel god on my skin
for a time, the pain goes away

the salt in the air calms my head
the waves on my feet make me whole again
walking down and reaching out
to where the blue begins

i just need a share
of that spotlight and i
just need a change, here and there
to find
where the blue begins

[Machtimus]

You are my favorite recorder on the boards.

[mangold]

and badass lyrics too, if only i could understand em!

i must echo macht's opinion, all your recordings have a great style and this feeling that they are just a notch above most of the other stuff here. i can honestly say ive never listened to one of your songs and not felt something from it.

[Appfro]

amazing. my favorite thing that i've heard from you. the pauses add so much to this song. i love this softer version of your voice. i can't think of one bad thing to say about this song. absolutely amazing!!!

[RunsWithBuffalo]

really really pretty melody, i liked that a lot. I haven't heard you sing in an upper register like this before, its sounds great man.

I don't mind the lack of variation musically but i do think a song like this should build instrumentally.

So something like:

Strings after the first verse
Piano after the second etc etc

Thinks Devil's and Dust on this one.

Great Job Man

[AustinG]

Sounds good, the recording quality is nice as well, no complaints.

Would you mind if I asked what your recording setup your using? Specifically your Mic?

Thanks for the music, perty song

[GreedylilPig]

Sounds good, the recording quality is nice as well, no complaints.

Would you mind if I asked what your recording setup your using? Specifically your Mic?

Thanks for the music, perty song

Thanks for the listen.

Setup:

This is my 4-track. I bought it years ago, it wasn't that expensive then (maybe $100 or so). They're probably much cheaper now. It's a Yamaha MT-50, very easy to work with.



I bought a 1/4" inch to 1/8" adapter so I could send the recording to my computer.



to:



My microphone is a E/V N/D267. I bought it several years ago before I started playing gigs. It was about $125 then and again, probably much cheaper now.



The guitar I use the most to record has the following pickup. I am not sure what the specific model Fishman pickup it is:



I use Sony Acid Pro 4.0 to record. It's about a $400 program. I really like it.

Basic screen shot. Sorry for the horrible jpeg quality.



In terms of effects, I usually use two, reverb and smooth/enhance.



First is a little bit of reverb. There's many different modes to choose from. My favorites are "warm space" and "rich hall." I usually set the reverb between -35 and -30 db, near the minimum amount. I'm careful with it because I think too much reverb is really, really annoying.



And last, I enhance the track a little, around level 3.

[AustinG]

Sweet man, I really appreciate you taking the time to put pics up of all your gear, very cool, you sound great, keep it up.

[muzak]

Great song, man! Great lyrics, too.

Personally, I feel it's ok to be a bit mushy mouthed with this style of song. It's more about the overall feel, than it is the direct message. This is the kind of song that one listens to, and then (even thought they don't quite know the authors intent) creates his/her own personal meanings.

I'm going to go home, get about three beers in me, then listen again...

[Cor]

i can't think of one bad thing to say about this song. absolutely amazing!!!