The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald: My First Home Recording

For years I have wanted to do my own recordings of my own music. But the cost of the technology in the past was always prohibitive.

That’s no longer the case. Nowadays free digital audio workstations (DAWs) are available online, and if your needs are simple, you don’t have to spend a lot to get acceptable results with a basic home setup.

On this, my very first attempt at recording myself in my living room, my “studio” has consisted of the following:

  • Audacious, a popular free DAW
  • A MOTU M2 two-channel audio interface
  • My HP EliteBook 840 laptop
  • A single Shure Beta 58 microphone on a mic stand, covering both my guitar and my voice

It’s as rudimentary a setup as you can get, but I’m a complete neophyte at this stuff, and I need to keep things simple and build from there.

Learning how to record comes in tandem with reclaiming my rhythm guitar chops, which I set on the shelf decades ago. I’m now playing better than I ever did before. But for this first recording, again, I’m keeping it simple so I screw up as little as possible. Gordon Lightfoot’s “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” is a perfect vessel for my maiden voyage.

Lightfoot was a magical balladeer, a storyteller nonpareil, and his voice has a haunting quality that is perfect for this tune. I can’t do anything like his arrangement. But I can do my interpretation, coming from my own soul and musical instincts and working with what I’ve got. If you’re a musician or a sound engineer, you’re sure to spot the weaknesses. This is as grassroots as it gets. But that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just good enough to put out there and hope you enjoy it, warts and all.

Do me one favor: use good speakers or ear buds. It sounds a whole lot better that way than on tinny built-in laptop speakers.



Bob Hartig Plays “Giant Steps”

At long last, I’ve gotten my chops for Giant Steps changes up to speed enough that I’m ready to share a recording with you. It has taken me months of practicing to get to where I’m beginning to convert licks and patterns into original statements. That’s not an easy thing to do with this tune, and I freely admit that there are a few rough spots here. But there are also some ones that I’m quite proud of. I particularly like the opening statement–I don’t know where it came from, but I’m glad it found its way into and out of my horn.

In another few months, I hope to have advanced to where I’m playing still more freely and inventively and am ready to do another recording. For now, though, this one will serve as a mile marker to document my progress. Without further ado, here is me playing Giant Steps

The background, by the way, is Band-in-a-Box, which served fine for this purpose. Big thanks to my good friend Ed Englerth for gifting me with his sound engineering wizardry in his Blueside Down recording studio. You make me sound good, amigo!

Video: One for Daddy-O

The classic Cannonball Adderly album Something Else includes a wonderful Bb minor blues written by Cannon’s brother, Nat, titled “One for Daddy-O.” The moody head fits the slow, shuffle groove perfectly and sets the tone for some fun improvisation.

I videotaped this tune with my new Panasonic HDC-TM700 camcorder in my buddy Ed Englerth’s basement studio, Blueside Down, the same evening as I taped “The Summer Knows.” My Band-in-a-Box accompaniment doesn’t capture the original arrangement’s antiphonal quality, but it did what I needed it to for a simple, low-key recording.

Video: The Summer Knows by Michel Legrand

Ever since I heard Phil Woods’ rendition of it, I’ve loved Michel Legrand’s haunting ballad “The Summer Knows.” The theme song for the 1971 movie The Summer of ’42, the tune showcases Legrand’s ability to extract tremendous beauty and emotion from a simple, four-note motif.

Videotaped with my brand-new Panasonic camcorder in Ed Englerth’s basement studio, here is my version of “The Summer Knows.” Just me on my beloved Conn 6M Ladyface, the trusty Band-in-a-Box orchestra (even gives you string if you want them!), and Ed operating the video camera. Maybe not studio quality, but the internal microphone didn’t do a bad job. I hope you like it!

Remembering “I Remember”: A Tribute to Phil Woods

My introduction to the magnificent alto saxophonist Phil Woods back in my music school days came in the form of a vinyl LP titled “I Remember.” I had been hearing of Woods’ lyrical approach and decided to acquaint myself with it. So off to the music store I went, and returned with the record album that was Woods’ tribute to some of his departed friends and musical influences–Paul Desmond, Cannonball Adderley, Oscar Pettiford, Charlie Parker, and others. The tunes, written by Phil, captured something of the personality and unique qualities of the men he had eulogized in the album.

I remember my first hearing of “I Remember.” I slapped the record on the turntable, dropped the needle, and proceeded to be utterly blown away. Phil Woods not only possessed complete mastery of the alto sax, but he also had a gorgeous, full-bodied tone and a personal, trademark sense of swing by which I’ve been able to instantly identify him ever since. Best of all, though, Phil played beautifully–and I’m using that adverb here in its strict sense. Phil’s playing on that record was truly so beautiful and so passionate that in places, it literally moved me to tears.

I have in mind the tender, deeply moving ballad “Paul,” written in tribute to Paul Desmond. Phil’s solo on that tune just took my breath away, and having listened to it again recently, I still am left speechless by its perfection. “Paul” is very possibly the most creative, flawlessly executed, and heart-wrenchingly lovely rendering of a ballad that I’ve ever heard, and its first impact on me was to raise up Phil Woods forever in my mind as the man to emulate when it came to ballad interpretation. In that I’m far from alone. Countless alto players over the years have looked to Woods as a jazz waymaker, fount of ideas, and source of inspiration.

My stack of LPs is long gone, and when I finally got to thinking about “I Remember” again a couple years ago, I couldn’t find it in a CD edition. It appeared to no longer be in publication, and regretfully, I consigned myself to never again listening to Phil’s beautiful playing on that album.

Jump forward to this Christmas. My sister Diane gave me my very first iPod (have I mentioned that I’m a slow joiner?) plus thirty dollars worth of iTune gift cards. So iTune shopping I went, and guess what I found? Of all the myriad albums to choose from, I chose “I Remember” as my first download.

You can’t imagine how thrilled I am to reacquaint myself with the collection of tunes that was my first exposure to Phil Woods. It seems impossible that thirty years have passed since that time, but today, “I Remember” still has the same effect on me as it did back then. Having developed a degree of expertise on the alto sax that I didn’t possess in those days, I find Phil’s playing to be, if anything, even more awe-inspiring and beautiful than when I first heard him. “Julian” still makes me want to shout for joy. “Charles Christopher” still floors me with its incendiary bebop.

And “Paul” still makes me cry.

Some New Audio Clips for Your Listening Pleasure

Last Monday I got together with Ric Troll (guitar), Dave DeVos (bass), and Randy Marsh (drums), and we rehearsed a few of Ric’s original tunes in his studio, Tallmadge Mill. These guys are wonderful jazz musicians, and Ric is a composer of long standing. His music can be chewy stuff to work through, but this last session the tunes started to gel and we got some pretty nice grooves going.

Ric recorded the whole session, so I’m able to share some sample tracks with you. What you’ll hear are the tunes in rough, but there’s some very nice playing going on.

The New Hip is a basic 12-bar blues, but Ric’s head suggests a soloing approach different from your standard bebop. Attempting to free myself from cliches, I incorporated a more angular style.

The Urge is a fun tune with a high-energy A section and a swinging, cooler-sounding bridge that offers a lovely contrast.

Orcs has been the most challenging number, with it’s polymetric approach and shift to 7/4. It is coming together, though, and will be one heck of a tune once we’ve nailed down the form and the feel. Listen to Randy–the guy just tears it up on the set! Here’s a second take for all you double-dippers.

If you like what you hear, check out my Jazz Page for more sound samples as well as solo transcriptions, articles, and exercises of interest to improvising musicians.

Gospel Sax Samples: “Amazing Grace” and “Sanctuary”

I just added a couple of takes to my jazz page from a recent recording session with my friend Paul Lesinski. They are, in fact, the only takes, as we didn’t have much time. It’s fun to see what can come out of such a session. You get the raw edge, the creativity of just two musicians working through head arrangements of two beloved gospel tunes, seeing what can be done with them and having fun doing it. Paul made the job easy. He’s such a great player!

My favorite is “Amazing Grace.” It has a really joyous, fatissimo sound that captures the spirit of New Orleans. “Amazing Grace” was the song I played 30 years ago when I was requested, quite spontaneously and unexpectedly, to play a selection just minutes after my baptism at the black Pentecostal church I’d been attending as a brand-new Christian. I played the tune by default that day because it was the only gospel tune I knew; today I play it and love it because I’ve lived it, and God has worked it into my soul by experience.

“Sanctuary” is a very simple, beautiful old tune. I overplayed on this take–a fault of mine when I’m playing tunes with a slower harmonic motion–but the song has someĀ  nice moments in it to compensate. I particularly like its energy toward the end.

I hope you like the samples!

Jamming with the Guys

As the fall season progresses and the flow du jour remains northwesterly, I’m glad I’ve got music to keep me occupied. Ridging may be a storm chaser’s nightmare, but here in Michigan it’s a color tourist’s dream as the slanting sun illuminates hillsides ablaze with scarlet, yellow, purple, orange, and the summer’s last green. Now, in this poet’s season, is when the musician in me comes alive.

Thursday’s gig with keyboard monster Paul Lesinski at The Seasonal Grille in Hastings, Michigan, went beautifully. It’s amazing how much music a sax player can make with just a piano accompaniment when the pianist is as gifted as Paul.

Of course, nothing can beat playing with a complete rhythm section of hugely competent players. That was the setting this morning into the early afternoon at Ric Troll’s studio west of Grand Rapids. It’s a privilege and a joy to make music with players the caliber of Ric, Randy Marsh, and Dave DeVos. Today, it was doubly nice to break away from the usual American songbook repertoire and work on some original material by Ric plus a couple of Pat Metheny tunes. Don’t get me wrong, I love the old standards. But I really welcome the opportunity to explore fresh directions that call for a different approach, free from the cliches that are so easy to fall into with the traditional 32-bar song form.

I had thought that today would be a recording session, but it didn’t turn out that way. Some of the tunes are quite challenging–one, with it’s three-against-four polymeter, took me a good while to digest–and I think Ric’s goal for this session was for all of us to simply get a feel for the music. Can’t fault him there, though there were some very nice moments that I’d have loved to listen to the replay of. Maybe next time. And I hope we can make that next time soon. I really like what came out of today’s creative ferment, and once we’ve got the material down tight, I think we’ll have the makings of a very nice recording.

This Week: Gig and Recording Project

I’m pleased to say that all the time I’ve been spending these days practicing my saxophone is going to get some practical application. This week Thursday, October 7, I’ll be playing with keyboardist Paul Lesinski at The Seasonal Grille in downtown Hastings, Michigan. Then Saturday, I’ll be getting together for a recording project over at Tallmadge Mill studios west of Grand Rapids.

THURSDAY’S GIG: October 7, the town of Hastings is promoting a Ladies’ Night on the Town. With The Seasonal Grille offering a combination of wonderful ambiance, superb Italian cuisine at eminently affordable prices, and a good selection of wines and beers, I’m sure the place will be doing a thriving business. I’m pleased to be providing the music there with Paul. Come on out and get a mouthful, an earful, and a beerful!

Place: The Seasonal Grille

Address: 150 W. State Street in downtown Hastings, Michigan

Phone: (269) 948-9222

Time: 6:00-9:00 p.m.

SATURDAY RECORDING SESSION: I’m really excited about this! The guys I’m getting together with are some of my musical heroes. Ric Troll, owner of Tallmadge Mill Studio and organizer of the get-together, is not only an extremely tasty drummer, and more recently a guitarist, but also a wonderful composer. Anything I could say about him would be too little, and that goes for the rest of the guys as well. Randy Marsh, Kurt Ellenberger, and Dave DeVos are not merely superb players, they’re also fantastic, complete musicians, widely known and respected in West Michigan. I’m thrilled that I’ll be playing some original music with them this weekend. Look for cuts from the session here on Stormhorn.com in the future as they become available.

That’s the news for now. It’s late and I’m tired. Time to call it a night.

MuseScore Music Notation Freeware

UPDDATE, OCTOBER 20, 2011: I wrote the following a year-and-a-half ago in May, 2010. Since then, newer versions of MuseScore have worked out the kinks I’ve mentioned below. That the developers of this program are committed to it long-term shows in the way it continues to improve and evolve. So if you want the real score on MuseScore today, make sure you read the latest comment from Thomas Bonte, one of the developers, and my response to his comment. This product is a winner!

A bit buggy but good results, and you can’t beat the price: that pretty much sums up my experience with MuseScore, a free music notation software that I found online a few days ago.

Since this happens to be not only my first encounter with MuseScore but also with music transcription programs in general, I have nothing with which to compare this software. I much doubt that it can compete with Sibelius or Finale, but then, neither does it cost $600. You can’t get more budget-friendly than “free.” And, shortcomings aside, this software is getting the job done for me as I work on my “Giant Steps” e-book.

So what are the shortcomings whereof I speak? Here are a few that have made my notation process a bit frustrating:

* Various items that I’m supposed to be able to drag and drop, don’t.

* Text settings: I customize them, hit apply, and nothing happens. Or something happens, but it wasn’t what I ordered. Kind of like telling the waitress to bring you coffee and you wind up with a cup of tea instead.

* The instruction manual leaves out some key information. It’ll get you up and running, but sooner or later–and my money is on sooner–you’ll encounter an issue that the manual doesn’t address. At that point, it’s a matter of guesswork.

* The program is prone to shut down if you try to make it perform too fast, or what it considers to be too fast. For instance, don’t make the mistake of hitting the “undo” button multiple times very quickly.

So much for the negatives. Those aside, MuseScore is doing what I need it to do for me, and while the going is slow (which could be at least partially due to my own inexperience), I’m pleased with the results overall. Moreover, as the first open source transcription program available, the possibilities for MuseScore are expansive. As has been pointed out in another review, this program could become to Finale and Sibelius what Open Office is to Microsoft Office.

Bottom line: If your needs for music transcription software are fairly straightforward and you don’t have a gob of cash to spend on the brand-name stuff, then give MuseScore a try. The advantages of this software easily outweigh its snags, and I have to say, the results look great! MuseScore is clearly a labor of love, and I think you’ll come to value this free, useful music composition tool.