The Mission: This is just the unedited scrapbook version of a song that I just wrote. I’ll publish the complete, orchestrated version when it’s done.
More Music Coming Soon!
Janelle and I are now in the long process of getting our songs recorded. Most will be done in our home studio, and some will be professionally mastered. That suits our style and budget. As the songs are recorded, we’ll put them up on SoundCloud for you all to check out.
I wrote this about the time I spent living in Louisville, KY
ErieMax: The Art of Musical Decisions
-by Matthew Bennett
I was driving in my truck listening to a cover song that my band is learning, and as I listened to the harmony singers, I realized something. The chorus is presented three times in the song, and the first two times, the harmonies take on a bland version of what they could be. In the third chorus, the harmonies change, and they really shine.
These singers could have performed the “really cool” harmonies the entire song, but they held back to make the third chorus more powerful. This is sometimes a decision that is difficult to carry out live. It’s so much more fun to sing the cool harmonies, so a performer is really going to want to do it. It actually takes self control to say “the presentation of the song is more important than me” and to hold back and do the right thing.
For a seasoned musician, it’s easy to hold back a nice instrumental lick that would be stepping all over the vocals, or another instruments important part in the song. The musician can hold back, because it would sound terrible and too busy. But holding back a part that sounds amazing all the time… that is a challenge.
That’s the part of musical decision making at which I would like to excel. That is that part of music that creates excitement, whether the listener understands it or not.
It’s definitely worth the thoughtfulness and hard work.
The Mission
Sometime I feel
like I’m on a mission to
seek and destroy
everything good i’ve done
I can’t let go
of everything I know I should and what I should
I can’t hold on…
(from my song, “the mission” - being recorded now, coming to an iTunes store near you…)
Covering Greenday - When I Come Around
