Output before Input #94 - 2022.04.17

🎵 Output before Input #94 - 2022.04.17

I tend to focus a lot on harmonic mobility in my own writing but there’s always something interesting about playing simple changes with a particular feeling.

Output before Input #93 - 2022.04.16

🎵 Output before Input #93 - 2022.04.16

This lick made me wish I were in better shape. I was listening to High Life Kings yesterday so that’s undoubtedly why I have this kind of pattern in my head today.

Output before Input #92 - 2022.04.14

🎵 Output before Input #92 - 2022.04.14

A groove like this sounds easy to play and isn’t technically difficult, but can be tough to sustain consistently.

Output before Input #91 - 2022.04.13

🎵 Output before Input #91 - 2022.04.13

Inverted power chord (fourth under fifth) structures keep showing up in my improvisation. They sound inherently less resolved and powerful, which lends a bit more dramatic tension.

Output before Input #90 - 2022.04.10

🎵 Output before Input #90 - 2022.04.10

Bonus exploration today. Feels like outer space to me.

Output before Input #89 - 2022.04.10

🎵 Output before Input #89 - 2022.04.10

I watched Metal Lords last night and something must have transferred to my subconscious.

I dug up this old project that I’ve never shared: the Padazzler™! It’s a custom-made table tennis paddle with LED lights that blink whenever a ball hits it. For some reason, I never posted it to Thingiverse, but maybe I will if I can find the source files.

Output before Input #88 (Take 3) - 2022.04.09

🎵 Output before Input #88 (Take 3) - 2022.04.09

3-part series today.

This is the final take of 3. It’s quite different from the other takes (ultimately), but it also feels to me like the most interesting ideas of the improv started to take shape and get stated with more clarity here.

Output before Input #88 (Take 2) - 2022.04.09

🎵 Output before Input #88 (Take 2) - 2022.04.09

3-part series today.

This was a second take after I flubbed the first one (see Take 1), and I really liked it. But I realized after I stopped playing that my computer had run out of battery somewhere in the middle. This is a partial recording…

Output before Input #88 (Take 1) - 2022.04.09

🎵 Output before Input #88 (Take 1) - 2022.04.09

3-part series today.

I started with this recording, but I felt like I flubbed it too many times to share. I did another take and my computer ran out of battery right in the middle of the take :/ Since they’re all quite different I thought maybe it would be interesting to share them all as a window into the improvisation process.

Output before Input #87 - 2022.04.08

🎵 Output before Input #87 - 2022.04.08

Sinister steps through silent streets.

Output before Input #86 - 2022.04.08

🎵 Output before Input #86 - 2022.04.08

I don’t know why these pop melodies keep coming out. I must be feeling nostalgic.

Output before Input #85 - 2022.04.07

🎵 Output before Input #85 - 2022.04.07

I awoke with a little minor-ninth embellishment in my head and built this groove from that.

Output before Input #84 - 2022.04.05

🎵 Output before Input #84 - 2022.04.05

A bit of mischief today.

Output before Input #83 - 2022.04.04

🎵 Output before Input #83 - 2022.04.04

Just a little comfortable pocket. Sometimes it’s nice to be in a comfortable pocket.

Output before Input #82 - 2022.04.03

🎵 Output before Input #82 - 2022.04.03

Believe it or not, I was meditating on the pelvic floor and this riff was inspired by that.

Output before Input #81 - 2022.04.02

🎵 Output before Input #81 - 2022.04.02

The major chords of a triumphant soul.

Output before Input #80 - 2022.04.01

🎵 Output before Input #80 - 2022.04.01

I woke up with this melody in my head, which means I almost certainly stole it from somewhere. I turned it into something rambling and comfortable, probably because moving on is in my head today.

Output before Input #79 - 2022.03.31

🎵 Output before Input #79 - 2022.03.31

Today I’m thinking about being a kid, sneaking around in the early morning, trying to be clandestine but occasionally failing in our enthusiasm.

Output before Input #78 - 2022.03.30

🎵 Output before Input #78 - 2022.03.30

I’m thinking about my dad this morning, who introduced me to Frank Zappa. Growing up, he always encouraged my weirder guitar tendencies and took the stewardship of my musical taste seriously.

When I think of Frank Zappa, I think of ironic doo-wop, I think of whole tone abrasive guitar solos, and I think of crazy riffs in crazy meter. Some of that comes out here.

Output before Input #77 - 2022.03.29

🎵 Output before Input #77 - 2022.03.29

Me cruising along, doing my thing and then I threw my back out. I think I could have seen it coming if I knew where to look, but of course we never can see the thing in our blind spot.

Output before Input #76 - 2022.03.29

🎵 Output before Input #76 - 2022.03.29

A chord study.

Output before Input #75 - 2022.03.28

🎵 Output before Input #75 - 2022.03.28

At least once a week I have a meditation/stretching “improv” practice. This sketch feels a bit like those improvisations - just following what shows up and seeing where it takes you.

Output before Input #74 - 2022.03.27

🎵 Output before Input #74 - 2022.03.27

Perhaps a touch frantic, but I do like it.

Output before Input #73 - 2022.03.26

🎵 Output before Input #73 - 2022.03.26

Weirdly I got to this riff by playing “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac. I think it might play better on bass guitar, but I like it in this context too, even with the rough playing.