It is amazing how when one begins to do something you've been away from a long time that many bits of knowledge seemingly forgotten come back to you. More than that, sometimes you are smarter and better than you were when you left. I don't know if anyone else experiences this phenomenon. I doubt that I'm alone in the universe.
I used to call this "zen guitar". There have been times when demands of life have taken me from my instrument for long periods to where I really felt like I forgot how to play. And during my "not playing", I actually become better! More creative, etc....The muscles become rusty, but that is usually cured in a short time. I thought at first that it was just because I was returning with a "fresh" or "beginner's mind". But I've noticed that it amounts to more than that.
It seems that as I have developed in knowledge & experience in the understanding of the nature of the universe, that it entails adding to some kind of universal skill that enhances me as a player...without studying, without practicing, etc....And it doesn't just work with guitar-playing.
But that's not what I began to write about. I wanted to write about those "happy accidents" that occur during the recording process.
No, I don't mean when you get so involved in the creative process that you forget to go to the restroom.
I mean those unintended things that happen which somehow mesh with the creative process and end up enhancing the result. And odd flourish improvised, not on the chart that sounds great. Sometimes some stray noise on an instrument generated by creative exuberance or frustration, scheduled for erasure during editing, turns out to sound pretty darn good because of its timing or whatever, so you end up leaving it in.
The Beatles knew all about this, and were open to using it to their advantage. They were great experimenters anyway, using instruments & equipment in ways far out of the norm. But they always had their ears tuned in for anything odd that might enhance a tune...sometimes this got started by a compressor or some other unit set wrong. Someone would start playing, and they'd think "Wow. What can we do with that?".
Since I've gotten back to recording again, I've had a number of happy accidents...no jokes PLEASE!...The latest & greatest of these is not completely accidental. Some of it results from educated guesses and the "zen recording" phenomenon mentioned earlier.
You must first understand that I began working on my current tune 4 YEARS AGO!...It's been one of those situations where life's demands have thrown a series of wooden shoes in my music-making. Working in widely separated spurts, it took the first 2 to make the basic tracks (rhythm section) and vocal for this tune...and then things got really interesting!
But back before I began, I had a sound in my head for the lead guitar. And in my head I began designing a patch to get that sound. So I have been carrying this around like a grain of sand in an oyster, agitating me for at least 5 years!
Finally it has come time to make that track. Yesterday I did some very basic settings on my equipment looking to produce that sound I've been aiming for. I worked on it maybe a half an hour, which in recording time, doesn't amount to much. I figured to do a lot more tweaking to get that elusive quality I was looking for...I recorded a test section to see what it might need to match my idea.
Stunningly Unbelievably it needed Nothing!!!
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