Personal Project Nuggets!

 Personal Project Examples and Nuggets of Wisdom for Songwriting

Deep dive into Pheobe Bridger sand Kyoto

Grammy Award Winner Best Rock Song 2024

One Thing is to take the 'Joke' and put it front and centre

From Demo to Grammy Best Rock Song

Speeding it up 

adding screaming and Pocket piano

Pushing the envelope

Happy-sounding songs that are not!

Heavy Makeup: improvising Songs in the rehearsal room...and on stage!

How is improvising as a group a useful technique for you?

System of a Down Lead Singer Serj Tankian: Artist, Activist raising awareness of the Armenian Genocide.

Wrote music on a mini key Casio Keyboard

Serj found as his voice got trained, he had to find a new way to scream and keep his voice sounding 'Heavy'.

Sheryl Crow

Writes with a bass and her vocal melody 

This can result in interesting riff-based songs rather than being locked into a Chord Progression

Here she is with Jason Isbel talking about her work.

NASHVILLE GUITAR PROJECT EXAMPLE

EXAMPLE PLAN OUTLINE

Aim: to explore Bon Iver's use of HiStrung Nashville guitar in DADGAD

Objective: create a histrung guitar suitable for the project

Use in recording textures and some original work

Contraints: Cost;Time; Skill in learning how to find the new shapes in DADGAD; making a guitar of a quality good enough for recording

Resources: cheap Kay guitar form an auction

Refinishing products: paint; masking tape, polishing compounds and wet and dry; wire wool; Top laquer; Brass bridge pins

D'addario Histrung set of strings

Replacement string ferrules for tuners (found a match form my store of parts)

TIMELINE

week one - obtain guitar

Week two - assess work and order parts

Week three, rub down and prime

Base coats of colour

Week Four top coats rubbing down between each

Week Five - final polish and fitting of bridge pins and strings

Week Six: add textures to recordings - find new chords shapes to inspire a new piece

Week Seven - mix and evaluate.....

Research: How to record like BonIver video; Japanese Luthier video

JOURNAL

Conclusion