Beauty and warmth of Bass. How it adds magic to music.

Beauty and warmth of Bass. The magic, the musicality and the depth.

Beauty and warmth of Bass. The Cello Neighbor.

The 3^rd instrument I ever learned to play was the cello – and I loved it. The tonal range and the position of the cello generally in front of the double-bass players in an orchestra allowed me to wallow in the lower tones from an early age. And that swimming in the deep end feeling of the music down there immediately translated into my piano playing and style; taking my hands an octave lower to find a sweet spot in my music there.

Beauty and warmth of Bass. A different approach than drums.

Now recently I wrote on the subject of drummers and percussion and my respect for how they add unexpected and wonderful things to many of my singer-songwriter style songs. So much better too in how it actually changes a creation sometimes. And while this may be true as regards bass and really good bass players, for me what these players more often do to a song is sometimes to give it EXACTLY what I expected. I say that not because a good bass player doesn’t create something fresh and talented in ways that I don’t or can’t, but rather in how good bass playing in a singer-songwriter song is like blood in a mammal.

It just is – and to a point, the more the better. When bass gets added to a song of mine, it frequently just adds balls, power, and subliminal rhythms which are already ghost notes in the ear of a listener. Frequently it feels like the song was just coming through an old tiny battery powered transistor AM radio and suddenly after the bass is added it sounds like it is live players 12 feet away in a nice wooden room.

Beauty and warmth of bass… and those rare moments…

Now the contrary is rare, but every now and then it happens that a bass player botches it and brings not the guts and ghost notes, but rather jams a bookend not on the end of the books in line, but rather between them and thus makes a hell of a mess on the bookshelf.

But this is rare.

Most times, the bass is like the curve of a beautiful woman’s hind end. Yeah she may have a beautiful face, nice smile, long hair, and a lovely sleeveless dress, but the picture may be incomplete if it doesn’t end well (smile). So too a good song that lacks good work from a bass player and possible bad choices, that is not fully ready for the spotlight.
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Lyrics Logic & Lullabies
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Lyrics, Logic, and Lullabies are delivered from baby boomer singer songwriter Ed Verner. Weaving together lyrics from personal experiences and tales from a life of people watching, these Lyrics, Logic, and Lullabies present contemporary younger songs from a salty renaissance man.
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For more information on Ed and his Lyrics, Logic and Lullabies, visit:
http://lyricslogicandlullabies.com/
https://instagram.com/lyrics_logic_and_lullabies/
https://twitter.com/Lyrics_Logic_an/
https://facebook.com/edvernermusic/
https://youtube.com/WindKetcher/
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Beauty and warmth of Bass. How it adds magic to music.

Top three phases of drummers. Most commonly seen drumming styles.

Top three phases of drummers. Yes, I am going there.

As a singer-songwriter of generally mellow story telling songs, I have come to greatly appreciate the art and rarity inside great drumming. When it comes to drummers, I have had three distinct phases of past experiences:

Top Three phases of Drummers: Phase 1

The High School Phase – This is where teenage boys attempt to relieve their frustration and try to prove their “manhood” by beating wildly and savagely on their tortured and poor quality drum set (failing miserably at both). This phase for me was marked by my gaining a real appreciation as to how much noise and songwriting arrest drums are capable of making. Also in this phase one can observe how drummers work very hard, often creating a sheen of sweat which is strangely and inexplicably attractive to certain females.

Top Three phases of Drummers: Phase 2

The Young Adult Phase – This period is marked by an increase in the player’s skill and a rise in instrument quality, combined unfortunately with an overwhelming urge to be recognized and identified with both. In this phase, any song to receive “the treatment” becomes a magic carpet upon which the drums can rise to the top “where it belongs”. Amplifiers become a necessity for every other instrument and the vocals. Even a concert grand piano, capable of going toe to toe with a full orchestra and brass, needs to be amplified now to remind anyone in the audience that the song has a melody.

Top three phases of Drummers: Phase 3

The Artist Phase – This is the high altitude rare air of high orbit wherein a truly gifted, mature, and artistic drummer/percussionist adds something to any song that very often people remain unaware of through their first 10 or more listens. After a while, a song that people truly love gets heard enough to where they find themselves doing the drum part on their dashboards, or air-drumming with glee to the one or two signature licks that define the rhythm which now they cannot live without.

Now all joking aside…

I must admit to how I’ve grown to appreciate a very nearly identical track of progress in gifted piano players I admire; or in saxophone, or guitar, or just about any melodic instrument of difficulty. And I’ve occasionally caught myself playing “too much” of the song on my piano when I am going to take it from my coffee-house original incarnation into a studio cut, etc.

But one of the wonderful things I’ve grown to appreciate about drums in a singer-songwriter production is how now I am eager now to hear what a drummer (an artistic and gifted one) will bring to something I’m at a loss to conjure in my own head. And I’ve come to appreciate how really “drums” is very much a plural thing. Talk about multi-tasking; cymbals, toms, snare drums, hi hat, and then the gamut of percussion instruments really can make your head spin. And of course judicious use of cymbals and the fine line between noise and juicy emotion you can’t explain is an art unto itself. I’ve enjoyed having an already “full” song actually sound less crowded after 10 tracks of drumming and percussion are ADDED to it and that dynamic is a strange and beautiful irony to behold.

And while I personally pick number 3 of the top three phases of drummers, I am happy to say that even in the simplest ballad I create now, I long for and appreciate a good drummer that is an artist, aware and understanding of my music.

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Lyrics Logic & Lullabies
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Lyrics, Logic, and Lullabies are delivered from baby boomer singer songwriter Ed Verner. Weaving together lyrics from personal experiences and tales from a life of people watching, these Lyrics, Logic, and Lullabies present contemporary younger songs from a salty renaissance man.
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For more information on Ed and his Lyrics, Logic and Lullabies, visit:
http://lyricslogicandlullabies.com/
https://instagram.com/lyrics_logic_and_lullabies/
https://twitter.com/Lyrics_Logic_an/
https://facebook.com/edvernermusic/
https://youtube.com/WindKetcher/
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Top three phases of drummers. Most commonly seen drumming styles.

Would you like free music from me?

Would you like free music from me? Not an option and here is why.

would you like free music, airplane, lyrics logic and lullabies — *Above Image is free Use with out restriction from The New York Public Library Digital Collections.*

Would you like free music from me?

Just because I love making my music, does not mean I will give it to you for free. Really, you should be ashamed of yourself for asking. Now, if I choose to, I may gift it to someone for reasons that give me pleasure, or to gain exposure to a larger body of work of mine in hopes of being more successful, etc. But for anyone to have the automatic expectation of getting good quality art for free, is to further a dark and sad mantra, namely:

“When all art is free, it will be worth what you paid for it.”

A corollary to this for me is how I will always endeavor to pay anyone who collaborates with me on a song or artistic project. It may not be much, but I will always try to make some payment. And any payment is infinitely more than zero.

Would you like free music from me: Does that request consider the artist?

This applies in so many areas of life in how many people believe that if someone is blessed to do something they love for a living, they should be able to give it away – as if the joy of doing should be enough for them. What a crock of manure. I have a dentist who genuinely loves fixing, removing, and sloshing around with teeth. And when I have dental pain I am damned glad he not only loves doing it, but that he is in the BUSINESS of doing what he loves. Good for him, and when he makes a pain go away, I am a happy guy to be able to pay him.

Would you like free music from me? Well, if there is a fair barter in place, then I think it is ok.

Sure there are times when a barter system applies in music. And is one of the only times it would be right to answer yes to the question, would you like free music? There are times when someone says they will play on a song of mine, if I will play piano on a song of theirs, and sometimes I will agree, or other times I may decide to pay them, and then ask for the same rate later if their song ever gets an instrument add on from my fingers, etc.

But I’m not speaking here of people in the industry of making art. I’m talking about how many people (who can’t play or write chopsticks) somehow feel they are entitled to listen to and download astoundingly good music or art for free. And how they often may find a song, avoid buying it, and spend 30 minutes figuring out how to snatch it for free… Buddy, 30 minutes of your time to download the software to become a thief/pirate is worth more than the 99 cents you could have supported the artist by buying it in the first place. Wake up douche-bag.

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Lyrics Logic & Lullabies
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Lyrics, Logic, and Lullabies are delivered from baby boomer singer songwriter Ed Verner. Weaving together lyrics from personal experiences and tales from a life of people watching, these Lyrics, Logic, and Lullabies present contemporary younger songs from a salty renaissance man.
************************************************
For more information on Ed and his Lyrics, Logic and Lullabies, visit:
http://lyricslogicandlullabies.com/
https://instagram.com/lyrics_logic_and_lullabies/
https://twitter.com/Lyrics_Logic_an/
https://facebook.com/edvernermusic/
https://youtube.com/WindKetcher/
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Would you like free music from me? Not an option and here is why.

Do you lose your keys? Or are you the type doesn’t?

There are two types of people; those who lose keys and those who don’t. I’ve learned there are redeeming features in either type. But as one of the “I never lose my keys” people, I sometimes have had to adapt and create sympathy in myself towards those who “misplace” important things. At times, I can’t believe it and see how someone else could. At the end of each day for me, I place my things in a particular place, and will easily find them each morning as my next day begins. If I am traveling, I generally create a new habit for each hotel room, and practically never misplace something.

When I arrived at my office this morning in the dim coming dawn of the morning, as is my habit, I could arrange the keys on my key ring in my hand as I was walking up the stairs without even looking at them. By the time I got to the office door, key in hand and ready to open it, it hit me afresh just how long I have been carrying that particular key ring. And then as I flicked on the lights and reached my office, it occurred to me how routine is my unlocking my desk and filing cabinets. I noticed how the keys for each are over 10 years old and rubbed clean in certain spots due to long-time use.

Do you lose your keys…or do you misplace other peoples keys?

On the flip side is how discombobulated I can become if my keys and things are taken out of the usual place during house cleaning, or by one of my children for some reason or another. So in this case, sometimes I feel my answer would still be no to someone asking, do you lose your keys. Because they were moved by someone else!

I usually can conduct a successful search and rescue mission for them, but to see my “place” disrupted by someone (particularly if it is someone who frequently loses their keys and things) can be briefly troublesome to me.

Do you lose your keys and is this a born or taught thing?

I don’t know exactly how the habit of careful tending of important things for long periods gets instilled. Is it born, or is it taught? I wish I knew. For I’ve met highly successful people who are otherwise bumbling idiots as regards their wallet, or keys, or hotel room cards, etc. And I’ve met neurotic dunces who have carried the same pocket knife for 25 years. So I don’t mean to pass judgement here. But I think by middle youth (puberty) someone has become one or the other of these two types of people. And if you are a key loser, one that answers yes to the question, do you lose your keys, well, then for heaven’s sake make a dozen copies of your keys when you get a new apartment, or automobile. And if you are a key-master then take care not to let your territorial prerogative regarding your ‘things’ take precedent over the people in your life who matter more than any ‘thing’.

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Lyrics Logic & Lullabies
************************************************
Lyrics, Logic, and Lullabies are delivered from baby boomer singer songwriter Ed Verner. Weaving together lyrics from personal experiences and tales from a life of people watching, these Lyrics, Logic, and Lullabies present contemporary younger songs from a salty renaissance man.
************************************************
For more information on Ed and his Lyrics, Logic and Lullabies, visit:
http://lyricslogicandlullabies.com/
https://instagram.com/lyrics_logic_and_lullabies/
https://twitter.com/Lyrics_Logic_an/
https://facebook.com/edvernermusic/
https://youtube.com/WindKetcher/
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Do you lose your keys? Or are you the type doesn’t?

Hidden Song Titles & meanings

Hidden Song Titles and meanings in a short story from Ed Verner

Hidden Song Titles and meanings in a short story.

See if you can catch the hidden song titles in the short story and blog. I took the approach of writing a piece for fun that would include a number of my songs. There are thirty of my songs in this story, can you find them? Or if you don’t know them, which words together do you think would make a good title of a song?

Every once in a while I have to tell myself to “Come on”, especially when I feel like I’ve been thrown off. Years ago when I rather suddenly accepted how I was a single parent now and I absorbed that feeling of being on a lonely island of sorts, it kind of felt that our town was no longer my town for a while, and the hurt of that took me outside of my usual nice guy side and plopped me into being capable of being a dangerous man for a brief moment. I could see the future looming at times, even feeling a bit like I had a crystal ball and chain in that I could foretell, but not avoid, some drama headed towards me and my fairy tale life. And yet, enduring some suffering was good and in many ways that’s the reason I could slog through what was a long cold winter for me and my family.

Not going to give away the hidden song titles yet…

but I will tell you there were 10 hidden song titles so far in the last paragraph.

The truth is that even when I was working in a county honkytonk and watching that genre change to the point of feeling I was witnessing a country song epitaph of sorts, good music still had a way in and to my heart. And even though I saw time and time again (at what was a honkytonk toying with being a nightclub) how you can’t depend on love too much, I still romantically clung to the idea of love like a captain with his ship. And in my mind I love not only the future happiness I work for and hope to find, but also any passed love affairs; remembering at times the happiness of knowing, man, she is so pretty, even more inside than out.

Eight more hidden song titles in that last paragraph.

Hint, if you visit https://soundcloud.com/ed-verner, you may be able to make out some of the hidden song titles. These are not all originals of mine would be a solid second hint. Plus I linked a few of them too!

Sometimes ‘wait’ she said was too long, or the road we didn’t go conjures a feeling of howling at the moon, but in the end things fade away and that’s ok. When the warring angels that guard me and someone else find themselves conflicted it is my style when I look at them to see how they are both doing their job, and I’m glad. They can both majestically defend their charge in a heroes’ waltz of sorts, each trying to guard and protect the little china doll they shelter.

And eight more in the previous paragraph and four more in the next to make it 30. Could you find them all?

What are you dreaming? These things that you are dreaming, do they fade over time, or crystalize and motivate you with an ebb and flow of inspiration? Any regrets? If you have the gift of big dreams and opportunities, don’t lie to yourself – don’t be some beautiful liar that makes me sad. I don’t want to write any sad songs here just now.

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Lyrics Logic & Lullabies
************************************************
Lyrics, Logic, and Lullabies are delivered from baby boomer singer songwriter Ed Verner. Weaving together lyrics from personal experiences and tales from a life of people watching, these Lyrics, Logic, and Lullabies present contemporary younger songs from a salty renaissance man.
************************************************
For more information on Ed and his Lyrics, Logic and Lullabies, visit:
http://lyricslogicandlullabies.com/
https://instagram.com/lyrics_logic_and_lullabies/
https://twitter.com/Lyrics_Logic_an/
https://facebook.com/edvernermusic/
https://youtube.com/WindKetcher/
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Hidden Song Titles and meanings from Lyrics Logic and Lullabies