The Regular Friday Post
Rando Lyrics: I know if I tried I could stand up and say
Last week’s rando lyrics: The lyric, “I take a step backwards and I fall down the same old hills’” is from the song "Tiny Fires”, by Toby Johnson. Written by Toby Johnson, it’s Track 1 on the EP “Things I Should Have Said", released in November, 2020. Hmmm - Producer information for this EP/album version is at best difficult to find (as in, “I couldn’t find it”), though there is a live recorded version on the “7 Layers Sessions #21” YouTube video produced by Bjorn Franklin & Georgina Burns. So, I don’t know if they produced both or just the 7 Layers Sessions - I suspect the latter and perhaps Mr. Johnson self-produced the EP. The song is “©Mahogany Recordings, 2020”, though…. Credit: Apple Music >Link - Apple Music<
Welcome to The Regular Friday post!
For Today:
So last week’s post was fairly dense with some of the backstory on the A4=440Hz stuff. I mentioned we had discussed this before and I seem to recall writing about at some point. A discussion about this with our friend and all around interesting guy, Nic Briscoe, led me to search and I did come up with a reference, but when I went back to find the post where I wrote about it, I came up empty. That doesn’t mean I didn’t write about it, just that I’m pathetic at indexing and cataloging my now going on 3 years worth of posts…meh. The reference I had posted at some point goes much more in-depth, and does a better job than I probably did in any event. It’s enlightening and since last week’s post set a one day record for “opens” for this newsletter, it might be of interest, so here’s the link: A4=440Hz or 432Hz? What's All The Hubbub, Bub?
Or maybe the word “mondegreen” got everyone’s attention, it’s not like I know…. If it was “mondegreen”, and that’s an unfamiliar word, here’s an example:
“But I can see you, your bra straps shinin' in the sun, You got your D.A.R.E. shirt back, And your Air Jordan's on, baby...."
So if these are the lyrics you hear when you listen to Don Henley’s “The Boys Of Summer”, well, you’re not alone, my friend…
“Mondegreens are most often created by a person listening to a poem or a song; the listener, being unable to hear a lyric clearly, substitutes words that sound similar and make some kind of sense.” Credit: Wikipedia Link: Mondegreen
Today’s song (after I get done talking about something else) is from last week’s Rando Lyrics and is Mr. Johnson’s “Tiny Fires” - the YouTube video is above (anyone else want to go back in time to when that was filmed and dry off his glasses? Bugs me….). My choice of this song is a twisted tale going back to when I was writing last week’s post. The A4=440/432Hz stuff was getting a bit dense with research and whatnot. So I kinda punked out and grabbed a “suggested for you” Spotify indie/acoustic playlist, trimmed it from 50 songs to 25 and dropped it in… a slick “mother’s little helper” in this case. I had it on in the background while I was writing and several times had to just stop because a significant portion of the songs were boring the crap out of me with overly repeated lyrics. I’m not going to call out any of the artists on the playlist (Ed. - I’ll leave that to you, gentle reader…), but there was a lot of what in my opinion is just lazy songwriting. If the entire chorus is a repeat of one line, and the chorus itself is repeated, my attention is caught and not in a good way.
So, Mr Johnson’s song came on and the first part sounded like it was going to be another “Josh Radin-esque” whisper pop, finger picked, acoustic sort of thing. Then backing vocals and a piano part just sort of appeared. And then the drums kicked in! Okay, that got my attention. And is that a banjo?!?!? So, the whole thing had turned into a very cool song and everything again sort of dropped out for the outro. Cool!! Did it matter that I would have preferred the change to have occurred a bit earlier? Nope. Did it matter that it dropped back to a simple accompaniment for the outro? Nope. Why not, you ask? Because this song in particular made use of dynamics, the principle that sorta boils down to “don’t just do the whole thing in a monotone”, but do something, preferably something cool, and even more preferably something really cool.
So. Mr. Johnson did something pretty cool with this song. He didn’t change tempo - you can see in the Chordify chart below it’s a very quick tempo, though; he didn’t change the key (ala Eric Clapton, just sayin’…) - he just somewhat unexpectedly dropped in some additional and building orchestration. The credits don’t list any session players (which doesn’t mean there weren’t some uncredited session players), so maybe Mr. Johnson overdubbed the backing vocals, drums, piano, and other guitar (banjo?) parts himself. Or maybe not. Not like I know, but the effect was definitely ear-catching!
So, what are dynamics in music? I’m going to put a couple of links in just below this text block, and a couple more in the “Some Links For Today” section further down. The two I’m including in this section are a bit longer and probably more instructive, the ones in the links section are quick “bites” that are mostly definitional and sort of the Reader’s Digest versions (is Reader’s Digest even still a thing? Dunno…). Anyway, these articles just below are going to emphasize relative “loudness” in different parts of the song. That’s certainly part of what we call dynamics, but not the only part, at least not in modern times. Prior to the advent of recorded music, loudness was pretty much it, though it was (and is) always possible to change keys, or use non-diatonic notes and chords, even tempo, to create changes that were noticeable to the listener. Such changes may not have been entirely pleasant to listeners in Florence, or Paris, or Stuttgart, Moscow, London, etc, but they were possible. After music could be recorded for playback, and as the technology advanced to allow for multiple overdubbed tracks (overlaid on other tracks), and for home and theater audio equipment to replicate all of that, it became possible to change not just loudness, but where in space we perceived the sound coming from - left, right, up, down, in front, to the side or even behind the listener - new ways to change volume, and our perception of location and depth and audio range changed the way we heard music. So, now, even though most definitions of dynamics are just about volume/loudness, and the traditional Italian language descriptors for dynamics are mostly just gradations of loudness - the concept is really more than just volume, timing, tempo and other such changes. It’s dynamically balancing positional listening, volume, bass and treble, and probably other factors (for example, your listening environment - house, car, etc.).
Note - keep in mind the links below, as well as those in the “Some Links For Today” section further down, are going to try to sell you something - lessons, services, merchandise, whatevs. OK, it’s the nature of the beast and you’re certainly not obligated to buy anything, and none of them sponsor me in anyway, cuz I’m not selling anything. If a link catches my attention during the week, I save it and pass it along, but I don’t care even a little bit if any link results in revenue. OTOH, if you see something you like, have fun!
Musical Phrasing - This is a website called The Music Studio - I think they sell lessons or something. Good article on dynamics, though.
Dynamics In Music - This is from the Disc Makers blog; I link to them frequently and their articles are usually always very informative.
A Song To Play:
I used the “Capo on 4” version for a couple of reasons, it’s a bit simpler to play, but most of all because in the “sessions” version of the song referenced above, Mr. Johnson is playing an acoustic guitar capoed on the 4th fret. May have been because it fit his voice better and he wanted to keep it simple, or the album version may have been all session players who didn’t care what chords were easier to play. Dunno. You can leave the capo off and just play the chords shown in open position (that means cowboy chords) if it’s in your vocal range, though that will sound odd if you play it with the YouTube video above.
Lyrics (Credit: Genius Link: Tiny Fires)
[Verse 1]
An hour in real time passes like the second on a broken clock
I stay in bed all day, I just realised this will be the third on the trot
I set the foundation for a life I don't know how to build
And I take a step backwards and I fall down the same old hills
[Verse 2]
And I hope that you'll return to me
It's mighty lonely on my own in the city
And I hope I'll find some better company
Where they are willing to be caring for my pity
And I do not want to wake up to the shame
But I'm far too tired for these games
We will bury this with all our memories
Right beside the last love that took it all away
[Pre-Chorus]
And oh, and as sweet as you were
You turned out to be fools, gold in the dark dirt
And you raced, through the house
Whirlwind tearing everything to the cold ground
And your words, through the phone
Force the skin off right of my white bones
And I lay, surrounded by these thoughts
[Chorus]
And our tiny fires, I swear they'll burn someday
And I want them wild and in some place it never rains
Cus we belong, deep inside the blaze
Just like we did back in our early days
[Verse 3]
I move in straight lines and I follow cats eyes beside the road
I know directions but where they take me we'll never know
Please fire a flare so I know that you're out there
Safe and sound, with a beacon over your head
[Verse 4]
And I hope that you are missing me
I feel it too and alone in the country
I miss the sirens and song repeats
Late nights that I wish I could remember
I'd do anything I can to make you stay
But your mind has made you leave anyway
And sure hope your trains delayed
'Cus there's so much more I need to say and
[Pre-Chorus]
And oh, and as sweet as you were
You turned out to be fools, gold in the dark dirt
And you raced, through the house
Whirlwind tearing everything to the cold ground
And your words, through the phone
Force the skin off right of my white bones
And I lay, surrounded by these thoughts
[Chorus]
And our tiny fires, I swear they'll burn someday
And I want them wild and in some place it never rains
'Cus we belong, deep inside the blaze
Just like we did back in our early days
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
[Chorus]
And our tiny fires, I swear they'll burn someday
And I want them wild and in some place it never rains
'Cus we belong, deep inside the blaze
Just like we did back in our early days
Other Voices:
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This Substack is free, I receive no compensation of any kind from companies or products I mention. Some linked or quoted material may be copyrighted by others, and I credit them. I rely on the “Fair Use” doctrine for educational purposes (Link: Fair Use). *I do not use AI, things I link to might though. -Michael Acoustic
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Some Links For Today
ED. None of these result in compensation to me in any way, and I’m not endorsing any of them, but some of my readers may find them as interesting as I did…
Couple more links about dynamics:
5 Ways To Create Dynamics - From a site called Secrets Of Songwriting, this is pretty brief and they really, really want you to buy their eBooks. Whether you do or don’t is up to you, but this very short article does hit the highlights, mostly.
Adding Dynamics - This very brief article hits the highlights from a mix perspective. It’s from Sweetwater, so you know they’re selling stuff - which is fine, I like Sweetwater, it’s a bit pricier than some stuff you can find on Reverb, but you don’t have to go hunting for it.
From Fret Success:
Guitar String Frequencies - This site was new to me, and they’re definitely selling stuff, but they did a really good job of explaining guitar string frequencies (which goes along with the whole discussion we had last week). The explanation was great, and make sure to check out the graphics, especially the one that compares the frequency ranges of different instruments - I was surprised to learn a six string guitar range is closer to the cello frequencies than other stringed instruments…
From Blues Guitar Unleashed:
2 Note Chords - Sounds pretty simple, but there is a really great idea behind it - that is, how to play rhythm behind a soloist while both a) being heard, and b) not overshadowing the soloist. Good stuff.
Major-minor Blues Boxes - This is a .pdf, not a web page. If the concept here is interesting, it’s worth downloading (it’s free). May be a bit advanced for beginners.
Ringing Out Notes - Basically this is about not cutting your notes short, but letting them ring. Worth the read.
From the Disc Makers Blog:
How To Release Music - there’s some great advice in here, it’s kind of trying to cover more than the nuts and bolts of navigating a independent release on CD Baby or Distrokid/Songtrust. It’s a great article, but going through the process on one of the distributor/publishing admin services is complex, at least the first time.
LLC? An LLC is a Limited Liability Company, and it can “own” your publishing copyrights. A publisher has to be a business entity, not an individual. The good thing about an LLC is that it’s a business entity. There may be some drawbacks if you’re the sole owner/member, and you’ll need to talk that over with a lawyer who is familiar with intellectual property and copyright ownership. FWIW, it’s the model I use - I own the composer and sound recording copyrights, and my LLC: 10 Songs Music, LLC owns the publishing rights. And I’m the sole member/manager of 10 Songs.
Is it though? Find out here!
From Thalia Capos:
Guitar Pairing Of Lennon and Harrison - Not the usual from Thalia Capos - really interesting insights into the some of the backstory to how the Beatles created some of their legendary sound.
From Songtown:
Spare Time, Better Songs - Time on your hands? Do something with it. Interesting read.
Get Better Feedback - I agreed with everything in this brief, but informative article. That’s how you do it, even if you know it’s going to hurt a bit.
From Carvin Audio:
Vocal Mics Best Practices - I especially liked the “Don’t eat the mic!” part, but the whole thing is great.
From ASCAP:
Burnout Avoidance - I’m not sure it can be “avoided”, but it may be possible to deal with it constructively…
Thank You To Our New Subscribers and Followers!! This Week’s Conversation With Mika, the Cat:
Mika : “What do you mean it’s not treat time? You’re not the boss of me.”
Me: “Yeah, I kinda am.”
Mika : “Punk”
Cheers and keep playing!!
Michael Acoustic
“It’s never really final - you just run out of things you can bear to change…”