The Regular Friday Post

Rando lyrics: "You say, my baby, all this time in between drives me crazy I want a life on fire, going mad with desire"

Sep 15, 2023

Last week’s rando lyrics: “All the words that I've been reading Have now started the act of bleeding Into one” from the song "The World I Know" by American band Collective Soul, originally released on their 1995 eponymous album and written by lead singer and guitarist Ed Roland. Credit: Wikipedia Link: The World I Know

Shameless Self Promotion Section: I moved this towards the top this week since we talked a bit about cover art yesterday, and well, you know, MLC statements are coming out soon, just saying…

My song is out! Link: “Long Road Back” (click on link for streaming options)

Hey look at me engaging with my audience!!

Questions on why and how the song came about, both lyrically and musically?

Questions about what it “means”? - I can answer that one right now - it’s about a road…

Questions about recording, overdubbing with other artists, studio work, mixing and mastering?

About releasing the song? - I can answer that one right now too - all indie, no label, professionally mastered locally, distributor and publishing admin, signed up with PRO, MLC, and SoundExchange.

Questions about the cover art?

Ask me in the comments section below to expand on any of these questions or others, I’ll answer!!!

So, now that that’s out of the way…

Welcome to the Regular Friday Post!

Friday posts are about playing and music theory.

Another beautiful almost fall, but not quite yet, day in the inland PNW! Wheat crop is in, check’s in the bank, I have some links up front, some with lots of commentary, some not as much and we’ll talk a bit about all of those today. I realize I’m leaning on the links a bit more than usual - the topics for the past few weeks, such as notes to scales, scales to keys, roots to chords, some pretty heavy doses of theory - have been a lot to get through and I’m sure you all may be having the same thoughts. If there are parts that were less clear and that you’d like me to clarify, please let me know in the comments. For this week I’m kinda leaving the heavy lifting to the smart folks in the links.

And a big Thank You!! to new subscribers!! We’re growing and I’m sure Mika, the Cat, will have something acerbic to say below.

Thank you for reading Michael Acoustic. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Some links for today:

From Acoustic Guitar Magazine:

Augmented Arpeggios - I highly recommend this series from Acoustic Guitar Magazine - it’s listed as an advanced technique, and it is! One reason it is stems from the music theory that underlies much of the instruction. Not to fear! A lot of what is presented is stuff that we covered on here over the past couple of months! If you’re struggling a bit with some of the concepts check back at the Michael Acoustic Archive starting with the July 28 Friday post and each of the the subsequent Friday posts. You’re mileage may vary, but when it come to music theory, the more widely you read and listen, the more things start to come together.

Get Better At Strumming - Always good stuff from AG, and who doesn’t want to get better at strumming?

From Mr. Griff Hamlin at Blues Guitar unleashed, lots of good stuff this week:

Turnaround Lick I realize not everyone is into playing blues, the sort of classic 12 bar blues maybe with the shuffle beat that follows one of a number of forms. See more here for the basics: 12 Bar Blues. One of the important parts of the 12 bar blues form is the “turnaround” the lick at the end of the 12th bar (measure) that takes us back to the “top” where we start over. This link can give some insight into how to do that.

Cool Moves Lick - it’s easier for you to read this and watch the accompanying video than it would ever be for me to try to explain…. but it is cool.

Pentatonic vs Blues Scales - I included this because we talked at length about scales and their construction, while mentioning but not going into depth about some of the different types of scales guitar players should be familiar with. This link can help with that.

IV chord tones - The IV chord is often relegated to a support role, leading to the V, or an alternate starting point for a cadence (resolution) to the I chord. A little love for the IV chord in this link.

Arpeggios - more on arpeggios and really, simple is better….

From Soundfly:

This video describes a repeated bass tone, and yes, it’s a guy on a keyboard rather than guitar. But the concept is not just related - a “pedal” tone on keys is essentially the same as flat- or finger- picked bass notes on guitar, often alternating bass tones over two strings, usually low E and A, but sometimes the A and D strings if the chord is fretted predominately on the G, B, and high E (think DMaj or Amin cowboy chord shapes). While fingerpicking, that repeated bass tone or the repeated and alternating bass tones is sorta natural, your thumb wants to be part of the action as well and the “drone” you can get from that bass tone is analogous to the “pedal” tone discussed in the video. Interesting stuff.

Space Saving Disclaimer!: This Substack, (not just the first one!) is free, always will be, none of the people or companies or products I link to or write about pay me a damn thing. Neither do you unless you buy my song(s) (See what I did there?). Some stuff may be copyrighted by somebody else…whatever. “Fair Use” doctrine for “educational purposes” (Link: Fair Use) applies, suckers! No stinkin’ AI here unless it’s in something I link to. So.

Michael Acoustic

Thank you, new Subscribers!!!!!! Mika, the Cat, welcomes you!!

This Week’s Conversation With Mika:

Mika: “Why do we have to have a roomba like thing? It annoys me!”

Me: “Do you even notice the amount of your own hair that you shed? You’re beautiful, but…..”

Mika: “There’s no reason for a “but” in that sentence…”

And a huge “Thank You!!” from both of us to those we are reaching around the world! No surprise that most of our engagement is in the US, but I’m so grateful for the engagement with others from, well, everywhere! Music is a language for the world….

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Other Voices:

This is pretty cool. Jim Geschke is a fellow Substack writer and author of the “Quoth the Maven” Substack. He recently wrote about Paul Simon and he and I had some chats on background, notably how Mr. Simon used some centuries old music as the melody for one of his songs. His article was picked up by a national news service!! Congratulations, Jim! Great article about a great musician by an author with a very interesting backstory - check him out!!

Quoth the Maven

He's still Rhymin' Simon

Five years ago, Paul Simon said he was finished writing songs. The words were depleted, the melodies fading. He was tapped out. Simon was done rhymin’. ‘Four in the morning Crapped out Yawning Longing my life away …'‘ Then two years ago he suffered a near-total loss of hearing in his left ear. Imagine … a virtuoso musician losing his most essential instrume…

2 years ago · 13 likes · 6 comments · Jim Geschke

A Song To Play

“"Gentle on My Mind" is a song that was written and originally recorded by John Hartford, and released on his second studio album, Earthwords & Music (1967). Hartford composed the song after watching Doctor Zhivago in 1966, as he was inspired by the film and his own personal experiences. The lyrics describe the reminiscences of lost love of a man as he travels through the country. The following year, Hartford released the song as a single on RCA Records.

It then caught the attention of Glen Campbell, who recorded his cover version with a group of session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew. Campbell's cover of "Gentle on My Mind" peaked in the top 30 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart. In 1968, between Campbell's and Hartford's recordings, the song earned four Grammy Awards.”

(Ed. - I’ll be writing a bit about the famous “Wrecking Crew” next week - near email limits today…)

Credit: Wikipedia Link: Gentle On My Mind

Lyrics Credit: Genius

It's knowin' that your door is always open
And your path is free to walk
That makes me tend to leave my sleepin' bag
Rolled up and stashed behind your couch

And it's knowin' I'm not shackled
By forgotten words and bonds
And the ink stains that are dried upon some line
That keeps you in the backroads
By the rivers of my memory
It keeps you ever gentle on my mind

It's not clingin' to the rocks and ivy
Planted on their columns now that bind me
Or something that somebody said
Because they thought we fit together walkin'

It's just knowing that the world will not be cursing
Or forgiving when I walk along some railroad track and find
That you're movin' on the backroads
By the rivers of my memory
And for hours you're just gentle on my mind

Though the wheat fields and the clotheslines
And the junkyards and the highways come between us
And some other woman's cryin' to her mother
'Cause she turned, and I was gone

I still might run in silence, tears of joy might stain my face
And the summer sun might burn me 'til I'm blind
But not to where I cannot see you walkin' on the backroads
By the rivers flowing gentle on my mind

I dip my cup of soup back from a gurglin'
Cracklin' caldron in some train yard
My beard a rough'nin', coal pile
And a dirty hat pulled low across my face

Through cupped hands 'round the tin can
I pretend to hold you to my breast and find
That you're waitin' from the backroads
By the rivers of my memories
Ever smilin' ever gentle on my mind

Originally in the Key of EbMajor (probably - it starts and ends on Eb. Could it be in the relative minor Cm? Dunno, another 4 chord song that could be either one, but I’m going with EbMajor because of where it begins and ends. Your mileage may vary.) Common time with a middle of the road 107 BPM. The chart below is capoed on 3 to play using chords from the Key of CMajor, but if you’re a purist find the original on Chordify or likely somebody has a chart up on Ultimate Guitar.

What I’m Listening2: It’s Super!! No, not the South Park riff - I just like the Supernatural television series - 15 seasons of good stuff. Below is a playlist of some of the fabulous music from the show. It’s kind of easy to forget the role that really great tunes played in supporting the themes of a lot of the episodes…

Cheers and keep playing!!

Michael Acoustic

“It’s never really final - you just run out of things you can bear to change…”