Graham English
Songwriter, Recording Artist, and Blogging Musician
Songwriter, Recording Artist, and Blogging Musician
I’ll stand by you to the end.
I’ll never desert you.
I’ll be the one you depend on.
The one you can talk to.
I’ve taken a few months off of posting music here but I’m back in the saddle now. It took a while to get my work flow down after my move to Boston. So I’ll be archiving all my new and old music again.
This is an iPod recording of me playing with an Fmin7 funk riff at 110bpm on the hammond organ, wah wah clav, and Trinity synth bass.
Hammond organ, wurly, and clav in Amin over a 105bpm Apple loop.
This is me composing a ballad on the piano with a beautiful haunting melody in the key of G. I might put lyrics to this one.
A couple choruses of Nostalgia in Times Square by Charles Mingus.
This is an iPod recording in the key of Gmin (Dorian) at 100bpm. Hammond and wah wah clav start it out.
This is an iPod recording of Prince’s How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore. I recorded this just over a year ago for my girlfriend.
This is a 90bpm gospel/R&B shuffle in Ab. The chord progression goes from Ab9 to GbMAJ7/Ab. Occasionally I drop down to a Gb13 which inspired a nice sounding turnaround. This groove would make a good vamp.
I’m focusing on two things here. Hand interdependence and phrasing with little or no regard to pitch. So motion and rhythm basically.
This is a warm up on a cool and dreary day.
WARNING: Just when I’m getting warmed up, the drums kill the track.
I captured this quickly. I’m experimenting with motion in the bass and piano at first. Then I try to bring some contrast into the chord progression. It’s not quite right, but I try it a few more times anyway. I hear a quiet vocal melody teasing the rhythm and motion of the piano and bass. Mainly quarter notes and some syncopation to turn the rhythm around.
Very slow. 64 bpm. I’m moving around A minor. Natural minor scale (Aeolian). I like the vibe. Very dark but hopeful. Dualistic. Kinda sounds drunk.
I’m playing with C and F. Not finding anything on that first try for contrast.
I tightened up the song I wrote yesterday and recorded this piano track. I’m going to commit to a melody and start putting some lyrics to the form.
This final thing for the day is an F7 shuffle on the hammond organ. Wanna hear a badas5 solo? Listen to this, biatch!
This is the work in progress of the next song. No need to listen to this unless you want to hear me composing. Around 12:00 I start to find what I’m looking for.
A 90bpm funk Gmin7 groove (Dorian). No vocals in this but it’s got a nasty groove played by a moth3rfuck3r. Maybe it’s the K2600 to my left. 
This is an 80bpm funk Bbm7 groove. Not much to listen to except 8 minutes of groove. I was setting up the mic to record on this one.
about grahamI'm a songwriter and recording artist who sings, plays keyboards, and explores the vast world of sound hoping to find some magical moments along the way. I'm also a Mac geek.
Why Americans Don't Like Jazz http://dyske.com/paper/778 1 day ago
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