Recording

Progress is never a straight line:

A little over a year ago, I contacted my friend and colleague at Peabody, Judah Adashi, about a piece he’d recently written: my heart comes undone. I was familiar with the string ensemble version of this work that was commissioned and premiered by the Peabody  Preparatory Strings Department and had become acquainted with the version he made for solo cello and loop pedal that was premiered and recorded by Lavena Johanson.

As I set to work, several discoveries were made:

1. The guitar is NOT the cello or any other bowed instrument.
2. The quest for the perfect tone on an electric guitar is a challenging task that requires as much focus, detail, and study as creating it on a classical guitar.
3. Working with a loop pedal shows you at your best and your worst…in the beginning you hear yourself primarily at your worst.
4. Key Signatures are important.

There was a learning curve.  I had to figure out a way to make the long lines of each part sustain and connect similarly to that of a bowed instrument while still remaining true to the guitar.  Also, how could I create a sound that was as full as a cello and yet as clear and transparent as I imagined in my head?  You can hear my early attempts at this here.  My setup was simple: Guitar + Tube Screamer TS9 (that’s an effect pedal—yeah, I like the name, too) + Loop Pedal + Amplifier = Sound.

More about this journey can be found in my blog.