A lot of work went into this version from the last one posted. I definitely need better horn sounds. NEED, I say!
The good news is that my office-mate’s son plays saxophone, and I invited them over for a recording session, and they accepted. I am looking forward to that very much and have no doubt that it will help bring this piece to life.
Back to the piece. I am satisfied with the all the rhythm instruments at this point. I may redo the piano because of problems keeping time in some places. Very happy with the guitars. The guitar on the left is very much like a James Brown rhythm guitar line you might hear in the left channel. The pattern repeats over and over, very faithfully, as do all or most of the parts in a James Brown composition. I actually played beginning to end though, and did not loop any of my playing, though there was editing to select material between different takes. I am super happy with the wah-wah guitar in the right channel. Exactly the sound I was going for. Actually it reminds me a bit of John McLaughlin’s sound on Miles’ Jack Johnson album. Just the sound – not the playing, duh.
I worked very hard on the horn arrangements, but I am definitely still building my chops in this area. I really need a good collection of horn virtual instruments.
The structure is by no means final. I haven’t decided what it will look like. I also feel guilty for not even having the hint of a “B” section. If I don’t give the piece more variety, it will be very difficult to hold the listener’s attention from beginning to end. But I remind myself that this started out as an exercise, and I am going to try to stay focused on the creation and not worry about the result. Yeah. Wish me luck with that. :)