Two Wheels Good

A few years ago my mode of transport was a Ford Transit.
I'd always wanted one and I got mine cheap. It became a little expensive for my weekday 60 mile round trip and so it was sadly replaced with a Ford Mondeo. I moved jobs and only had to do the 60 mile round trip once a week so it was better. More fuel efficient and with less travelling it by comparison seemed cheap.
Over the last few years fuel prices have risen steeply and I now have to complete the round trip twice a week. With all this to take into consideration and a looming costly MOT to come I decided the car had to go. And it did, to the scrap yard. The money I would have spent on the tax and MOT was spent on a decent bicycle. I have the use of another car to get to Coventry to DJ so the bike is fine for day to day commuting and I'll get fitter into the bargain.
After my first day riding 'Maas', that's his name, I feel like I've done the right thing. I arrived at work much more chilled out and because it's mostly down hill I was fresh as a daisy too. The uphill journey home is my daily workout and it only took 15 minutes to do that trip.
Am I sad to see the car go? Not really. I'm going to save a lot of money and be fitter in the long run and that's a good thing.
I will miss the radio though.

Getting On With It

Freedom.
It's a word that's been on my mind recently. After getting back from Europe and getting back to work I've been dissatisfied with my job.
Don't get me wrong. I like driving for a living and I like getting paid to do something I like but it's the same thing day in and day out. I like driving because I get to see what's going on in the world and despite everyone being poorer everything is the same as it ever was. That means the same opportunities and chances for anyone willing to go out and grab them. There might be less but the well isn't dry yet.
So what do I want to do more than driving? There is only one answer and that is to write. I love writing more than anything and I keep berating myself when I don't do it. Ive neglected this blog for weeks and that upsets me. I've neglected the novel for months and now it's time to get it finished.
Everything else can wait and one day it might just get me from behind the wheel.
I'll take that chance.

If The Cap Fits

Europe.
What you know is probably true. The various countries stereotypes fit wonderfully well. Apart from Luxembourg which doesn't have one because it's way too small to make that much of an impression. I wait to be corrected there.
San Massimo is a suburb of Verona and very stereotypically Italian, right down to the young woman serving beer in red hot-pants and the youngish men trying to show off to two young women running a bar who had no interest in men at all. It's a bit of a caricature of itself but it works and I like it.
I may even return one day.

The Path

So here it is.As always I consider the process better than the result but that's par for the course. So how did I get here? Here's a quick recap.The chord sequence started out on the iPhone app Chordbot. The MIDI file was supposed to go into Beaterator on the PSP but that didn't quite work out so I tried it on the Yamaha QY100. The result was much better but I re-entered the chords manually which turned out well. I then produced a MIDI file on the QY and dropped that into the Yamaha RM1x and re-voiced everthing and also edited some volume information. The track was recorded on a Tascam 424 MKIII and guitar and keyboard added.After all that what have I gained? Well, the QY and RM as working partners are a great combinaton that I'll use again. Chordbot is still my favourite music app and in my opinion the best song writing notepad out there. At some point in the future I'm going to write my own patterns for the QY and build a track from scratch but for now it's back to my neglected FL Studio. There are a couple of things to work on there and one is sitting in Chordbot right now.I hope somewhere in this process that I've at least given you inspiration to work with old and new technology. MIDI is still an amazing format and it's still the universal language of music. It talks to any bit of kit and that's its power.Long may it reign.
While I'm here I'd like to thank Palm Sounds for his interest in this project and for adding links on his blog to my posts. Check my Blog List on the left and please subscribe to Palm Sounds.

RM1x

So, did I fall in love with it again?
Yes yes yes yes yes!!!
It's an awesome bit of kit. I had worried a bit about MIDI editing but that's half the fun. With the QY100 supplying the sequence the RM1x takes over and perfects genius with brilliance. I've been tweaking the track all evening and it sounds wonderful for a backing track made from presets and a touch of adjustment.
Will I write a tune this way again?
Absolutely. It's so much fun being this hands on. From iPhone to tape in a few weeks. I love my DAW but I love this method too.
It makes me happy.