Final Post

Well, the presentations are over and the project is done. Everything has gone smoothly and I'm really pleased with our result! We are having a session this weekend to record lyrics over our instrumental (thanks to Nick Doering) and are looking forward to continuing on with this project, even though the academic aspect of it is over. Nick and I jam frequently, but this was certainly a great way to put it to use. I would certainly like to do something like this again because it allows creativity and enables us to express our musicality in whatever manner we see fit. Hope to see you all soon with a new and exciting creation!

Matt

Final Blog

I loved working on the project because t allowed me to explore my passion and work on technical guitar stuff. It was a great experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I am glad I got to work on soloing and jazzy music for the project and I learned many things along the way that will benefit my playing in the future. Hope everyone liked it.

Nick

Final Google Day!

Since Matt and I are practically done with the Google project I used the class period to have an incredible jam session with piano virtuoso Kie Mata. This session improved my ability to improvise over many different kinds of styles. This was helpful for me because I am always looking for ways to better myself as an all around guitar player. If Matt and I choose to add another song into the project I'm sure that my new-found abilities for improvising will come into play. 

-Nick McClurg

Final Google Day- Agritelley

Over the past weekend, Nick and I made the final touches to our recording. It looks like our friend Nick Doering never got around to recording vocals for our song, but it's alright because it sounds great as an instrumental. We might shorten it down a little this weekend to remove some of the repetitiveness, but besides that it is essentially set and done. I look forward to presenting it and getting feedback from the rest of the class.

Matt

Nick McClurg- Google Day #3

A little over a week ago, I was messing around on my guitar at home, trying to think of some additional licks for our song. I ended up coming up with a solid chorus that we could use. In addition, I transcribed a saxophone solo for guitar that was played in a jazz song I listened to. My goal is to incorporate this into our piece as an additional solo. We recorded last weekend for a long time and it was pretty tiring. However, we got the entire song recorded and it sounds awesome. The combination of the soft jazz melody and the bongos make the song seem smooth. I plan to continue to work on my solo ideas and record some more.
Nick

Matt Agritelley- Google Day 3

Over the past two weekends, Nick and I have worked to record our song. After countless arduous tries, we got a rough draft recorded. The theme of our song is intended to be calm, with a jazzy feel. Nick plays on the guitar while I play on the bongos. We sent the song to our friend Nick Doering, who we're hoping can think of some lyrics and record them on top of our baseline. I'm not entirely certain at this point whether or not this will happen, but the lyrics are just an added luxury; the song remains great as an instrumental.  Over the next few weekends my goal is to tweak some of the parts of the song and do some more editing on the garage band, and of course talk to Doering to see if he's made any headway on the lyrics. For now, it is safe to say that we are very happy with how our song is sounding and are looking forward to making more progress.

Matt

Over the weekend Nick and I got together to record the baseline for our original song. This took a lot of preparation because I had to set up garageband and the mics used for recording the bongos. After everything was set up we layed down the baseline and Nick did some soloing over it. The song is not yet complete but we are hoping to work on it this weekend.

-Matt

Yesterday, in class I worked on solo ideas for the original song wr are doing. This was really fun and kind of new because I had to formulate several licks into one smooth section. I'm still not done coming up with ideas or the solo in general but I've gathered many licks and I am working on putting them together so they sound good along with the song.

-Nick McClurg

Matt Agritelley- Google Project Day 2

Nick and I have narrowed down our song choices to a few select songs that we think will work best for us. Our plan as of now is to play Why Georgia, Rodeo Clowns, Too Close, and come up with our own original composition. However, this plan is subject to change as we will eventually find out how realistic these goals are. In class today I worked on listening closely to the bongo line of Rodeo Clowns, and have a pretty good idea of how to play it. Over the past weekend we recorded the guitar part of Why Georgia, by John Mayer. Nick nailed the takes and it sounds great. A friend of ours, Nick Doering, will be accompanying us with the vocals. We've switched recording programs and are hoping to get the rest of Why Georgia recorded within the next couple weekends as well as start on the other songs. Hopefully as we finish recording our initial takes of Why Georgia, we will be able to get a link up with the rough draft of our song. Stay tuned.
-Matt

Nick McClurg-Google Day #2-Practice

Over the weekend Matt, Nick Doering and I began the recording for 'Why Georgia' By John Mayer. Although a technologically complicated process, we managed to get the verses, choruses, and bridge done (for guitar at least). We are hopeful that in the next recording session we will be able to accomplish more due to a shift in technology. Today, in class, I worked on practicing the song we will record as our original as wells as Why Georgia, Too Close and Rodeo Clowns. The project is moving along fast and going very well. I'm looking forward to the final results as I believe that they will be outstanding.

-Nick McClurg  

First Day

Today I set up the blog and worked out all of the logistical details and formatting issues. Since Nick and I are in different class periods, the in class work time will primarily be spent brainstorming and coming up with possible melodies/syncopations. The majority of our work will be spent outside of class where we have access to recording equipment (and each other). I look forward to our original compositions as well as our covers.
Matt

In class I began to think about our original composition. Since I play guitar for several hours each day, I have come up with many of my own original songs. However, I have to find the one that will be right for Matt and me to perform. I have narrowed it down to a couple but need to work with Matt over the weekend to make more progress. I'm excited to continue this process and make some great music.
Nick