Recording Acoustic Stringed Instruments

My daughter asked me to play Mr. Brightside by The Killers this morning. I take her to school and usually play whatever is flavor of the month. Sometimes I ask her if she'd like to hear anything in particular. When she asks for a "new" song, I really listen to the lyrics and make sure I understand what the song seems to be about and keep an ear open to anything that is not age-appropriate. The days of her enjoying Kidz Bop versions may be done. We want the "real" song now. 

Yesterday, she asked me what the E next to the song title meant. I had to explain that in the song Building a Mystery by Sarah McLachlan, there is a line where she uses the F word and that's all it takes for them to mark the song as having explicit lyrics. In another recording of the song, which I showed her, Sarah substitutes the words "messed up" for what she said in the original recording and so when I play that version, the E does not appear. Clearly, I had no problem playing the original version with her listening and I trust that she will make the right decision when it comes to swearing, so I tempered my concern over the content of Mr. Brightside. As I suspected, she did not really understand what half of it meant, and I told her that it was ok to just enjoy the song because it sounded nice but did offer that there may be things mentioned that aren't necessarily best for kids to be singing out loud. OMG I just went into full-on teacher mode. Is this is good or bad?

Her favorite song had been Viva La Vida by Coldplay and we have listened to that over and over on drives. I've asked her if she knew what the song meant and she says she's not sure. <cue laughter> I'm not sure either. As I knew that it had been a favorite, I set up viola lessons over the summer where she could learn to play Viva La Vida in its entirety and then I threw in a request for Runaway by The Corrs so she could do the fiddle parts. While not recital-ready in 8 weeks, she definitely learned the pieces enough to be able to play them for fun. Meantime, I'm still trying to figure out how to get her to allow me to record her playing. 

I've been totally blown away by the information on this YouTube video from Electrical Audio. The explanation provided was mind-opening and the key takeaway at the end captured exactly what I wanted to achieve with Project50. Oooh, you like that? I've just given my yearlong foray into music a little nick... working title! Anyway, if you're interested in recording musicians on stringed instruments, you may enjoy viewing this. 

https://youtu.be/Ualm3rCZRz0?si=s9d6m4NpsYWHVEnN

I don't have the budget to get all the lovely equipment, microphones in particular, that were demonstrated in the video. Without a proper studio, even just at home, it does not yet seem worth the investment. DO I REALLY KNOW WHAT I AM DOING? I'm reminded of some friends who decided to get featured on one of those home makeover shows where they give you the money to get stuff but you have to DIY. Project50 is heavy on the DIY and personally financed. I rely on the advice of friends and lots of online research. I am also not, by any measure, a professional musician who can play as well as the men and women featured as performers on the video. I have considered lessons, to be very candid about it.  However, I'm going to carry on for a little bit without, at least until I determine exactly what I would like to get out of the lessons and where to get them. 

I don't think I fully explained what it was that I wanted to achieve with Project50. I have revealed that it was basically to record acoustic covers. But in the recordings, what I wanted to capture was the feeling of a live show. As I am way too nervous to actually perform live in front of people right now, I figured that maybe it was less daunting to tackle recording the music, given that I had spent at least a decade of my life in a studio, in front of a microphone. I want my children to remember what I sounded like, doing something that I enjoy. When I sing along to Rob Thomas and he's doing Streetcorner Symphony, I come alive. Or when I'm punching out The Game of Love, because I love the Latin rhythms to it, I just have fun. And while the entire project will not win me a Grammy, I want the smile on my face to be heard in the recording. That's the reward for me. 

Playlist Recommendation: Mr. Brightside, The Killers