Gift music

Last night GG and I went out to pick up a pizza. On our way there, we re-explored the idea of writing some songs using only instruments which were received as gifts. In the past, we have considered doing this with a song or two, but upon discussion we feel we could create an album's worth of songs -- eventually.

This would be consistent with the fine tradition of artists imposing arbitrary constraints as a means of maintaining their interest, providing a challenge, and perhaps breeding innvation.

In order to maintain the quality of the songs, we would build this album parallel to our regular output. Rather than composing simply for the sake of filling up the album with songs performed with gift instruments, we would generally go about our usual musical endeavors. If a song we write seems suitable for implementing with ''gift instruments'', we would do so. Of course, we would also, on occassion, attempt to develop songs solely with gift instruments. We will have to keep a tally of which songs developed through which process.

Gye Greene keeps a list of all his musical instruments, including where and when he acquired them, and their cost. For our purposes, ''gifts'' would essenteially mean ''free''; they would not necessarily have to be acquired through birthdays or Christmas.

On this basis -- and without GG consulting his list -- we'd have access to a piano (bought with wedding gift money, plus some money from GG's sister's estate), a Chinese stringed instrument, a balalaika, a melodica, some meditation chimes, a kick drum, a rack tom, a floor tom, and a ride cymbal. Ah! -- and GG's white ''mirror ball'' guitar. And the violin, the trumpet, and the clarinet. A reasonable arsenel.

From this list, I can already see some implications: without an electric bass, the piano will have to provide the basslines. And the partial nature of the percussion equiptment will shape the sound in an interesting direction as well.

In addition, over the years GG has received two microphones, a small guitar amplifier, and two or three guitar effects pedals, that GG's received as gifts. Technically they're not ''instruments'', so they fall outside the rules of our endeavor -- guitar picks, strings, cables, and the actual recording equipment would not have to be gifts, just the actual instruments. But we can emphasize their use when choosing our signal processing and microphones.

A good title for this album might be ''Gift Music'', or ''Gifts from Around Us''.


--TG