Steemit Open Mic Week 48 - An Original Song Fragment in DADEAD tuning (guitar)

Steemit, I am only playing you the first two movements of an old trilogy song tonight. The first movement is called "Looking Glass" and the second movement is called "Falling Down". Ask me nicely and I might play the final movement as a stand-alone entry in a future open mic contest - the final movement is called "Microscope Eye" and is about the same length as the first two movements combined; Microscope Eye has an interesting structure switching back and forth from 4/4 time in the verse to 7/8 in the chorus and is a little bit more "jammy".

Ladles and jellybeans, I come before you to stand behind you and whisper the truth in your ears... visit the Steemit Open Mic Week 48 Post... Upvote... Resteem.... Follow @luzcypher and @pfunk and give them love for making the awesome happen... [/gentle whispering]

Observe the amazing lighting and wonderful production values I have brought to the table this week! Folks one day I swear I will find this magical wormhole to a perfect moment and have the time to record an Open Mic take in the daylight in a nice setting... until then I am fitting y'all in where and when I can. Thing One and Thing Two keep me busy

Looking Glass - lyrics

He looked through the looking glass
He looked through the looking glass
The masquerade was over, so he took off his mask

He stepped through the looking portal
the teleportal
he felt immortal

He smoked out on the grass
He smoked out on the grass

He wondered if this was all it took
To scrub out the writing from the book
He thought that his time had come to pass
He thought that the world had crashed at last

You and I know we know each other
As we look within
You can take off those outer layers
You can show some sin

And the world turns around
And the world turns around
Can you hear without a sound?
Can you rise without a down?

He's screaming because he isn't heard
His lips move but he can't make a word
His path has broken from the herd
Set off on a journey without end

Falling Down - lyrics

Back and forth like a seesaw, a mind is an ever changing thing
Who can say when its made up, 'cause its all made up anyway

Easing out on the tightrope must be the hardest thing to do
All the noise of the circus
And all eyes
Looking
Up
At
You...

Couldn't take the heat, and wouldn't walk away
Didn't take the high road, and wouldn't sink below
Didn't stop for reason, and wouldn't wait for fear

Falling
I'm falling
falling down

Follow me
I'm falling
Follow me down

Art Explosion Contest!

Hey if I still have your attention way down here below my video and song lyrics in the post, please check out my friend @juliakponsford's art contest! My experience leads me to suspect there is a pretty decent overlap between the "musician" and the "artist" types, and that is probably doubly true of the "music lover" and "art lover" types. Check out the Art Explosion Contest - this is week 6 and the theme is "Surrealism" for a 30 SBD prize (the gates are still open errybuddy so let the strange rip).

Bit of shameless self promotion - I have an entry in the Art Explosion contest this week as well - check it out!

Guitar Talk - DADEAD alternate tuning

I am playing tonight in my favorite alternate tuning (but not the only alternate tuning I have spent time in - check this weird one out for an example!). DADEAD, in addition to having a great name (Da Dead tuning), gives you some interesting chord voicings while allowing you to riff easily on the three highest strings if you want to play lead (these are all five half steps apart - so any riff you could play on the lowest three strings in standard tuning you can transpose onto the highest strings in this tuning). The strange part is of course the single whole step interval between the second D string and the E string - you have to see it coming if you are playing a run across the 3rd and 4th strings while improvising or you will mangle it. The sound of the open strings is shimmery in a dissonant way that evokes a minor chord without actually being a minor chord. Here is a decent instrumental clip of me playing a DADEAD progression to get a sense of what you can do in the tuning.

At one point I left my main guitar in DADEAD tuning for almost two years and wrote and played exclusively in this tuning. I have a ton of songs in DADEAD. Nowadays I leave my secondary axe (trusty ole Yamaha) in this tuning. I can tell that I need to play my Yamaha more often - its action is a lot higher than the Gretsch I usually play and my fingers felt like mud on it. Lots of buzzing notes from not-quite-strong-and-precise-enough finger placements and lots of not-quite slides - in retrospect I probably should have just de-tuned my Gretsch :)

See ya next time Steemit!

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