Open Mic Night Week 2 entry - Paul Hallman - Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
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Hey Steemers! I’m back from being on the run from the hurricane for week 2 of OpenMic Night Contest. The house has some warped floorboards, but otherwise everything is okay. My studio survived, which is great because now it can sit silently behind me while I record this song with my phone.
I have to tell you, this song hurts my left hand like crazy. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older or because I need to play more (I spend much more of my time mixing and mastering my recordings than I do recording them). I’m not always the quickest when it comes to finding easier ways to do things. It just occurred to me today to try this song with a capo, so I can play it with only one barre chord instead of EVERY chord being a barre chord. That way I’m not squeezing the neck nonstop for the whole song, which is a VERY rough workout for my hand. Well, I tried it, but it just didn’t sound right. It just wasn’t percussive enough without the barre chords being muted by my left hand to get that scratchy rhythm. Far be it from me to sacrifice rhythm for comfort, and only the best for Steemit. So here it is, my masochistic version of Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”. If my face looks pained, it’s not just emotion. It’s actual pain.
@paulhallman Thank for braving the pain in the name of OpenMic Night to share this with us.
I have incredible weakness in my left hand and barre chords on an acoustic, (unless it's like an ovation with the action filed down even further) are damn near impossible for me. Well done. Your barre chords, especially over the course of an entire song, sound much better than mine. I couldn't tell you were in pain...maybe that's good but maybe it isn't. Lol
Thanks @jessamynorchard. I probably need to look into lowering the action on my acoustic. I'm just afraid to mess with it. I know very little about adjusting action on acoustics, but I'm pretty sure it's not as foolproof as adjusting an electric. I'm glad the pain didn't show. :-)
@paulhallman I always take my acoustics to a shop to have it filed. I'm really picky about it, and even on my Seagull before I got my Taylor gifted to me (I dont think I'm going to need to modify that dream), I was super picky about where I took it and made sure that everyone and their children knew that that Seagull was my literal child and I do not tolerate anyone abusing my children. However, sometimes the kid needs braces, or an action needs lowered. If you're worried, bring it in to a professional tech at a shop you trust and don't be afraid to explain in great length how important it is to you. lol it's always worked outstandingly for me that way.
I love this song! So cool to see you're back even with a hurricane tracking you. Way to go. Maybe next week you can play, Rock You Like A Hurricane. Come join us in the Open Mic chat room. I posted your entry there too and added you already so come on down . Keep Steeming and keep rocking.
Thanks @luzcypher! That's a good idea. You know, a storm-themed song would have been great THIS week. That's okay, I live in Florida. There'll be plenty more bad weather to use as song themes. I will join you in the chat room. In the week or so since I've joined Steemit, it's been hard to be as involved as I want to be. I'm working on it, though.
Great job Paul.
Thanks @anotherjoe!
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