"Pixieprog" _________________________________________________        My long-time friend Taylor Larson really aided in fleshing this tune out and giving it a 'vibe.' For further insight please read the old recording's explanation as follows, as much of it still applies. As for the drum set I changed a few things; mainly, I shortened the drum intro and the big outro fills. Here's the transcription.        Firstly, I know the bass guitar sounds like dung. There is supposed to be distortion during the A sections and in the B sections I kick in some fuzz pedal action. There is only so much I can do with a practice amp and a BETA 52. Someday I'll record my tunes in a proper studio. Until then, my crummy home recordings will have to suffice. Anyway...        I was doodling around with progressions utilizing major chords and arrived at the riff you hear in the A sections. It reminded me of The Pixies. After fleshing the rest of the song out, it then induced visions of The Pixies playing progressive rock (hence the title). The B sections just sort of happened; I had to work out where I wanted to execute the metric modulation but it involved the least amount of thought. The C Section is played a step and a half higher than the A sections and has an interesting concept behind it. Since this is a tip o' the hat to The Pixies I took one of my favorite Pixies tunes, "Levitate Me," and aligned the letters against the alphabet. L=12, E=5, etc. I added all of the numbers together, and the sum was 112. One hundred, twelve is four measures of 7-4 time if you figure the notes as sixteenth notes (16x7=112). I then aligned the 'levitate me code' against the four measures and rested on the appropriate notes (for example, in the first measure of 7-4 I rested on the twelfth sixteenth note and in the second measure of the 7-4 progression I rested on the first sixteenth note {since it would be the fifth note after the rest on the twelfth sixteenth note that I made in the first bar}). This section could have been played tighter on the bass guitar but I have an excuse to offer up: I never play with a plectrum ('twas necessary to heighten the distortion), I only ever use my fingers. The whole riff/process is played four times through. During the third and fourth times I fill in the rests with some octave plucks. I overdubbed those with GoldWave. After the C section I play the B section again, but a bit longer and with some slightly altered accents. I do a cheesy pick scrape at the end.        I thoroughly enjoy both complex and simple music but I favor simple arrangements, especially when composing. I may write a preposterously difficult section, but I really dig when the arrangement comes together in a neat and organized fashion. "Pixieprog" utilizes a pop arrangement. I refer to the parts as "A section," "B section," "C section," but those are basically verse, chorus, bridge (respectively). The song was recorded at 115BPM.        On the drum set, this tune has its challenges. For the drum intro, the left side of my body is playing a pattern in 5-16 (oxoxx oxoxx o=drums, x=hi-hat pedal with foot) and the right side of my body is playing single paradiddles (oxoo xoxx o=bass drum with foot, x=drums). I initiated this pattern at a soft dynamic level, with both hands playing the snare drum and then orchestrated it around the kit, raising the dynamic level before launching into a little fill-in to start the song. The first A section is pretty straightforward and played by leading with the left side of my body. During the B section I switch between the higher-pitched set of hi-hats and the lower (left side and right side, respectively) to complement the notes on the bass guitar. The tail of the first B section modulates into five. The second A section features some eighth note and sixteenth note displacement, some more modulation and even some brief superimposition. The second A section is also played by leading with the left side. The tail end of the B section modulates into six. For the C section I played the 'levitate me pattern' (ooooh it's a "pattern" now!) on the double bass (resting in the appropriate spots, of course) twice through with my right hand on the right-side closed main hi-hat (you can hear me activate the drop clutches to lower both hats right after the second B section ;-) ), playing a backbeat in conjunction with the left hand on the snare drum. During the third and fourth times (when the octave plucks occur), I move my left hand to the left-side closed hi-hat, omit the backbeat and lock in with the accents with my right hand on the snare drum. Then, it's back to the B section. For the modulation at the tail end, I played the snare drum with a cut time backbeat whilst maintaining the five modulation with my bass drum and chinese cymbal and keeping time ('regular time,' not 'modulation time') with the pedal hi-hat. The outro/elongated B section has some pretty wacky drum fills. The first is the traditional "quads" pattern (two hand strokes followed by two foot strokes), but phrased in tens. It is followed by a quick septuplet roll (all rimshots... very tough) on the snare drum. The second fill section is a very Vinnie Colaiuta'ish lick that I stumbled upon while figuring out what I wanted to do, drum-wise, with this very tune. The third fill is just some quick thirty-second notes orchestrated with my hands and then feet. The fourth fill is a Mike Mangini'ish "'round the drum kit" three-note pattern. It forms a little melody, which I like. And the last fill is comprised of some eighth note triplet flams on the hands and then feet. Back to Solo Music