Turning A Harpsichord Into A Guitar

I swear, I don’t base my blog posts on what C.C. Chapman writes in the morning, but today it seems we’re writing about the same subject:  How limitations spark creativity.  Kudos for beating me to it, Mr. C., you win this time…

The album I’ve been working on for the past year and a half presented all kinds of challenges:  How do I take a story called The Lives of Dexter Peterson and write music to accompany it?  Will I be able to bring a fictional character to life through more than one medium?  Can I still do all this stuff myself or do I need to start kissing some record label asses?

For all the external challenges I faced, I decided to impose one challenge of my own:  This album will use only six instruments. In the past I’ve drawn from all kinds of sonic palettes.  Hell, Goodbye Planet Earth used everything from strings to synthesizers, tubular bells to a distorted washing machine loop.  And, of course, robots.  For the new album, though, I wanted to see if I could create the sounds I wanted with the same 6 elements:

1. Vocals
2. Piano
3. Electric Piano
4. Harpsichord
5. Bass Synth
6. Percussion

Something I discovered, though, was that this self-imposed limitation did not hamper my creativity in any way.  In fact, it broadened my abilities as a composer and arranger.  Let’s say there’s a spot in a song that needs a low-mid-range BIG sound to make it full.  Normally I’d grab something like a Hammond B-3 organ and play a big thick chord in the background- works every time.  Big fat organ = one of Matthew Ebel’s usual tricks.  With a 6-piece palette, though, I had to think of new ways to fill that gap.

An Actor Playing A Role

Harpsichord (Photo by dalcrose)

Since The Lives of Dexter Peterson is an album about a fictional character, I had to become an actor during the writing process.  The songs, for the first time, weren’t strictly coming from my voice and my experiences.  The limitations of my own life didn’t dictate what I wrote about.  Though I’ve never been to outer space, I had to become a starship captain and imagine what I’d feel if I watched the woman I loved drifting away from me through an escape pod porthole.  I played a role, just like I’ve done on stage in plays, musicals, and opera.

In the same way, the six instruments had to do the same.  The limitations of a harpsichord, for example, are many:  It sounds tinny on top and boomy on bottom, it doesn’t sustain indefinitely like an organ or strings, its dynamic range is limited, and the plectrum makes an audible sound when your fingers come off the keys.  So what?

I just released a video for my Matthew Ebel dot net members showing how the harpsichord dressed itself up as an electric guitar and sang. The instrument could sound so much larger than its inventor ever intended, thanks to modern guitar amps and pedals.  By limiting my sonic palette for this album, I discovered the potential that some of these simple keyboard instruments possess.

Here’s an example of what the harpsichord sounded like on the album, followed by what it sounds like on its own:

Harpsichord Guitar Example (Download MP3)

Again, if you want to see the video of exactly how I transformed a harpsichord into a guitar, grab an All-Access or higher pass at Matthew Ebel dot net and watch while it’s still available.

In any case, who knows what discoveries and new abilities will arise from limitations?  I am a limited person, just like you, but I have no idea what I will become- either in spite of or because of those limitations.

Those of you that attended my 2010 Beer Bash know that I’m now working on a new album. Not a collection of songs, an album. If you weren’t there, well, I’m working on a new album!

The Lives of Dexter Peterson

A few years back I wrote a 120-page book for National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. In thirty days I pounded out over 50,000 words and won the challenge on my first attempt. I was so proud of myself, I didn’t know I could produce anything that big in such a short period of time. The Lives of Dexter Peterson, draft one, had been born.

Then I sat on the manuscript. It’s actually been in a box in my basement since then. I didn’t see it or think about it until we moved from Boston to New Hampshire, but like buried treasure it surfaced during the boxing process. I’d forgotten how much fun I’d had with that story, especially given the ADD nature of the plot. I’ll save the details for later as the editing process heats up, but I will tell you that finding this book inspired me to write again.

I’ll be writing an album’s worth of music to accompany the story. One part companion disc, one part outright soundtrack, we’ll see how this turns out in a year. Oh yeah, and Genesis Whitmore will be making a full-length graphic novel to go with all of this.

How To Pre-Order

Isn’t it a bit early to talk about pre-ordering when I haven’t written a single note or lyric for the album? Not exactly. Again, as my Matthew Ebel dot net subscribers learned at the Beer Bash, any All-Access or higher membership is good for a copy of the album when it’s ready. A real, physical CD. Heck, the VIP’s and higher get the full package- album, printed material, audiobook, everything.

In addition, they’ll be getting updates throughout the project, from Gen’s sketches to my song ideas to behind-the-scenes videos from the studio. It’s going to be a heck of a project, so this is what my entire focus will be for the next year.

If you’re interested in getting on board, just grab a subscription at www.matthewebel.net/subscribe – and watch for my announcement “Introducing Dexter Peterson” soon!