Just stopping in real quick to capture some things happening around me. Crazy week, lots of work, lots of responsibilities, but in the midst of it, I came across a SoundCloud artist whose concept I'm really enjoying. Henry Koek is a poet who puts his poetry to soundscapes and music. A great concept and he does it so well. His poems are both witty and thoughtful. His music soothing and a perfect accompaniment setting the stage for a meditative while.
Here's to you Henry, keep up the great work!
https://soundcloud.com/henry-koek
This is my blog about my journey through music. I will post my inspirations, trials, and triumphs about my music here. You can also find the stories behind my tracks and what inspired each song.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Music of late
I have been a horrible blogger. It's been (quite) a while since I've blogged. So, where do I begin. There has been a lot to inspire me in my music as of very recently. First off, my son just had his baby, which makes me (dare I say) a grandfather. Wow, there, I've said it...
Also, my wife runs a fashion boutique and she periodically runs fashion shows in our area. In her most recent, I got to be the "auctioneer" which was mainly me rattling off a bunch of nonsense about women's fashion that I know nothing about :D.
In addition to this, my family and I took a summer vacation to Disney World. That was a family blast. I got some great video and really enjoyed the Epcot fireworks show.
Also, my wife runs a fashion boutique and she periodically runs fashion shows in our area. In her most recent, I got to be the "auctioneer" which was mainly me rattling off a bunch of nonsense about women's fashion that I know nothing about :D.
In addition to this, my family and I took a summer vacation to Disney World. That was a family blast. I got some great video and really enjoyed the Epcot fireworks show.
My latest set of tracks have been adventurous and explorative for me, probably due to the nature of my interesting summer. I was fortunate enough to add some great orchestral VST power to my suite to include Project Sam's Orchestral Essentials which provides some really nice, clean and big ensemble sound. And, of course, what does one do with a brand new suite of toys? Put them to good use. And so I did, with the track Empire.
I think the track turned out great, but I'll let you be the judge. I've always been attracted to creating music with a story behind it, in fact, I'd probably go so far as to say story telling in music is my main driving element. Coupled with my new orchestral suite, I decided to dedicate some time to get to know my Korg Kronos X88 better. I had no idea how much awesome stuff was locked up in side that sweet keyboard. This exploration led me to a set of sounds and the theme for another of my new tracks, Science Mind. I'm very happy with this track and I believe it suites the theme quite well.
A couple of new piano tracks rounded out my newest collection to capture all that I've been experiencing. To top it all off, I was very surprised to see that I had been a SoundClouder Of the Day! Shout out to all the folks at SoundCloud, this was a true honor for me.
Well, more to come later, I wish you all a very blessed week. God bless.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Vegas Baby!
So, my wife owns and operates a Fashion Boutique in Virginia Beach (Haute Swan). As part of her developing business she attended a Las Vegas convention called Magic. As the supportive husband, I have accompanied her (oh the torture, eating out every night, hotels, pools, and resorts). The end result is me being away from my studio for a week.
During my time in Vegas I have worked on a music job creating Radio Jingles for a news radio station. In addition to my jingle work, I've been working on my day job, and of course, couldn't stay away from composing a couple of new tracks.
How did I get this composition work done remotely from a hotel room without the benefit of my weighted Korg Kronos, grand piano, or studio monitors you may ask? Well here's my crazy gettup:
1. Macbook Pro with Logic Pro 9 DAW
2. Line 6 MobileKeys25 as my midi controller/instrument
Now I must admit, I had no idea how much inspiration springs from the instrument one plays. Although my Line 6 MobileKeys is effective and gets the job done, the keys are "squishy" and only having access to 25 keys is very limiting, forcing me to get creative...I do miss my fully weighted Korg and piano, but I must admit, the result has been surprisingly good.
During my time in Vegas I have worked on a music job creating Radio Jingles for a news radio station. In addition to my jingle work, I've been working on my day job, and of course, couldn't stay away from composing a couple of new tracks.
How did I get this composition work done remotely from a hotel room without the benefit of my weighted Korg Kronos, grand piano, or studio monitors you may ask? Well here's my crazy gettup:
1. Macbook Pro with Logic Pro 9 DAW
2. Line 6 MobileKeys25 as my midi controller/instrument
Now I must admit, I had no idea how much inspiration springs from the instrument one plays. Although my Line 6 MobileKeys is effective and gets the job done, the keys are "squishy" and only having access to 25 keys is very limiting, forcing me to get creative...I do miss my fully weighted Korg and piano, but I must admit, the result has been surprisingly good.
The end result has been some SoundCloud posts and couple Jingles (can't release yet):
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Gear Upgrade!
So, it's been a rough couple of weeks for me. I'm in the middle of a nasty cold (cold medicine a plenty). The weather has picked up and become suddenly cold for a Virginia January. We have just now gotten all of the snow that has been making it's way east. Despite the nasty cold, I've been able to muster enough strength to compose my latest track "Winds of Change". I'm not sure I'm gonna keep that title, I've gotten some feedback about it in regards to the mood of the music, so don't be surprised if it sails under a different banner later this week.
To compose this latest piece, I've been experimenting with my newest addition to the studio...a Korg Kronos X88 workstation. My wife bought this fantastical piece of musical powerhouse for me for our Anniversary (You are the Best, Baby!). I have been pleasantly surprised at the quality of sound and breadth of LFO manipulation and other capabilities. It'll be a couple months before I learn what I want to about this thing.
I've also taken a brave step out with a vocal piece sung by none other than (he who cannot sing well) me :D. The last vocal song I recorded was plagued with recording issues due to my amateur mic setup. So, this time I've upgraded. My vocal recording setup now consists of a Tupe MP Project Series pre-amp, Yeti Blue Mic and a sound guard around the mic. I think the vocal recording came out tremendously better this time around. You can hear the results of my latest vocal setup on SoundCloud at https://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens/yesterday-today. My daughter has volunteered to sing a newer rendition for me, her voice is much better than mine.
Well, that's all I have for today, thank you for stopping by. Hope you come by again soon :D.
To compose this latest piece, I've been experimenting with my newest addition to the studio...a Korg Kronos X88 workstation. My wife bought this fantastical piece of musical powerhouse for me for our Anniversary (You are the Best, Baby!). I have been pleasantly surprised at the quality of sound and breadth of LFO manipulation and other capabilities. It'll be a couple months before I learn what I want to about this thing.
I've also taken a brave step out with a vocal piece sung by none other than (he who cannot sing well) me :D. The last vocal song I recorded was plagued with recording issues due to my amateur mic setup. So, this time I've upgraded. My vocal recording setup now consists of a Tupe MP Project Series pre-amp, Yeti Blue Mic and a sound guard around the mic. I think the vocal recording came out tremendously better this time around. You can hear the results of my latest vocal setup on SoundCloud at https://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens/yesterday-today. My daughter has volunteered to sing a newer rendition for me, her voice is much better than mine.
Well, that's all I have for today, thank you for stopping by. Hope you come by again soon :D.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Happy New Year!
Well, another year has come and gone. So many exciting things have happened this year. Starting with my beautiful and wonderful wife, ever supported, overworked, underpaid. She has truly been my rock this year. Haute Swan (www.hauteswan.com) has reached some good traction and is getting close to being profitable for her. You go baby!
My lovely children have been growing so fast. My family has been a great source for my musical inspiration this year.
2012 marked the rekindling of my musical flame that I had let dim for so many years. I am so glad that I started this journey back up again. My music has been my therapy, my emotions captured in a form that I can express freely. I have connected to a world of other musicians that would not have been possible 10 years ago, and have support from so many along the way.
My life this year has not been without it's trials, though. I lost my brother to alcoholism this year, he passed in June of 2012. May god bless him and keep his soul. I myself had had my own bouts with depression and the expanding stress of owning a business and supporting my wife in her business.
I have been privileged to provide my music to you all this year and have high hopes that 2013 will be even better.
Below are the links to where you can access my music:
https://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens
http://www.youtube.com/user/clintonstevensmusic?feature=mhee
http://www.facebook.com/clintonstevensmusic?ref=hl
My lovely children have been growing so fast. My family has been a great source for my musical inspiration this year.
2012 marked the rekindling of my musical flame that I had let dim for so many years. I am so glad that I started this journey back up again. My music has been my therapy, my emotions captured in a form that I can express freely. I have connected to a world of other musicians that would not have been possible 10 years ago, and have support from so many along the way.
My life this year has not been without it's trials, though. I lost my brother to alcoholism this year, he passed in June of 2012. May god bless him and keep his soul. I myself had had my own bouts with depression and the expanding stress of owning a business and supporting my wife in her business.
I have been privileged to provide my music to you all this year and have high hopes that 2013 will be even better.
Below are the links to where you can access my music:
https://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens
http://www.youtube.com/user/clintonstevensmusic?feature=mhee
http://www.facebook.com/clintonstevensmusic?ref=hl
Friday, December 7, 2012
YouTube Adventures
So I finally got into putting some video behind my music. I've created a YouTube channel (you can check it out at http://www.youtube.com/user/clintonstevensmusic) and have started to create videos. Now, I have to come clean...I have absolutely no visual artistic skills at all, and know even less about video and media tools. So, to do this endeavor while still respecting my music, I've decided to start gently by using easy tools and largely still picture transitions.
This experience has actually been alot of fun, and I'm now finding that the YouTube videos add a nice dimension to my music. What kicked off the idea was a track I recently composed titled "Shadow Games". When I went to compose that music, I had a theme in mind...the thrilling story of a secret agent and his beloved, betrayed and trapped in a foreign land. The music was inspired by my vision of these to lovers trying to escape to safety, while the secret agent simultaneously completes his mission and duty to his nation (I have a hard time just managing the household let alone save the world at the same time...LOL).
With no video or media skills, I set out to put my music to a visual story. I acquired a series of pictures that, for me, told the various aspects of my story. The only thing left to do now, was sequence the music, photo's and captions together into a video. To do this, I used iMovie which comes free with the MacBook Pro that I use. I own Adobe CS5 through my company, however, don't know how to use it. I started by trying my hand at Adobe Premiere but quickly got overwhelmed. Given my leanings toward instantaneous gratification coupled with my excitement at the idea, I quickly abandoned ship and went with iMovie.
As it turns out, the videos are coming out great and I'm really having fun. I am now getting the hang of Premiere and am going through tutorials to get more proficient, so I'm excited about doing more in my future videos. You can watch all of my videos on my YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/clintonstevensmusic and if you like, please subscribe :D.
In the below video, I actually took my own photos (with the exception of 2) and cut my own home video recordings, I'm really having fun with this.
This experience has actually been alot of fun, and I'm now finding that the YouTube videos add a nice dimension to my music. What kicked off the idea was a track I recently composed titled "Shadow Games". When I went to compose that music, I had a theme in mind...the thrilling story of a secret agent and his beloved, betrayed and trapped in a foreign land. The music was inspired by my vision of these to lovers trying to escape to safety, while the secret agent simultaneously completes his mission and duty to his nation (I have a hard time just managing the household let alone save the world at the same time...LOL).
With no video or media skills, I set out to put my music to a visual story. I acquired a series of pictures that, for me, told the various aspects of my story. The only thing left to do now, was sequence the music, photo's and captions together into a video. To do this, I used iMovie which comes free with the MacBook Pro that I use. I own Adobe CS5 through my company, however, don't know how to use it. I started by trying my hand at Adobe Premiere but quickly got overwhelmed. Given my leanings toward instantaneous gratification coupled with my excitement at the idea, I quickly abandoned ship and went with iMovie.
As it turns out, the videos are coming out great and I'm really having fun. I am now getting the hang of Premiere and am going through tutorials to get more proficient, so I'm excited about doing more in my future videos. You can watch all of my videos on my YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/clintonstevensmusic and if you like, please subscribe :D.
In the below video, I actually took my own photos (with the exception of 2) and cut my own home video recordings, I'm really having fun with this.
Well, until next time, be well and do good things for others.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Shadow Games
"Betrayed by his friend and left far from home, hunted by those he has tried to destroy. Delicate balances of power dance a dangerous tango of death. Never knowing who he can trust, under deep cover and trapped, he journeys to find a way out and guard the secrets he holds. Far across the ocean, waiting in safety, his lover walks the beaches of a distant shore, waiting for him to return to her. Such a dangerous path one leads when he decides to play in the Shadow Games."
Today is exciting! I completed my latest track, Shadow Games, and published my first YouTube music video for the song. Now, being a one-man-shop at this point with absolutely no graphic art or video skills, I have chosen to develop my first video as a slideshow of pictures with text overlay to tell the story.
With each track that I write, I try to tell a story of some kind. If possible, I try to realize a composition that will explore the theme and story from beginning to end. When composing Shadow Games, I envisioned a story of a secret agent, badly wounded, trapped in a far away country and hunted by the enemy agency. His duty to his nation and protecting the secrets he possesses drive him to avoid capture and navigate through the clandestine world. Amongst everything else, his romantic desire to protect his lover and to see her again, which keeps him alive with hope in the face of great danger.
Driving guitar riffs, exotic asian percussion, and a steady pumping bass were my weapon of choice in this composition of betrayal, danger, and love.
You can hear this latest track at http://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens/get-out-of-the-way
You can watch my new YouTube video below :
Please stop by and visit my musical selection at www.soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens.
You can also visit me on my YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzOjB4itR0U7z5aNxLtxaKQ?feature=mhee.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Autumn Falls
As the sun sets on summer's last day and summer prepares for it's long hibernation, autumn begins to fall. It's that time of year, the leaves are beginning to turn, nature has begun a new song full of quiet reflection. I love this time of year. I love to watch the leaves turn color and witness the gentle kiss of rain.
There is so much beauty and inspiration to draw from the nature around us. If you can quiet yourself enough to hear it, God's music can be heard in everything around us. Rain is another one of my favorites. It's like the circle of life. The rain washes away the pain and replaces it with gentle calm.
This is the theme and inspiration behind my latest piano track "Autumns Fall". You can hear my track on SoundCloud at http://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens/autum-falls . I hope you enjoy my new track as much as I enjoyed creating it.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
My Isle of Peace
Imagine if you will, the sun is just setting over the beach. Beautiful streaks of purple and reddish orange reaching out like delicate fingers across the evening sky. As you sit under a comforting shelter, a gentle rain begins to give delicate and tantalizing sounds. A great sense of peace and god's love wraps you and brings you a meditative comfort.
As the rain clears, the gulls settle at the calming dusk. Here, there is only peace. Here, there is only beauty. Here there is only you and me, my love. I see your radiant beauty shimmering in the evening light as you dance to the song of love. Our souls enraptured in melody, your heart in mine.
You are my love, my beauty...you are My Isle of Peace.
Come listen to the music track on SoundCloud at http://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens/my-isle-of-peace
Come listen to the music track on SoundCloud at http://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens/my-isle-of-peace
Dedicated to my soulmate and love of my life. To my wife, Kimberly
Friday, September 21, 2012
Melancholy Odyssey
Wow, what an insane week I've had. Tonight was the first night in 10 days I haven't been utterly too exhausted to sit at the piano and compose...and compose I did :D. My wife, Kimberly is opening a Fashion Boutique "Haute Swan" here in Virginia Beach. I have been working hard at getting her store built out in my spare time. My day-job has been insane as it is the end of my company's Fiscal Year. So I've been working insane hours on top of helping with the Haute Swan. The last two weeks has presented it's fair share of ups, downs, hills, valleys, challenges, and rewards.But I'd do it all over again, in fact, I'd do anything for my wife and my family. So I have tried to express my whirlwind week and emotional experience of the last two weeks into my new track "Melancholy Odyssey". Based on the last two weeks, I'd say it is aptly named.
You can hear my new creation at http://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens/melancholy-odyssey. I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to sit down behind the piano and composing again, and I hope you equally enjoy listening.
Thank you for stopping by.
Until next time, be well and do good things for others :D.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Interesting Times
It's been an interesting couple of days for me. I haven't had much chance to compose music over the last couple days, which is now making me want to sit at the piano. My wife is opening a new store and that has been eating at all of my families free time, but I am very excited for her and hope that the store takes off with smashing success.
Today is Friday! The good thing about Friday is I don't have to wake up early on Saturday. This in turn means I can stay up late and compose. I wonder what will come out of the piano tonight? Good or bad, sweet or sour, you can rest assured that whatever I create, I will be posting it for anyone who wishes to hear.
This week has provided me alot of inspiration to work worth. Ranging from a Bar Mitzvah we attended for our friend's son, to Kimberly's store, to all of the crazy developments at my place of work. Who knows what music will flow...we'll find out :D.
Until next time, be well and do good things for others.
Today is Friday! The good thing about Friday is I don't have to wake up early on Saturday. This in turn means I can stay up late and compose. I wonder what will come out of the piano tonight? Good or bad, sweet or sour, you can rest assured that whatever I create, I will be posting it for anyone who wishes to hear.
This week has provided me alot of inspiration to work worth. Ranging from a Bar Mitzvah we attended for our friend's son, to Kimberly's store, to all of the crazy developments at my place of work. Who knows what music will flow...we'll find out :D.
Monday, September 10, 2012
This Heart of Hearts
Life, a great roller coaster ride with thrilling loops, steep drops and high rises. Everywhere you look, emotion springs from life. The good lord has truly blessed me with mercy, patience and love.
There have been times in my life where I thought I would never crawl up from the deep hole I was in. Other times in my life have been so blessed I felt I was on top of the world. I have, for the better part of my life, been a very private and emotionally guarded person. Always cautious to let others close to my real self. I was slowly climbing the top of the roller coaster.
Then, the steep drop and double loop. At first very scary, so much vulnerability exposed. My heart pounding, my blood pumping, the world moving at me so fast. So many entered my life during that drop, and so many were there for the exciting loops and turns that followed. I fell in love with my wife...my most precious and best part of me. We have our children, incredible blessings and spirits of joy.
It was just a matter of time before the music I had put away locked in the closet would make it's way out.
This Heart of Hearts is my tribute to the life my family and friends have helped me find. My tribute to the pain of losing ones I love, and gaining new love in my life. It is my tribute to my children who warm my heart. It is my tribute to the good lord, my tribute to my savior, Jesus Christ.
Regardless of the shape your roller coaster has taken, the spirituality you may have found in your life, or might have yet to discover, I hope you find something to take from this new track. Enjoy!!!
You can hear "This Heart of Hearts" and my other music at http://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens/this-heart-of-hearts . You can also follow me on Twitter at @clintonstevens.
There have been times in my life where I thought I would never crawl up from the deep hole I was in. Other times in my life have been so blessed I felt I was on top of the world. I have, for the better part of my life, been a very private and emotionally guarded person. Always cautious to let others close to my real self. I was slowly climbing the top of the roller coaster.
Then, the steep drop and double loop. At first very scary, so much vulnerability exposed. My heart pounding, my blood pumping, the world moving at me so fast. So many entered my life during that drop, and so many were there for the exciting loops and turns that followed. I fell in love with my wife...my most precious and best part of me. We have our children, incredible blessings and spirits of joy.
It was just a matter of time before the music I had put away locked in the closet would make it's way out.
This Heart of Hearts is my tribute to the life my family and friends have helped me find. My tribute to the pain of losing ones I love, and gaining new love in my life. It is my tribute to my children who warm my heart. It is my tribute to the good lord, my tribute to my savior, Jesus Christ.
Regardless of the shape your roller coaster has taken, the spirituality you may have found in your life, or might have yet to discover, I hope you find something to take from this new track. Enjoy!!!
You can hear "This Heart of Hearts" and my other music at http://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens/this-heart-of-hearts . You can also follow me on Twitter at @clintonstevens.
Friday, September 7, 2012
My Musical Re-Awakening
I love to write music, probably much the same way that some enjoy writing journals, sculpting, or oil painting. For me, composing has recently become both therapeutic and slightly addictive. I started playing piano when I was 18. I am self-taught with a remedial ability to read sheet music. By profession I am a business analytics architect so music is something I enjoy doing in my past-time.
I spent 4 years during my time in the U.S. Air Force moonlighting as a professional performing musician, during which time, I adopted a variety of playing styles through my exposure in bands playing Jazz, Latin, and R
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Lighthouse: A Great Collaboration
Lighthouse
Well, folks, I have had my first experience remotely collaborating on a music piece. It has been a lot easier to pull of then I would have expected. With modern professional tools, good internet and SoundCloud, it was a snap technically.
But I digress. Eve Williams and I have labored to produce a collaborative Piano/Vocal track. I am very happy with the outcome, and hope you will be too. Let me start by saying that Eve is a very talented vocalist with a great voice.
Our collaboration started with me composing and arranging a piano track. I used my MacBookPro, Logic Pro 9 and my Alesis QS8 to lay down the track. I mastered modified the EQ slightly to remove a couple of peaking points, and mastered my bounce to .WAV format. So now, the piano instrumental track was laid, next stop, time for Eve to do her magic.
I uploaded the piano track to my SoundCloud profile, but set it as a private track and added Eve Williams as the only person that could access the track. This worked out great, since the .WAV was over 50MB large and couldn't easily be sent via email. We corresponded via a email to hash out the details, Eve went to work on the vocals and lyrics. Using her Pro Tools she recorded her vocal track over my piano, mastered and sent the music back. Awesome sound music was born.
Given that we are in different countries on completely different continents, I thought it was very cool to be able to pull something like this off.
I shared our collaboration with my wife, Kimberly, and and our kids. They loved the piece. After some more correspondence, Eve and I decided to go ahead and push the new track to SoundCloud. If you'd like to hear our creation, you can do so at http://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens/lighthouse-featuring-vocals-by.
Also, I'm an Eve Williams fan (I've favorited several tracks). Her music can be found on SoundCloud as well at http://soundcloud.com/evewilliams
Well that's all for now folks, hope you enjoy.
Well, folks, I have had my first experience remotely collaborating on a music piece. It has been a lot easier to pull of then I would have expected. With modern professional tools, good internet and SoundCloud, it was a snap technically.
But I digress. Eve Williams and I have labored to produce a collaborative Piano/Vocal track. I am very happy with the outcome, and hope you will be too. Let me start by saying that Eve is a very talented vocalist with a great voice.
Our collaboration started with me composing and arranging a piano track. I used my MacBookPro, Logic Pro 9 and my Alesis QS8 to lay down the track. I mastered modified the EQ slightly to remove a couple of peaking points, and mastered my bounce to .WAV format. So now, the piano instrumental track was laid, next stop, time for Eve to do her magic.
I uploaded the piano track to my SoundCloud profile, but set it as a private track and added Eve Williams as the only person that could access the track. This worked out great, since the .WAV was over 50MB large and couldn't easily be sent via email. We corresponded via a email to hash out the details, Eve went to work on the vocals and lyrics. Using her Pro Tools she recorded her vocal track over my piano, mastered and sent the music back. Awesome sound music was born.
Given that we are in different countries on completely different continents, I thought it was very cool to be able to pull something like this off.
I shared our collaboration with my wife, Kimberly, and and our kids. They loved the piece. After some more correspondence, Eve and I decided to go ahead and push the new track to SoundCloud. If you'd like to hear our creation, you can do so at http://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens/lighthouse-featuring-vocals-by.
Also, I'm an Eve Williams fan (I've favorited several tracks). Her music can be found on SoundCloud as well at http://soundcloud.com/evewilliams
Well that's all for now folks, hope you enjoy.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Fire from Ashes
For me victory and release can be especially difficult when your family or those close to you hurt you. You know beyond everything, the hurt they may cause is not enduring, but it is hurt nonetheless. Even when the hurt or pain may leave you spent to ashes, the fire of love and forgiveness will find a way to light from those ashes. As a christian, I put my faith in the good Lord to heal all wounds, and so he does.
You can hear my latest music on SoundCloud at http://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens. You can also purchase and download my music at http://clintstevens.bandcamp.com.
Fire and Ashes is available for streaming at http://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens/fire-from-ashes. Until next time, be well, and god bless.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
The Workspace
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| Bergmann Grand Piano |
So, what tools do I use and how is my workspace organized? Well, first off, my greatest inspirations are from nature and the people around me. I've always gravitated toward ambient piano and piano styled music. I have during, my journey done a fair amount of live performance in a variety of styles both solo and in groups and bands, but I have always returned to the basics.
With the advent of computerized synthesizer sounds, I have departed from my overly crowded walls of keyboards, sound modules, and rack modules down to a much simpler setup. Today my workstation looks like this:
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| Alesis QS8 Midi-Controller and MacBookPro |
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| Laptop HQ |
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| The desk I "try to keep" clean |
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| Me on the Alesis |
I do most of my recording using my Alesis QS8 synth and Apple Logic Pro 9, which, BTW, has been a true pleasure to work with. I do some sampling and live instrument recording using Sonar X1, however, I've found that the midi response rate on Sonar X1 with my Alienware laptop is not nearly as responsive as my Macbook Pro and Logic Pro combo, so I will usually only use Sonar if I want to master a live recording.
I do love to play on the piano for inspiration and enjoyment. For that, I have a Bergmann baby grand piano which plays wonderfully, for the great price I was able to get it for.
Well, there you have it, my music studio. It's not elaborate, it's not super-cool by some standards, but I call it home. Thanx for stopping by.
Don't forget to stop by my music collection on SoundCloud at http://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens or buy and download my music at http://clintstevens.bandcamp.com/. Until next time, ciao.
Monday, August 27, 2012
The Ballad of Cara and Amber
Cara and Amber are my two wonderful and charismatic daughters. They do just about everything together when they can. They are often found spontaneously making cupcakes or hats to wear and giving their various wares away to us, the mom and dad units.
They can often be found taking pictures of all the crazy things around them, quoting poetry on Facebook, and many other things together.
I found it only fitting to craft a piano ballad for them, so here's to you girls:
"The Ballad of Cara and Amber" http://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens/the-ballad-of-cara-and-amber
They can often be found taking pictures of all the crazy things around them, quoting poetry on Facebook, and many other things together.
I found it only fitting to craft a piano ballad for them, so here's to you girls:
"The Ballad of Cara and Amber" http://soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens/the-ballad-of-cara-and-amber
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Music to me is a joy and a way to express who I am better than my words ever could. All my new music has been posted to www.soundcloud.com/clinton-stevens for streaming, so please come on by and explore my music with me.
All my music is also available for purchase and download at http://clintstevens.bandcamp.com.
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