Thinking About the 3 Iterations of the Project

Blog #2: The Final Project

The Discussion of the 3 Iterations of the project:

At this point, I have met with a guitarist to learn about the blues/folk modalities on the guitar, chord patterns, some picking etc. I also have been practicing singing along with iconic, important folk songs. I have, additionally, written down some ideas, themes, and tropes to begin the rough draft of the lyrics. In this post, I will enumerate and describe the processes for the above-mentioned developments in the project.

First, I will outline my tentative explorations into the guitar. I met with a family friend, John, to get some bearings on playing the guitar. The first couple of chords he taught me were the E major chord, the A minor chord, the C major chord, and the G major chord. So far, so good, but the tips of my fingers hurt from pressing the strings down. My guitar teacher assures me, with time and regular practice, I will develop callouses on my fingertips, which will allow me to play better and for longer amounts of time.

This is the type of guitar that I will be using for the song:

It is a Fender acoustic guitar and the tone of it is apposite for the type of folk/blues song I am intending to create/write/develop.

Second, I have been trying to absorb as much folk and blues music as I can. I am doing this to make myself inured with these traditions and for inspiration. Here is a list of a few of the blues/folk songs that I have found to be helpful, informative, inspiring, and they just sound great:

Eva Davis- John Hardy (1924): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJKj12xm_tk

The Mississippi Sheiks- Sitting On Top of the World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqeW7-tmVU4

Ralph Stanley- Man of Constant Sorrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mndlk0qbIbE

Leadbelly- Goodnight Irene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmQXmqbZ3Pc

Geeshie Wiley- Last Kind Words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAKfy2W70Qg

Blind Willie McTell- Searching the Desert for the Blues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLXq6pJnr_c

Blind Willie Johnson- The Soul of a Man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MdI2xPHw_k

Wanda Jackson- Hard Headed Woman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzJ3hiqsi0U

In terms of the writing portion of the project, I have written down a few ideas. A potential first few lines of the verse are:

Under a blood red moon,

I dream of you.

All across the Western skies,

Constellations shine like her brown eyes.

I also want to incorporate the mythology of John Hardy into the song, particularly the line about carrying two guns everyday:

Some other fragments of verse I might use are:

Some call her the midnight sun,

They're wrong; I call her heaven.

But I was kicked out of the kingdom

because of a pin and its poison.

You know the story...

Here it comes again:

I was a bad, bad, bad man.

I carried two guns everyday.

Draw on me, and I'll blow you away.