Out in my backyard you'll find a small studio space with large windows on one side and double french doors. The paint is chipping off the window frames, but it only adds to the charm. It gets quite cold in there in the Fall and Winter months. You can hear the cars driving by on the main street half a block away and squirrels running across the roof now and then. The natural light is wonderful, I can look out at my small raised bed where I have made small attempts at growing food (with varying levels of success). There's an easel for painting and half-finished paintings leaning against the wall. This is where I began recording my first EP in the early winter of 2020.
I went out there to record almost every day for a couple months, carrying my computer, my interface, a microphone... my ukulele, guitar, notebook and a hot cup of peppermint tea with honey and lemon. I had no idea what I was doing at first. It took me a while to realize I hadn't set the tempos correctly in Garageband (GB) and even if the many parts of my song were in sync with one another, editing against a grid that didn't match was pretty tricky. I was excited and motivated and ambitious to finish as quickly as possible, so I pushed through. I wanted so badly to have something to show at the end of such a trying year. I wish I had taken the time in the beginning to set everything up better because later in the process this caused some confusion and complications. I will make a separate post talking about GB and how it works to transfer files to Logic. I still have a lot to learn about recording, sound design, mixing and mastering, but I definitely learned a lot just throwing myself into it!
As cold as it was in my little shed, I am so grateful that I had this creative space to work in. Creativity can require a certain amount of privacy. I am especially uncomfortable with sharing my work in early stages of the creation process. However, I am working on imagining a different reality where it is easier for me to share my art. That's one reason I am starting this blog! I want to let go of the fear of what other people might think and I want to allow myself more freedom to explore my creativity in all the stages and pieces of the process... Another reason I love my little shed is the atmosphere is peaceful and this helps me feel grounded and focused. The big bay tree that stands watch outside and the blackberry brambles falling over the fence, the crows calling from nearby telephone wires... It all brings me home and, for me, that's a good place to be. (fun fact: you can actually hear some crows cawing in the background of some of my backup vocals if you isolate the track and turn it up!)
