One Take on Enchantment

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Looking for Some Action
I was cutting a couple short demo tracks in the recording studio on a wonderfully old-fashioned grand piano. The real thing. But the action on the grand piano was much tougher than the Yamaha YPG-625 baby grand I usually play. “Action” on the piano means the amount of pressure needed to depress the keys and cause the hammers to hit the piano strings to create sound. I know this might sound unbelievable, but old-fashioned non-digital pianos actually have piano strings.

Stinkeroos of the Highest Order
This piano’s action was tough. You had to slug the keys with an anvil to move them. Struggling with the rough hammer action, my demo cuts were harmoniously disagreeable. Stinkeroos of the highest order. Rap with a capital “C” in front. Although the tunes had been carefully composed and practiced before the recording started, nothing clicked – everything was odoriferous.

Absolute Non-Forgiveness
When recording music – there is no forgiveness. Miss a single note, play a clunker, honk-a-honker or brilliantly play a train wreck and it lives on forever. Recording music demands perfection. That day I had an absolutely perfect record of non-perfection.

Call Me Dis-enchantingly Cheap But…
I got ready to go but still had one minute left of recording time. Call me cheap but …  I was going to use it. And I wanted it to ooze enchantment. I also knew fat chance it would happen – given my track record for the day.

Mellifluously Melodious
The word enchantment – in my feeble mind – evokes a mystical musical imagery. Like a smooth jazz tune. Alluring, mellifluous, melodious, harmonious … almost magical. So I played one last rip-tripping riff  on the keys. A simple reverie – an out-take. One take. No thinking. Just riffing. Thought it sounded like a knuckle-dragging nose-honker when I was playing it.  I was going to dump it – until I heard the playback.

Long-Story Short
Though I wasted 24 seconds of my last minute of recording time – the other 36 seconds weren’t bad.

Sometimes it’s better not to think. Just play. Do it. Start. Riff & Roll.

LISTEN:

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Post By Steve Kayser (159 Posts)

Steve Kayser is an experienced PR & Media Relations Director, radio host and an award-winning business writer. His unique (some say bizarre) approach to PR, Marketing and Media Relations has been documented in a marketing best practices case study by MarketingSherpa, profiled as a “Purple Cow,” by author Seth Godin, and featured in the best-selling books, The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott and "Tuned In: Uncover the Extraordinary Opportunities That Lead to Business Breakthroughs" by Craig Stull, Phil Myers, and David Meerman Scott. Steve has also been featured in the following publications: A Marketer’s Guide to e-Newsletter Publishing, Credibility Branding, Innovation Quarterly, B2B Marketing Trends, PRWEEK, Faces of E-Content, and The Ragan Report. Steve's writings have appeared in Corporate Finance Magazine, CEO Refresher, Entrepreneur Magazine, Business 2.0, and Fast Company Magazine – among many others.. Google+

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