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August 2024 challenge response Martin W

Home › Forums › Active Melody Member Challenge Response Submissions › August 2024 challenge response Martin W

  • This topic has 32 replies, 32 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 1 month ago by Martin W.
Viewing 31 reply threads
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    • September 6, 2024 at 12:50 pm #377062
      Martin W
      Participant

        Hi folks , my submission for this month
        I went with a standalone composition in drop d tuning consisting of an intro ,the riff / hook , some D min pentatonic licks/fills and a variation of the riff as an ending.
        The main riff /hook is a a simple descending run from A G F E D ,played on the bass strings , I changed the cadence on the two middle sections to add some variety.
        Look forward to listening to everyone’s ideas .

        Martin

      • September 6, 2024 at 2:03 pm #377079
        John H
        Participant

          Amazing tone quality, haunting yet melodic. Martin, I appreciate how you switch from the drone of low E, then flat-pick so eloquently up and down the fingerboard. Stunningly beautiful. A great submission!

          JH

        • September 6, 2024 at 2:33 pm #377090
          Jennifer D
          Participant

            Oh that was beautiful, I could listen to that all night!

          • September 6, 2024 at 3:01 pm #377098
            Jeff
            Participant

              So kool! Kinda has an old western vibe! Like a walk under a sunset in the outro of a movie as the hero once again having vanquished the bad guys, leaving town to parts unknown.

              Too old for rock and roll but too young to die

            • September 6, 2024 at 6:18 pm #377175
              Michael L
              Participant

                This was great Martin! You know those moments in concerts where the whole band leaves the stage, except for the acoustic guitarist. The lights go down and the soloist is alone in the spotlight, and a tune like this comes out. The crowd goes wild!

              • September 6, 2024 at 8:06 pm #377205
                JoeD1
                Participant

                  That is a great composition, flawlessly played, with top notch tone. Great job Martin!

                  Joe

                  The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
                  Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
                  --Graeme Edge

                • September 6, 2024 at 11:38 pm #377265
                  AndréM
                  Participant

                    Amazing composition.
                    Could be a theme for a cow-boy movie.
                    Great tone.

                    AndréM

                    AndréM

                  • September 7, 2024 at 12:21 am #377281
                    sunjamr
                    Participant

                      Nice relaxing composition, Martin, and really well played. And you played it with a pick, which makes it yet more difficult.

                      Sunjamr Steve

                    • September 7, 2024 at 12:52 am #377295
                      Dieter
                      Participant

                        Wow, wonderful blues feeling and picking. Really great!

                        Dieter

                      • September 7, 2024 at 1:56 am #377305
                        Manfred M
                        Participant

                          This is a wonderful crafted composition, Martin. And it‘s so atmospheric, that the listener is caught from the first second on. Masterful played with a great acoustic tone.

                          Take the chance to meet your AM friends on Zoom
                          The next Meetup is expected to take place in November 2025

                          There will be a detailed announcement here in the forum in good time.

                          I look forward to meet you.
                          Manfred

                        • September 7, 2024 at 5:42 am #377320
                          Don Patton jr
                          Participant

                            Well done Martin !
                            Your composition centered around your repeating lead line or hook. Great vibe and mellow tone…nice 👍🎶🎵

                            Don P

                          • September 7, 2024 at 6:16 am #377323
                            Guido
                            Participant

                              Love the drop D tuning and loved you composition, Martin! Very bluesy and haunting, with a wonderful, surprising and suspended ending! Great acoustic tone with a superb recording quality! For sure one of my favourite submissions of this challenge!

                              Guido

                            • September 7, 2024 at 8:09 am #377349
                              Mark T
                              Participant

                                Masterful playing, Martin – loved the way you went back to the slower tempo section, before picking up the faster one again. It kept the interest, but also gave it an easy, relaxed feel, that was lovely to watch and listen to 👍🎶😎

                              • September 7, 2024 at 11:12 am #377392
                                Mike W
                                Participant

                                  Truly excellent Martin – I loved the spaghetti western vibe. I think the magic of it was the way you crafted the melody – I loved it.

                                • September 7, 2024 at 11:52 am #377404
                                  Alan L
                                  Participant

                                    Super cool, haunting and beautiful. Love it!

                                  • September 7, 2024 at 1:41 pm #377433
                                    Paul S.
                                    Participant

                                      I loved this. I was expecting the sheriff to ride out of the sage brush at any minute and confront the villain.
                                      Beautiful pickin’. It was the bend of the low E that drove it home.

                                    • September 7, 2024 at 3:00 pm #377445
                                      James B
                                      Participant

                                        You know your way around the drop D tuning, Martin. Another cool original piece. More accolades for your acoustic recordings. They’re always pristine.

                                        James

                                      • September 7, 2024 at 5:20 pm #377473
                                        Bill
                                        Participant

                                          Super atmospheric Martin. Could be the opening credits to a crime show set in the Deep South. Awesome job!

                                        • September 7, 2024 at 8:20 pm #377517
                                          charjo
                                          Moderator

                                            Bravo, that was beautiful, Martin. I was so impressed with your delicate picking and strumming. There was a freedom in the timing that was very pleasing to the ear. Well done.
                                            John

                                          • September 8, 2024 at 1:29 am #377565
                                            Liam Innes
                                            Participant

                                              Wow what a tone!

                                              This reminded me of Ry Cooder.

                                              Super cool my friend.

                                              Loved it.

                                              Liam.

                                              “We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams. “

                                            • September 8, 2024 at 3:26 am #377602
                                              Gary W
                                              Participant

                                                Yep, loved that! Great stuff Martin – what a fab sound. I thought it had shades of Skip James …. brilliant.

                                                Gary

                                              • September 8, 2024 at 4:19 am #377613
                                                Tremelow
                                                Participant

                                                  Yes, that’s it right there: I would definitely listen to a song with that riff beginning to end. And wanting more. What a full, rich sound Drop D and a bit of reverb creates is amazing. Great job, Martin!

                                                • September 8, 2024 at 4:48 am #377631
                                                  Werner
                                                  Participant

                                                    Wonderful, Martin!
                                                    Just like Michael said, that’s the perfect piece of music to keep the audience attentive when the guitarist plays alone on stage while the band takes a break. I could easily listen to it again and again!

                                                    Werner.

                                                  • September 8, 2024 at 7:48 am #377674
                                                    Laurel C
                                                    Moderator

                                                      Flawless picking. Drop D is a draw card for its drone, like the direction you took with this by giving it a softer approach with the cascading flurry of notes. 👏

                                                    • September 8, 2024 at 9:54 am #377735
                                                      Juxi
                                                      Participant

                                                        Brillant response to the riff-challenge, Martin! I was caught with the first note and wanted more after the end. Fantastic tone! Hammergeil! 👍🏽👍🏽

                                                        Bluesige Grüße
                                                        Juxi

                                                      • September 8, 2024 at 2:51 pm #377819
                                                        Martyn in France
                                                        Participant

                                                          Lovely rich sound from that guitar and your playing was excellent, easy to listen to and be carried away to the Delta, or maybe the Somerset levels!
                                                          Martyn

                                                        • September 8, 2024 at 5:54 pm #377892
                                                          JoLa
                                                          Participant

                                                            Wow, that sounded fantastic, Martin! You just reminded me how much I love Drop D tuning and I should revisit it more often!!! Such a familiar sound to my ears, looooove it, every note was just impeccable! And so was the recording, clear as crystal and very full in tone.

                                                            🎸JoLa

                                                          • September 8, 2024 at 7:58 pm #377913
                                                            sciencefiction
                                                            Participant

                                                              That was a very cool opening riff you came up with, Martin. Love that drop D tuning. Great composition following the riff, played flawlessly. Excellent song arrangement; could have been one of Brian’s weekly lessons. Outstanding!!
                                                              Larry

                                                            • September 9, 2024 at 7:45 pm #378035
                                                              Tom D
                                                              Participant

                                                                Hey Martin:
                                                                When I read your description I could wait to hear your dropped D composition! And after I heard it, I had to hear it again. Awesome dynamics, nuanced variety, and storytelling in your playing. Loved it. Cheers, Tom

                                                              • September 10, 2024 at 3:55 am #378047
                                                                Pap
                                                                Participant

                                                                  Hey Martin, that was a really cool sounding composition in drop D. It is always a good place to go when looking for that deep bass sound…like the wild west movie type flavor. I like what you did with you chord progression and leads. Well played….and with a pic:) Cheers. Pap

                                                                • September 10, 2024 at 3:18 pm #378119
                                                                  Scott M
                                                                  Participant

                                                                    Fantastic drop D jam flawlessly played with great tone. Well done Martin!

                                                                    Scott

                                                                  • September 12, 2024 at 9:01 pm #378215
                                                                    Jonathan Amos
                                                                    Participant

                                                                      Really enjoyed listening to this. Your guitar sounds amazing, was everything captured by the condenser microphone, no internal pickup? I’ve always got by with an SM58 and an internal pickup on my acoustic guitar but it looks as though you can’t beat a condenser mic.

                                                                      Jonathan Amos, Matsuyama, Japan

                                                                      The farther one travels the less one knows.

                                                                      • September 13, 2024 at 4:04 am #378232
                                                                        Martin W
                                                                        Participant

                                                                          Hi Jonathan, thank you for the feedback.
                                                                          I recorded this with two mics , a shure sm57 on the amp ( acus acoustic)
                                                                          And an audio technica condenser on the guitar which has a pick up , also I use a fethead mic booster on both mics to give more clean headroom when recording. There is also a host of boss pedals used very subtly to colour the sound , acoustic preamp , reverb, delay , chorus , and eq .

                                                                          Martin

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