‘Til the Sun
Years ago I tried writing some songs. Then I met a University of Utah medical student named Wayne Burton who had some recording equipment. Wayne was kind enough to offer the free use of his equipment and his time to record one of the songs - a recording which I intended to give to my wife as a Christmas gift. He was very helpful and gave me hours of his time as I learned more about the process. We ended up recording the guitar first and then I sang over the recording.
I learned a hard lesson after the process was seemingly over. Listening to yourself sing can be a very different experience than listening to a recording of yourself sing. Frankly, when I got home and listened to this recording, I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t like my singing voice. I put the recording away for about six months and only then could I bring myself to listen to it again.
Since then I’ve dealt with my initial misgivings and am grateful I had this experience. I recently purchased an acoustic guitar and hope eventually to record some more songs - even if it’s just for myself. Modern technology and computers are making it easier and easier for people to do for themselves what used to require studio time and thousands of dollars. So I hope to eventually have the recording equipment I need to do more recordings.
In general, I really enjoy the creative process. Music and artwork are a very important part of my life and I don’t merely want to enjoy what others have done. It’s a good feeling to actually make music, to draw, to paint (you can see some of my artwork here). My feeling is that a person has to accept where he/she is (talent-wise, etc.) and move forward from that point.
You can listen to the recording or download it by clicking on the title just below.
oh, it’s so late at night
sometimes this world is so dreary
sometimes things just ain’t right
oh, it’s so late at night
I can feel that you’re weary,
somber as candle light.
oh, it’s so late at night
Let your head rest on my shoulder
Let my arms hold you tight
to dark skies
‘til the sun
wakes you in the morning
when life is harder it seems
you let daytime’s demons
try to chase you into your dreams
won’t let dragons arise from the deep
I will watch and protect you
As you lie here fast asleep
oh, it’s so late at night
Let your head rest on my shoulder
Let my arms hold you tight
to dark skies
‘til the sun
wakes you in the morning
About The Author
Daniel, I loved the song. It was so sweet and tender. It was beautiful. I also think you have a great voice that went well with the song. That is fabulous. You have really been holding back on us. You know, AMerican Idol is holding a songwriting contest; you might want to get in on it. YOu should put this song in and any other secret ones you have!!!!!
Laura, as my sister you are just a little bit biased in my favor. But thanks for the kind words.
Wayne Burton was my last landlord (we own a house now). He’s a neat guy. He is serving in the bishopric of his ward now and was EQP previous to that. He works at the Chinook Regional Hospital here in Lethbridge.
Dan, are you kidding? I’d love to have your singing voice.
Nice guitar work, too.
Are you still writing songs? You should be.
And why haven’t you added “‘Til the Sun” to your Radio Blog?
Kim,
Wayne is a very nice guy. I’m glad you know him too. Back when we were all living in student apartments, we thought he had the cutest kids around.
John,
Thanks for the kind words. Now that I have an acoustic guitar around (we left one behind in UT when we came here to NYC) I’m just working on remembering the songs I already wrote. It’s interesting how you can forget and then remember things again.
I anticipate that I’ll have some new ideas coming to mind. The other day I was on the bus and I was kind of mentally messing around with some words and a melody that occurred to me. So hopefully I’ll have some new songs as well.
Problem is I have to find a way to record again.
FYI, they have four children now.
Dan,
The recording quality of your song is quite good.
I’ve mostly recorded into my computer using cheap mics and freeware. The trick is, trying to make a nylon-string guitar sound good with this setup.
With just voice and guitar, it’s possible to use a stereo splitter cable with a mic in each, and record voice to one stereo channel and guitar to the other of your sound card.
I use a Stennheiser headphone and mic set up to sing into. The mic has a noise canceling feature so only my voice, not the guitar, goes into one channel.
My voice bleeds over a bit into the guitar mic, though.
Anyway, once you’ve got voice on one side and instrument on the other, you can use software to position and blend the two however you want.
Want to feel better about your singing voice? Listen to some of my one-take wonders. These don’t use the system I just described, however. The vocals were recorded into a computer using a cheap mic, and then mixed with midi instrumentals.
John,
I don’t know much about recording equipment yet, though I am somewhat interested in eventually getting an mbox setup or at least trying one out.
I will definitely check out your recordings.
Digidesign’s mbox.
Thanks for the mbox link.
I want one.
What kind of guitar do you have and where did you learn those fat, jazzy chords?
The guitar I have is a Takamine Acoustic Electric EG330COBB G-series guitar. The OBB part of that equation stands for “oriental blue burst” which of course refers to the guitar’s coloring.
I became interested in Takamine guitars when years ago a friend suggested that brand to me. The Takamine guitars are less expensive, but they are supposed to play comparatively to much more expensive Martin and Taylor guitars. At least that’s what I read about them online.
Obviously it’s not the guitar you hear on the recording.