My OE plans

Yes, I have a plan. It's to go to the Pacific Islands and learn some guitar tricks. However, I'm not using my trust money on that, because I can't afford to. I reckon the trip will cost something like $25-30,000 if I can't make any money on the trip (it's better not to assume, and I doubt there are many jobs I'd be suited for anyway). So it'll take a few years of saving to do that. There's no instant fix to the solution of being an infamous punk, and people may just have to learn to cope with my continued presence on the streets. The only charges that have any credence are drug charges, and I think that I ultimately told more truth than lies. So, yeah, with the increasing public support for dismantling the War on Drugs, I think my position is fairly safe, and I probably have enough fans to counter my many enemies and nemeses. - My take: even with Chloe's support, I think if people had thought they could get me on civil or criminal charges regarding my Facebook profile, they would have by now. So these strongly hinted suggestions about what I *should* do with my music are just that, suggestions. I'm not keen, and forcing me would make y'all feel crap (I'd make it my business to be a pain). And as for whether Chloe wants to press charges: well, I dunno - I hope she's into it, and I'm pretty sure she's been playing along for the last few months. 👍 - As for counting the beat: I've got good rhythm - that's why I can devise the tricky counts, and they are totally intentional for my pop songs. I worked out the rhythm grid for Machine Fatigue (I think): 4/4 and 6/4 - which is a very standard rhythm shift in classical and show music, plus a 7/4 bar leading into the chorus. Early Split Enz has tons of odd metres, and Mental Notes has become one of my favourite albums. Kiwis don't speak in 4/4 - our rhythm is a lot quicker and more broken than American or British English, and Māori traditional music is often uneven metrically. The first musical had a lot of waltz feel for that reason. - Basic scansion rules: work out the metrical feet as if it's classical poetry. I'm not that clued-up on my dactyls and fancy terms, but I did write an entire script where one character spoke in blank verse, so I do consciously think about metrical accents. Then it's about matching those up to the music grid. Yes, the grid [inside joke for composers 👍]. I prefer to set English as it's spoken, so I seldom use melismas, and that can mean syncopating phrases so it feels more like speech. As for writing vocal melodies: that's a gift - it can't really be taught.

Every melodist has their own fingerprint, and I think it does help to be a singer, which is why I put the time in on my voice. - This is why I'm not returning - I had to work out all this vocal writing shit for myself because nobody taught me any of it at uni. I'm not a happy camper, and nothing they have to offer appeals to me. I have considered studying with Mark Menzies, but it's a passing fancy, and again until people accept Amanda as a trannie who doesn't pass, all this is moot.