Smooth Jazz Guitar

So... here goes: Back about 2015, I got myself a nice yet simple Digital Audio Work Station- known as a DAW. I was able to record my guitar and also, using a MIDI guitar synth pickup on my guitar, I was also able to record basses, violins, keyboards, saxophones, trumpets and many other instruments. I instantly began choosing various instruments and composing pieces track by track.

  I reached the point I had filled up an entire CD worth of pieces and decided to name the CD something. Out of the ether flew the name: DUDE! I then began immediately composing/ performing all the parts and recording new compositions for the next CD. That one became DUDE II. I kept going in this fashion, composing and recording pieces like a bat out of hell, and got up to where I currently am: 45 minutes into DUDE 37!

   As I continued to compose and record pieces in this fashion, I began to add more and more PLUGINS ( which are actual samples of real instruments performed by real musicians). I now possess roughly about 80 of these plugins, with a total of about 100,00 instruments!

  When I choose one of these instruments, I use my guitar and pick and play as usual, but the real instrument sounds come forth, in a very realistic manner.

  I have been composing music of all types since 1966 and I have thousands of pieces I've written. To me, using these sampled instruments but actually playing all the parts on my guitar give me a very extensive pallet of instruments and sounds to use in my compositions.

  Duke Ellington used to compose music with very specific players in mind, to use their exact sounds to create the piece he heard in his head. In my opinion, (a very humble opinion I might add as I am not Duke Ellington nor am I comparing myself to him) I feel the approach I use is somewhat similar when I compose, but instead of choosing a particular player with a certain sound, I choose the sound myself from my samples and perform/record them in real time.

  I have  passed the point of 500+ pieces composed in the last 4.5 years, a lot of work, believe me. But all in all, I actually can't think of an activity I could do on this planet right now that would be anywhere close to how much fun and excitement I have doing this.

 This is most definitely not the only area of music I'm interested in. I love to play live; I've done hundreds of solo acoustic guitar gigs over the last several years. I know at least a thousand tunes that I can play of all genres; I've done many a gig for 3 to 4 hours straight with no breaks. I've played many duo, trio and full band gigs; it's a lot of fun to play live!

  I've been playing guitar for 54 years now. Doing this activity as I have described has entirely removed any possible "writers block" as a player and composer. If any of you are interested in finding out more about this activity, let me know and I'll tell you all about it! Send me a note. I can talk and on for hours about this and I will!