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JOHN LENNON played Mellotron on MY NEW SONG called Half-Life
#JohnLennon #Mellotron #Songwriting
This is the TRUE STORY of how my favorite songwriter-musician played the Mellotron on my original song "Half-Life." If not for John's (previously unreleased) Mellotron performance, the song wouldn't even exist.
Take a journey into the songwriting and production process as I detail the musical and lyrical building blocks of a brand new song based on a vintage 1967 foundation.
My sincere hope is that Half-Life captures some of Lennon's and late-era Beatles' spirit of mystery and adventure. The final production remains a work in progress, but the song itself is complete.
In this video, I share my favorite songwriting tips, techniques and sources of inspiration that I hope will inspire YOU to keep writing songs and make them interesting and memorable.
SONG: Half-Life (Lennon/Cassard) - Robert Cassard (feat. John Lennon)
MUSICIANS & EQUIPMENT:
John Lennon: Mellotron Mk II
Robert Cassard: Drum Programming, Electric and Steinway Pianos, Keyboards, Fender '57 Reissue P-Bass (MIJ), '85 Fender Stratocaster USA Rhythm Guitar and Vocals
DAW - Apple Logic Pro + Universal Audio Apollo Twin DUO Mk II
Vocal Mic - Shure SM57 with Triton FetHead Preamp
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⏰ Timestamps
0:00 - Songwriting inspiration
1:16 - Guitar Discoveries Theme
1:29 - John Lennon: my favorite songwriter
2:07 - Lennon plays Mellotron - Vintage inspiration
2:56 - Modern day inspiration - Half Life
3:51 - Writing and producing at the same time
4:54 - Evoking the past; staying off balance
5:37 - Writing lyrics with MasterWriter
6:08 - Verse 1 - Lyrics and music samples
8:28 - Verse 2 - Lyrics and music samples
10:48 - Chorus/musical mantra - Lyrics
12:15 - More musical mantras
12:51 - Chorus/musical mantra - Music samples
15:02 - Guitar solo and vocal coda + Lennon returns
15:59 - Songwriting's lack of rules and random inspirations
16:45 - Wrap up
Visit GuitarDiscoveries.com for much much more!
Robert Cassard shares guitars, gear and tips to make you a better musician.
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Cosmic Spin (Band): https://cosmic-spin.com/
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Hi, my name is Robert Cassard. Thank you for watching, liking and subscribing.
I am a lifelong guitar player, singer-songwriter, producer, and music fanatic. I create Guitar and Recording Discoveries videos to share the pure joy of music — shortcuts to help you play guitar, sing, record and sound great doing it. I learn the hard way so you don’t have to!
Learn more about me, my music and my videos:
https://www.guitardiscoveries.com/
Check out my band Cosmic Spin’s website:
https://cosmic-spin.com/
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