I called this track "Persistence" because I kept coming back to it to try to make it better.  I still don't know if I'm entirely happy with it, but I've decided that's it's time to throw it out into the world, and move on!  As of yesterday, in fact, I had decided that I didn't want to use it at all.  I listened again today, and decided that I should keep it, since I spent a lot of time on it, and I think there is some good stuff in there.   I will probably like it a lot better after I have some time away from it.  Please tell me your opinion.   

Click Here to download Track Five: Persistence

This is another theme and variations kind of thing.  This track started with the drums (again) and then the bass line at the beginning.  The guitar part that's heard at the beginning came next.  With no idea what to do with it at that point, I briefly thought I should turn it into a song with vocals, and get Christina to sing it....  But no great vocal melodies came to mind.  So, I tried out the theme that I used instead, played on acoustic guitar, my Ovation miked with a condenser mike.   

The acoustic guitar theme is doubled on mandolin.  I like the sound that this creates, it has a little bit of an Eastern flavor.  I did the same thing a few years ago on the song "Tectonics." This is the first track on the Virtual CD to have some mandolin on it.  I really enjoy playing mandolin, though I'm by no means an expert at it.   The mandolin on this track is an el-cheapo Johnson mandolin that I bought on Ebay.   I like to have mandolins laying around the house so that I can twiddle away on them at random times.  Some day I may get serious enough about it to buy a really nice one.   Anyway, having used the mandolin to double the theme at the start of this track, it lingers around throughout the track, mainly adding texture. 

The structure of this track is a simple chord progression that happens just once, stretched out over the whole piece, with the same little melody repeating and getting altered as it goes forward.  Basically, after the theme happens in E minor, it happens again with a slight variation in  A minor, but with a completely different texture underneath.  When it switches back to E minor, the context has changed, but the melody has not.  It feels like there's something different happening harmonically because of the rising bassline.  That's a trick I've always enjoyed doing.  Next, there's a D major section, with a major variation on the theme that turns into a guitar solo.   This guitar solo section is maybe just a bit too happy sounding, but is redeemed for me by the next bit, with yet another modification on the same theme, in A minor, and then B major.   Of course, it resolves back to E-minor, and we're back to the beginning.  The distorted guitar solo at the end probably represents my frustration that I couldn't do more with it.

I added the simple organ part last, because I wanted to fill in some of the empty spaces that still existed.  I don't use organ sounds too often, mainly because my wife hates them!  I didn't want to fall back on the same string sounds on this for such a small part, though.   I don't want the strings to get boring.   Probably the organ came to mind because I've listening to a lot of old Yes recently.  

That's all for now.  If you think I should have gone with my original instinct and thrown  this fish back, please tell me!  Comments please!