This was a productive session with heartfelt performances by all.
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My process is simple: I let go of my mind, let go of my body, and try to flow inside the inspiration of creation. Think of it as free falling from 100,000 feet fully confident that all is well because you can fly as high as you believe you can. Inside that confidence is this music.

When I fully let go, the pipeline opens and heartfelt music emerges. This song was a beautiful flow the entire time. It began while I was hosting two friends for a hangout and song listen. I asked them if I could compose a song with them in the studio…making the process a bit more fun. Normally I create alone, and often at 11 pm to 2 am. This was kinda cool to share this moment with friends and I had no idea how it would turn out.

I started with a beat that I could jam on. It’s the bed of the song. Jamming with a beat means feeling it and flowing it through me. So I played a set of chord changes on that flow and that became the bed of the song. Next up was Bass. I usually lay down bass on top of the initial creation and then start to decorate it. There are often mistakes along the way. I just keep layering and listening because one part helps dictate another. It’s like a puzzle that emerges piece by piece, yet fits together miraculously as I layer one part atop the other. Playing all the parts (like on the demos) is fun, but having other amazing musicians playing the parts will bring the music to life.

I had been using kalimba and marimba and sitar, and loved those sounds. So I thought, lets use them here.

I created with a motif on Kalimba, an African thumb piano, and looped it in small sections that morphed with the chord. Listening back, I was feeling this as a spacious piece…a sort of sound painting for a moment in nature. Hence the title, “Natural Moment.”

That’s how far I got in an hour one afternoon with friends. The next three days and nights I dug into this piece and fully explored its beauty, a creation from another place. I added a pad in the background to warm the repeated arpeggio of the guitar –flowing, yet haunting and unexpected single notes.

The sitar melody emerged while I was on a business call and recording the sitar at the same time. The second verse was somewhat ambiguous (who was on the line with me???) and I decided I would keep it because it flowed on in a simple stepping melody that opened into an electric guitar solo. The guitar solo literally exploded in the moment of the take. I rarely start playing that quickly in a solo, but I just jumped into it. And I love it.

The coolest and funnest side of this creative process is adding the energy and genius of real musicians. I’m in the studio these days and you’re gonna love what this song has become. I’ve added some incredible artists to this track. Check them out on video and watch them record this song and others. YouTube subscribers also get my video updates.

Click “Natural Moment” in the player and enjoy the demo.

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The entire process has also been documented in an eight part video series you can subscribe to and watch at YouTube

For anyone thinking about recording, you’ll get deep insights into my process and see some great musicians who have collaborated with me on the project:

Tony Levin – bass
George Brooks – sax
Ravichandra Kulur – flute
Eugene Friesen – cello
Jill Haley – english horn
Jeff Haynes – percussion

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Maui Breeze was composed on November 26, 2009 late in my San Francisco studio and I finished the demo while connecting with the divine Spirit on Maui. This song goes deep with its modal flavoring and sweet harmonic textures. Hope you like it. Leave me a comment on how you feel about it.

Click through the titles on the player for Maui Breeze and download.

Please share this song with friends but please include this copyright info with the song:

Copyright © 2009 by Shambhu Neil Vineberg – All Rights Reserved
Join the Love Groove at ShambhuMusic.com

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Shambhu solo live — Through the Eyes of a Child from Shambhu on Vimeo.

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