How To Keep From Drowning is the first release of several singles from the Lockdown Sessions by Willard Overstreet. Having played keyboards on the tracks of this project, I’ll be sharing my reflections on participating in this musical endeavor.
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Covid-19 Changed Our Music
During 2020 through much of 2021, Willard Overstreet and the Highborn Kinsmen faced a new reality in music-making. Practice spaces in Southern California were shuttered. Gig opportunities vanished. And with a new album ready for release, “All We Are,” the timing wasn’t ideal for showcasing new music.
During these years, Willard and I came across a new path to explore music creation. One file made it to my home via the internet. It was just Will and a guitar. So into my Logic Pro X DAW, it went. Hours passed by like minutes. And shortly, our first collaboration of the Covid era was completed. A fully fleshed-out tune with piano, electric piano, strings, synthesizers, and all sorts of fun additions.
We learned this method of collaboration works – and in fact, rather well. With the thousands of instruments and sounds at my home studio, my sonic palette grew immensely from the more narrow range of sounds I typically draw from in the rehearsal space. And with nearly unlimited tracks on my computer, I began to think beyond what two hands alone could play.
During these two years, it quickly became the most prolific of the years I’ve spent playing keyboards with Will. As the months progressed, we amassed at least an album’s worth of new music. Realistically, it’s even more than this.
The Lockdown Sessions – Willard Overstreet
We’re happy to begin sharing the music we created during the lockdown era. Several songs will be available as singles on common music streaming platforms in the coming months. The first song, released during the summer of 2023, is “How To Keep From Drowning.”
How To Keep From Drowning by Willard Overstreet
I first became familiar with this song as I stumbled upon an early release that Willard posted on YouTube. It was just him and a single instrument. And the video clip was images of colored text that drew from the tune’s thematic lyrics.
This tune grabbed me. The lyric moved me. And in the current climate, the song has a message that can resonate with folks struggling with mental health anxieties. But the original music treatment was asking for an update.
Enter the Covid-era lockdown opportunity for collaboration.
While most starter tracks I receive from Will are just him singing backed with an acoustic guitar, this song uses his piano.
Keyboard Tracks – How To Keep From Drowning
So, as you hear in the song, we left his piano playing. My contribution was primarily the string section that accompanies the piece.
And I used a somewhat unconventional approach. I grabbed a series of tracks in Logic for the string section. The string palette came from the Studio Strings bank that is part of Logic Pro X. It’s a very usable string option – and I have lots to choose from, including libraries from Native Instruments, Spitfire Audio, and more.
The articulation options grabbed my attention for possibilities in this song. While the possibility exists with this library to use keyswitches for articulations, I opted for individual tracks for each articulation.
That resulted in a track configuration as in the following image:
Articulations used in How To Keep From Drowning – Studio Strings Logic Pro X
- Sustain
- Spiccato
- Staccato
- Fortepiano Fast
- Tremolo
While the vast majority of parts I play on such recordings are in-the-moment or perhaps pre-rehearsed, the string parts for How To Keep From Drowning were written out. I prepared an old-school arrangement on my mega-large orchestral manuscript pad. A few highlights and notes were to identify the placement of articulations, and the string section was ready to record.
Another note on recording strings at the home studio, I nearly always avoid playing multiple-voice lines simultaneously with one hand during recording. Instead, I think a more realistic and dynamic result emerges when each voice and part is played individually. I’ll use a separate string library option for my Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, and Bass parts. This allows fine-tuning of each instrument and slight differentiation in the panning treatment. It’s a much more pleasing sound than the “all fingers on the keyboard” approach that provides a more organ-like result.
Percussion Tracks
The initial rendition of How To Keep From Drowning in our first sessions also used a few percussion sounds from Native Instrument’s Cuba library. The sounds used included Conga and Clave.
Logix X Pro Track Export Learning Moment
During these early sessions, it was the first time I participated in this type of music-making and collaboration.
When I provided the export files from my sessions to Will, those came out of my DAW as just the snippets I played. The result was a bit challenging to say the least, for Will to line up the small segments of individual tracks into his ProTools master.
After stumbling our way into a few songs with this method, I learned that I could export the entire track from start to finish. What a time saver for combining tracks that turned out to be.
Our DAWS are highly complex, and many features are under the hood. Honestly, this export situation is pretty basic, and I definitely stumbled into a rookie mistake. But it’s an honest example of the learning moments encountered in the home studio.
How To Keep From Drowning – Song Lyric
Talk to me, and let me in
Cause I don’t know where to begin
You shut the door and threw away the key
And in your darkest hour, you think you’ve learned
How to keep the pain out
How to keep from drowning when the water won’t stop rushing in
Don’t be a fool, don’t choose to walk this world on your own
There’s a hurricane in your head
A tidal wave over your heart
The loneliness hurts more than the lies
And all you want is to lay down and die
There’s nothing like forgiveness
To save you from drowning in the waters of your troubled soul
Don’t be afraid to feel the love that’s always been there
There’s nothing like forgiveness
To save you from drowning in the waters of your troubled soul
Don’t be afraid to feel the love that’s always been there
Feel the love that’s always been there
I am the love that’s always been there
Mental Health Awareness Music
I think this song, How To Keep From Drowning, reaches those struggling with mental health issues.
Annually, May is devoted to Mental Health Awareness Month. Tag How To Keep From Drowning by Willard Overstreet in your calendar for your playlists in May.
Listen to How To Keep From Drowning
More Information – Willard Overstreet
More Behind The Music – Watch The Video
Read More Behind The Keys Stories
Make Your Own Music Tracks – Nord Stage 4
The Nord Stage 4 is my current top pick for an 88-note weighted keyboard. The full keyboard range allows access to a full range of key-switching options in your DAW. And this keyboard is a joy to play!
Thanks for reading
Arthur Dobrucki
#mentalhealth #behindthemusic