My newest single Tranquil releases worldwide on January 1, 2021. This song was recorded specifically for adults with ADHD to help them relax and fall asleep. To download a copy of the song or play it on your favorite music streaming service visit bstlnk.to/tranquil-bryan-wisda
The story behind Tranquil is an interesting one. Earlier in 2020, I started live streaming every week playing live music in the style of ADHD Lullaby. The songs I play aren't the same songs as those on my albums but rather a combination of songs I wrote specifically for live streaming and several covers. Most everything I play on the live streams is based on playing a rhythmic piece into a looper and then playing lead over the top of the rhythmic piece.
In case you're wondering a looper is basically a digital recorder which will play on repeat a piece of music played into it. This is a common practice amongst solo (no band) guitarists to create a rhythm part to play along with.
One of the songs I wrote to play live was based on using a piece of audio equipment known as volume swell. Into the looper I would play two sequential B notes one octave apart using the volume swell. Once that was in the looper I play two sequential E notes one octave part, without volume swell, at the start of the B volume swells. This creates a really nice gentle and peaceful rhythmic part to play lead over the top of.
After several weeks of playing this (and I still play it today every week) I noticed that a lot of people really liked the feel of the song and told me it was one of their favorites each week. So I thought I should probably record the song.
When I recorded it the basic principles of the song stayed in tact. But for the recorded version I added a few parts other than just my electric guitar. I added some orchestral instruments, a bass guitar, and a piano. These additions I think filled out the song very nicely.
In recording the song I decided to set the tempo of the song to the average sleeping heart of an adult listener, versus a kid's sleeping heart rate which is much faster. The intention here is to help an adult with ADHD get to sleep faster.
The recording and mixing of the song was done in my studio. With the song completed, I elected to send the song out to a 3rd party engineer to have the song mastered. Typically, I master all my own work but in this case I felt it would be best served to have another set of ears listen to it and tweak it ever so slightly for commercial release. The mastering engineer I ultimately hired to do the job is Brian Lucey, a Grammy winning mastering engineer who has worked on numerous projects including the soundtrack to The Greatest Showman and Cats.
I elected to name the song Tranquil because it creates such a peaceful feeling in the listener.
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