✵ Pebbles

2 weeks ago by @max

Liner Notes

https://studio273.bandcamp.com/track/pebbles
Over 20 years of participating in February Album Writing Month (FAWM), I’ve developed a workflow that allows me to quickly create a decent recording of a freshly written song. My process always starts with guitar chords and humming a melody. Once a few words come to mind the songcrafting starts.
Despite all the digital possibilities out there, I prefer to keep things pure by using real instruments. I print the lyrics in large text, hang them above a camera, and play the song several times in a row. Usually, the fourth or fifth take is good enough. Thanks to FAWM, I’ve learned not to dwell too long on whether something is "perfect."

Next, I separate the one-take audio track from the video and load it into a mixing program. Most of the effects I use are already preset. Then I record additional vocal tracks and layer in more instruments like guitar, banjo, piano, and keyboard. Once the mix sounds decent, I sync it back with the video footage. Each year, I choose a different color theme for my two-tone videos.

If a song is recorded this way during FAWM, it’s done. After FAWM, I usually end up with three or four keepers, which I test live on stage. Songs often grow and evolve during live performances, but I never rerecord them. Around 90% of the songs I’ve written over the past 20 years were created during FAWM—simple and effective.

These days, I use ChatGPT to check my lyrics for grammar and spelling mistakes and to give suggestions. In the past, I relied on native-speaking FAWMers for this.
The audio mix I upload to Bandcamp is the same as the one in the videos. My style is defined by one-take, single-mic recordings with additional vocals and instruments.
#metaphor #folk #shanty

Lyrics

A pebble tossed into the air
a melody to show my care
each line I write, a simple stone
To show you’re never on your own

It’s not diamond, it's not gold
It’s a piece of me you hold

Pebbles, pebbles, pebbles
songs I wrote for you
Each one tells a story
every note is true
Pebbles, pebbles, pebbles
solid droplets of joy
every piece a memory
giving love a voice

A pebble placed inside your hand
to feel the love it represents
each verse I sing, a little gift
a bridge that makes our spirits lift

It’s not diamond, it's not gold
It’s a piece of me you hold

Pebbles, pebbles, pebbles
songs I wrote for you
Each one tells a story
every note is true
Pebbles, pebbles, pebbles
solid droplets of joy
every piece a memory
giving love a voice

These pebbles mark a path we pave
to the love we built, the love we save
Every song, a step we take
to the greatest gift that we create

Pebbles, pebbles, pebbles
Pebbles, pebbles, pebbles
Pebbles, pebbles, pebbles
Pebbles, pebbles, pebbles

Some rights reserved. TIMAXTAN™ studio273amsterdam™.
© Max Vanremmerden / vanremmerdenmusic 2025.
fawm.org/@max

Comments