"Edge of Arpeg" started as a guitar riff that I recorded on my phone. (Why do we even call it a phone anymore?) I tweaked the riff a bit and formalized it, but the core line that you hear at the beginning is pretty much what was on my phone. I thought I would write lyrics for it, but no topic and no melody line suggested themselves. It already had a melody, and that was enough.
When I recorded that first part, however, I realized it was not enough. It was A part, B part, A part, C part, and then repeat. Nothing changed. So I played a descant starting at the second repetition of the sequence. And then when I got to the final shortened repetition, I realized I needed one more change. Thus, the chords high up on the neck. All in three-quarter or six-eight time, I'm never quite sure.
It needed a title, but it wasn't about anything. It just sounded pretty. How about something pastoral like "Swans Among Lily Pads" or "Waltz of the Water Nymphs"? At some point, I realized that it was entirely made up of arpeggios—chords broken into their component notes. And then I played with that, and voilà, "Edge of Arpeg."
My original project list had a different 6/8 song, but then I didn't think it fit. And I thought an instrumental would be something a little different. Now it's one of my favourite things on the album.
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