Did I Get Good?

Hi, it’s been a while, I know! I’ve been quiet but not silent, I hope you got to hear the new EP I put out a few weeks ago, PRESENTA: QUINTENTO. You can check it out on Spotify, Youtube (we even put together a video), Apple Music or whatever platform you use these days.

And talking about music -that whole grial that gets us together- I feel I need to start this year’s Substack with a personal, super personal one so I’m ripping the bandaid off, here we go.

“…And then the melody comes back in, after your solo guitar section,” said the voice on the other end of the line.

I went silent and felt my stomach drop. “My…solo guitar section?”

I had accepted a big recording project and there were only a few days left until the deadline. I was already feeling anxious about my ability to learn and record four pieces of music which I had just received a week earlier. Initially I had accepted the project because it was a fantastic opportunity: top-level musicians and production, really artistic music, and it would feature my playing. Plus this was all coming from a dear friend whose music I truly admire. But I felt that preparing so much difficult music in a week’s time was a real challenge.

On the other hand, I’ve been trying to be more flexible and spontaneous, so I accepted.

I came to peace about the timing and how fast I was going to work -not easy for the perfectionist in my but let’s call it part of my new year’s resolution.

But this new information had me sweating. In addition to recording relatively simple guitar parts with a string orchestra, I was going to be playing three minutes of a solo guitar piece. That’s much harder!

It felt like added weight to an already overstuffed suitcase.

“I know you’ll have no problem,” my friend said. “Everything you’ve recorded in the past has been so excellent and beautiful.”

He said the right words to prevent me from backing out of it.

I tried, indirectly to get him to extend the deadline. We went around in circles a bit, as I awkwardly expressed my enthusiasm for the project and my doubts about my ability to get it done.

Eventually I proposed that we give it 24 hours. I would make a push and if I truly felt I had no way to finish, we would regroup and weigh alternatives. We slept on it.

Have you ever had a moment of truth? Share it in the comments!

I woke up excited and nervous; I had a decision to make.

Part of me felt I could rise to the occasion, and the rest believed I was on a fool’s errand. But when I walked into my studio, a feeling came over me: maybe I’m good enough. I imagined telling my 25-year-old self about the project. He would say: “Wow, learning all of that hard music in a few days sounds impossible. You must have gotten really good.”

Did I get really good? 25 y/o Adam is proud of me.

By the time you read this, the deadline will have passed and the music will either be recorded or not. I hope I’ll be sharing good news and great music with you very soon.

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New Music for 2026 (all from yours truly)

Eucariota I - Adam Tully

This is my first composition for tango quintet. The idea behind this group is for me to create an original sound, and I’m doing that in part by writing music which isn’t strictly in the tango/vals/milonga format. At the same time I think you’ll hear many tango characteristics.

Guardia vieja 4000 - Adam Tully

On the other hand, as long as I have 5 tango musicians I figure I’d like to right some real straight ahead stuff, here’s a tango which sounds like one.

Acuarela - Noelia Moncada & Adam Tully

This one is brand new, released in April 2026, on an album by the poet Coni Banús, who collaborated with a number of musicians to write songs. She wrote lyrics to my piece “Vals Mío” creating the song “Acuarela,” sung here by the amazing Noelia Moncada.