https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Fri, 05 Jun 2026 09:07:26 +0000 wpForo 60 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/paged/2/#post-316723 Sat, 20 Dec 2008 14:27:57 +0000
i see it as folk, too :D but that's really not important at all. what is important is this: i love the way you sing and play! the "croaking" is beautiful! the lyrics are very charming, too (especially the last two verses+chorus). made me smile happily.

i bow my head in awe :D

thank you for sharing!
cheers,
straycat.]]> Sunday Songwriters Group straycat. https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/paged/2/#post-316723 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/paged/2/#post-316218 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 07:37:34 +0000
I get the feeling that you're going to end up as Godfather to rather a lot of new songs from SSG7 members this year. I have a mental picture of you by the end of 2009 with a whole tribe of them swarming over you like a roomful of kids - some looking quite grown up, others needing a lot of bouncing up and down on the knee, and so on.... :mrgreen: Bah! Humbug! you'd probably say... as you picked up yet another one, wiped a bit of the dribble off it, and gave it an encouraging pat....

Practising the singing does seem to be slowly paying dividends. At least I'm more confident at opening the mouth and giving it a go. With the guitar playing, the guy who I get a few lessons from has been telling me to emphasise the root notes of the chords more, to lift it away from just flat muddy sounding strumming. So I was banging dutifully away with my thumb throughout that and, although it worked better in some spots than others, I'm starting to get the hang of it. I've also been putting in time with the software trying to play and sing more accurately with the beats. I've been told that it's often very effective to sing a bit off the beat - but before trying that I think you need to have a solid feel for exactly where the beat is in the first place.... still working on that..

Getting better at playing in line with the beat also had the added benefit of being able to chop bits out and simply repeat them in the software. That saved a chunk of time, and meant that I could make a backing track faster and then get on with the singing. Just for interest, I chopped the whole song into bars once it was done. So I then had a bit of a song kit - a bar each of G, C, D, Em, Am finger picked, plus a few repeats of the same chords but strummed or allowed to fade off, or whatever. It was then possible to simply move the chords around on the screen, into different orders - in the same way that you do with the pre-recorded loops that come with some programs - and write a new song. Cheesy, but it worked quite well and it might turn out to be handy for later, who knows? So I might see if I can build up my own library of chords done in different styles and durations, and see how if it turns out to be useful or not.

So now it's on to week 7 and 'the man from Porlock'... :D I know the original story, but haven't read that Douglas Adams book, so I'll hunt that up. In the meantime I'm an expert at losing my train of thought, but finding a good angle for a song will be quite a challenge....

Cheers,

Chris]]> Sunday Songwriters Group Chris C https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/paged/2/#post-316218 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/paged/2/#post-316188 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 02:14:48 +0000
This is a really good effort - the more so because it's credible. It's a true story, we can all relate to those; and we've all been through the same struggles, we can empathise.

The guitar playing's excellent, and well recorded - and the voice, yes the same voice you've cursed on countless occasions, is in tune and carries the melody well. Simple chords, maybe - simple melody, too - but you know what? They work. The music carries the melody, the vocals - well, it's great to see that singing practise pay off, isn't it?

I like your humorous ditties - now that's something I can't write. I thought the Velvet Band song was really good - but this time, you've managed to bring a smile to my face without trying too hard. This is a documentary rather than fiction!

Definitely more folk than country, have to agree with KR2 there - but I disagree with "Assignment well done." Assignment Nailed! (as opposed to "screwed up" to quote someone else - "sometimes I nail it, sometimes I screw it up...")

:D :D :D :D :D

Vic]]> Sunday Songwriters Group Vic Lewis VL https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/paged/2/#post-316188 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/paged/2/#post-315933 Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:06:51 +0000
Folk eh? I guess you're right. I've never been too sure about how to classify song styles. Maybe I can sneak in as some kind of cross-over between Folk and Country?..... Colk? Nope, that's not quite it... Given that I usually try and work a bit of fun into my songs I think it has to be Funtry..... :wink:

groan...

Chris]]> Sunday Songwriters Group Chris C https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/paged/2/#post-315933 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/#post-315865 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:14:45 +0000 I would not classify it as Country though.
This is more Folk than anything else, IMO.
At least that's how it would be classified in the U.S.
Assignment well done.]]> Sunday Songwriters Group KR2 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/#post-315865 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/#post-315847 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 05:04:21 +0000
Firstly, thanks for taking the time and trouble to stay with me through all the waffle..… :)

This week I tried to stick only to the following instructions:

1. Vic's brief of writing about a feeling for music, but in any style except rock-n-roll
2. Keep it short and simple
3. GET IT DONE!!!!


So I chose to attempt a sort of Country ballad, even though I'm not much into Country. I just had an impression (possibly mistaken) that keeping things simple, lyrically and musically was often seen as a bonus rather than a downside, in some styles of Country. So it chugs along with not much variation.

I've tried to follow David's suggestion about timing, by rehearsing and recording to a basic drum track. I also changed the playing from a picking feel for the verses to a basic strum for the sections where I'm actually sing about basic strumming and simple songs. I also picked the speed up a bit. It's now at 140 bpm.

Music – Take 2

There's still room for a whole lot more improvement, but it'll do for now. Apart from singing and playing better, I'd maybe like to find a different melody for the chorus part, so that it doesn't just stroll along in the same somewhat soporific way. Maybe another week. Run out of time for now, but if anybody does have any suggestions - especially about improving the music - please chuck them in, and I'll take notes for later. Thanks for all the input. :)

Cheers,

Chris]]> Sunday Songwriters Group Chris C https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/#post-315847 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/#post-315759 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:52:15 +0000
It was originally intended as a one joke song which basically says 'I enjoy listening to all kinds of music, but I particularly like easy ones because that's all I'm up to playing and singing...' (it's accurate too... :wink: ).

But I don't see why I couldn't add some extra ideas. The spot where the chorus style lines are sung twice might be an opportunity to replace the repeat with something new. Or maybe I could even squeeze another verse in.

I've spent a chunk of time today recording a new guitar version that's more accurately timed against a drum track, and have also been using it to practice the singing. So I'm currently a bit reluctant to change the lyrics half way through learning and rehearsing them. But I'll give it some thought, along the lines you suggested, and I can edit it in later if necessary.

Cheers,

Chris]]> Sunday Songwriters Group Chris C https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/#post-315759 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/#post-315754 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:23:07 +0000
I enjoyed the lyrics and the "Johnny Cash" feel to the song...That's a style I was planning to look into more.

A couple of minor suggestions:

#1 Maybe in this section you could add something like...you can play/sing and make them yours.

It's great to hear a CD or a concert in a hall
But the songs you play yourself are the sweetest of them all
If you can sing and play guitar then you're never ever bored ?HERE? ...you can play/sing and make them yours.
And that is why I love the songs that don't have many chords ?or HERE?...you can play/sing and make them yours.

#2 Maybe something about someone or something that inspired you to go from a listener to a player.

-James]]> Sunday Songwriters Group jamestoffee https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/#post-315754 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/#post-315731 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 04:06:20 +0000 Thank you for such a timely post Vic. I'm going to print it out and hang it next to the computer. I think I'll be needing to re-read it a few times this year. :)

The musical journey is often a mixture of frustration and elation, and I can usually guarantee to get a fair dose of both when I try and put a song together. I can still recall you saying, a while back, that you were going to take some time out to try and re-record all your old songs and bring them up to your current standard. I remember thinking what a massive task that would be. I'm sure that I could feel some seismic stress waves from 12,000 miles away... :shock: It's tough enough for professional musicians with a private studio, a ton of gear, a bunch of band-mates, tame producers, mixers and engineers, plus decades of experience at their disposal (stories of stress induced melt-downs being pretty regular ) let alone one person with a basic computer and a handful of ideas....
Think about it....you've written a new song. You want to record it. You've got to at least part-learn the lyrics, even if you don't remember them perfectly - but you've got to rehearse the phrasing and timing and get that pretty much spot-on. Then you've got to decide what sort of accompaniment to put with the vocals....so you've got to work out a guitar part that fits with the music in your head, and the lyrics - and you may have to alter the phrasing of said vocals on the fly.

Now think about this - you hear a song on the radio, and decide you've got to learn it....so you've got to work out the chords, learn the lyrics, put them together and work on it till you're satisfied. How long does THAT take? Most of us aren't going to be able to do it in a day....and to me, that's no different that putting together a new song of your own. There's more to the latter, in fact - you've got to work out the music, dynamics, phrasing etc for your own songs - learning a new song off the radio, well, all that's been done for you. At least you've got an idea of how it SHOULD sound!
That's exactly it! Many of the ideas don't even come along until I'm actually sing and playing, and then there's the small problem that just because I think “Ah! It should go like this...” doesn't mean that I can actually DO what I can hear in my head. So I plug and plug and plug away for a while at one aspect, finally get it close, but then blow two or three different aspects when I record it.... :evil:

There's no way, at my level of skill and experience, that I can do a whole song all the way through without fumbling a fair few things. I have to keep reminding myself that two years ago I could hardly change between two chords and had no control at all over my voice. At least I now have a useful swag of chords in my left hand, even though my right hand is still way off where it needs to be much of the time. And I now have enough confidence to sing a song all the way through, even though it's still vocally well short of where I'd like it to be. In this song I even committed the cardinal sin of taking a breath half way through a word!! But I did get to the end without stopping, which is a big enough plus for now.

I guess that the most annoying thing currently is that the rough first take is very often better than the ones I do over the next few days. For instance, I start slogging through the work of playing against a drum track, to try and tighten up the timing. It starts to work - but at the expense of over-emphasising the start of each bar and audibly going BANG click click click BANG click click click BANG click click..

Then I get the singing happening in the right time slot but lose most of the shading, dynamics and spontaneity...

Aaaaaaarrrggghhh!!! A lot of yelling at the computer is done. :roll:

But, hey, if I don't put in the slogging I won't get any better. As Thomas Edison very nearly said - “Song-writing is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”..... I intend to do a lot of sweating this year, and hope to come out at the end looking a fair bit fitter than I currently am. After 6 weeks of SSG7 I've got 7 songs partly done. Even though they didn't all get posted they all at least got sung through at home.

So thanks again for all the help and enthusiasm that you and so many others share around so generously at GN. It's much appreciated. I can listen to studio quality work any time - just turn on the radio or slip in a CD - but what's priceless about GN is being able to hear other people who, at various levels, are better than me, and who sound good, yet aren't always studio-perfect either and who understand what we're all up against. I get a lot of inspiration from hearing music here and thinking “Hey, that's not bad.... if I put a few more hours/weeks/months practice in I reckon I could just about match that myself....”.

Cheers,

Chris]]> Sunday Songwriters Group Chris C https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/#post-315731 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/#post-315702 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:42:09 +0000
Seriously, it works well. I'll have a listen once I get home from the factory.


A :-)]]> Sunday Songwriters Group Alan Green https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/ssg7-wk-6-music-suffer-twice-now-with-new-mp3/#post-315702