SSG7 Wk 6 Music *Suffer Twice - Now with NEW mp3*

Thanks Ken. :)

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

You know, one of the things that I love about the SSG is that without fail, every week, someone will come up with something that pins my ears back. This week it's your turn, Chris.

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

Thanks very much for the kind words Vic. Much appreciated. :)

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

hi!

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.