CapM

Hey Ian! Mr. Love Song Extraordinaire! I'm always hesitant to use the same progression for the verses as the choruses. It has been done by many famous songs, but there are too many ways to change things up. Musically, I have some ideas that could help you. I'll send a PM in a sec. Lyrically, it's always nice to add some tension, then release that tension in the chorus. You added some tension in the verses (like explaining what it's NOT in V1, then mention "pain" in V2), but didn't try to build on that tension. I view songwriting like poker - don't give away your hand too early. Anyhow, have fun doing a full production on this one! I look forward to hearing where you take it. Vocal sounded great btw. Cheers!

Okay, I changed the way I sung that last line. I still wanted to end on the strings though - the way they fade out I thought sounded cool. Thanks as alway, Ian!

Here's a song I wrote last year and finally decided to get it recorded. This is a first for me in that I'm using my new instrument (keys)! Anyhow, I just recorded the vocal and guitar his morning before work. I may re-do a couple of things this weekend (for instance, vocal may be a tad loud?), but I thought I'd post here for feedback purposes. Any and all comments welcomed! Thanks. Alright In the dark I feel the weight of night With heightened senses of the things to come In the dark is where shadows hide To be revealed when the night is done Chorus: It's always darkest just before the light But in the morning it'll be alright Alright In the dark I see unfamiliar memories In the shape of things that used to be In the dark I search for distant melodies Between the muffled voices and the humming of machine Chorus Now in this place that I've always been I see stars above I've never seen The light they give may light my way But they don't give the clarity of day In the dark I feel weary As I prepare my bed to lay upon In the dark I close my eyes And start dream about the new day’s dawn Chorus

You're like a real live rock star! Not a fake, studio one like me. ?

Awesome!!!!!!!

Most songs going forward will have depth via use of keyboards, synths, etc. This song was the function of being so long in the making, I'd come up with a new part that ended up being better than the original part! For instance my favorite part was the octave guitar riff in the chorus. I ended up liking it more than the Fadd9 to C9 progression! I've been at songwriting so long, anyone can say anything they like. Music is very subjective and I don't take anything personally!

Musesmuse and songstuff. They also have areas just for lyrics, though I don't participate in those areas. There's a wide range of people there, including beginners. Likely over time you'll find people of like skillsets and post on each other's threads.

Just for kicks, I found two old acoustic guitar tracks (from late 2015!) which is when I started this song: This song has had so many things attempted via trial and error, then I'd table the project for 6 months. Then when I did finish, I didn't think it was good enough to post. I do post songs on some songwriters forums and I tell you, those boards are brutal with comments. Surprisingly, I've received all positive feedback there. Weird that sometimes you have a song you think is good, but it's really not, and sometimes the opposite is the case. I'm trying to finish up a bunch of projects this year so I'll be posting a bunch more that I believe are better tunes than this.

There's about a dozen ways to take any song! In general though, if you listen to lessons online from mixers, producers, songwriters, etc., IN GENERAL you need to add excitement as the song goes along. This can be done with more instruments, harmonies, different percussion, etc. Not that songs can't thin out, but if you have a high energy song and you start taking stuff out, the listener perceives a lack of energy. I could try to test it if you tell me exactly where you mean. But basically at the end go the solo during the second bridge, I only have 2 guitars - the main rhythm and the high-reverb solo. Then the final chorus where I have just 2 guitars. Then the final outro I have 2 plus the ending fills. So I guess I don't know where you mean!

Just watching you gave me serious GAS - GT LP, the Strat (looks like my Dan Smith Strat), and even the bass player's Ricki!

This song actually started out as an acoustic folks song. But When I started adding electric guitars, those riffs seemed more interesting than the original riff, which actually isn't even in the song any more! This was the toughest and most frustrating song I've come up with. One major issue is mixing the guitars. At times, I have 4 different guitar riffs going at once, and considering some are double tracked, I can have 7 guitar tracks going at once. Anyhow, I don't think it's my best song, but hopefully it's interesting enough. I have so many guitar tracks I was testing, I can't even tell you which guitars made the final cut. I know the opening guitar is mostly my PRS HBII. I have some Tele in there as well. I used my cheap-o Ibanez bass through my GK bass amp. All comments welcomed. I Don't Mind Did the world blow up yet? Or was it just a dream? I thought I saw it on the Internet Man what a catastrophe! They blamed it on my ignorance They must enjoy the entertainment But I couldn't plead my innocence I must have missed my arraignment Chorus: I don't mind the weight upon my shoulders And I don't mind the things life puts me through It's just another day gone and I'm another day older But I don't mind I don't mind I lost my job yesterday At least that's what I heard I didn't care much for it anyway I was underpaid and overworked I was home sick with my little boy When they announced the corporate layoffs Now I can't afford to be unemployed With all these debts I need to to pay off Chorus I don't mind when things get in the way I'll take the world on come what may I don't see gray skies only blue When I'm with you I don't mind

There is no right or wrong answer! No rules. You can play the riff two different ways. Use a different strumming pattern. On the song I recently posted, it's fingerstyle until the very end when I start strumming. You can do fills or even just play a single high note. You can sing notes a little higher in the register. You can add vocal harmonies. You can add clapping. On bass, I like to expand the riff a little bit, too. The drumming pattern can pick up more intensity (more cymbals and fills). It really depends on the song and the mood you're looking for!

Yowza!

I'm a Mac guy, so I use Logic Pro X. In the past, I've recorded guitar with the mic in front of the sound hole. Here, I did that (about 1.5 feet away) but angled the mic towards the 12th fret. A lot of mixers recommend this in order to reduce the boominess. I use EQ (on everything I record, I always put a high pass filter on, cutting frequencies at least less than 25mh, sometimes up to 40), then compression, and some other stuff. I NEVER mix two songs the same - it's much like a recipe where you season stuff as you feel at the time! Here, I wanted the feeling of recording in a warm studio so I used a saturator on both the guitar and vocal, which is something I rarely do but sounded good here. On the guitar track, I use a multi-band compressor to compress the mids in the center whenever the vocals kick in, a technique called mid/side compression. This makes the vocals stand out from the mix (I do this on all my songs now). On the vocal, I do have a little slapback delay on it. Finally I use a reverb on the master, Fabfilter Pro-R - a terrific reverb plugin.

I recorded a song five years ago, and I'd been meaning to re-record it. First, my arrangement stunk (I brought in drums, electric guitars, and bass) instead of leaving it as a 1 + 1. Also, the guitar recording wasn't clean (back at my playing level back then, I tended to slide to the next chord with this progression which caused scratching on the wound strings). So I played it this time by lifting between each chord. Also, my original vocal was recorded with me too close to the microphone (another rookie mistake). I had to change the ending so decided to strum the chords, since it would be a change from the fingerstyle I play throughout the rest of the piece. Recorded on my primary acoustic, Martin D-16GT. I used a blend of a mic and DI (it gives a touch more clarity) on the guitar, though 2/3's of the blend was the mic.

Tap your foot, nod your head, whatever you need to do! Angus Young (AC/DC) moves his jaw to keep in time. I stomp my foot, even when I have a drum track already keeping time.

Also, it depends on whether you're playing an acoustic or electric. I actually have to be more cognizant of it when playing acoustics, especially when recording! You can also somewhat use your picking hand to mute the strings, but it's a tricky situation.

Have had mine for years!

That's a really cool top! I don't know if that's hints of spalting of the wood or what, but that's gorgeous!

There's SO many variables, and I've recorded so much that I've had the opportunity of trial and error. But in this song, the full guitar sound comes from two rhythm tracks played the same way, one panned left and the other right. That gives the rhythm guitar a stereo field as well as leaves room in the middle for vocals. If you're recording just one guitar track, try putting a reverb or stereo delay on it to expand the stereo field.

Here's my recent submission for the forum CD project. I'm not religious per se, but I accidentally came across a guy on Twitter and on his profile it said lyricist. I scanned some of his stuff, and it was EXCELLENT. I've always thought that writing lyrics was the most challenging part of songwriting, and on various songwriter boards I've read probably thousands. However, his stuff had a very poetic flow to them. So I messaged him and asked if I could use one of them. Surprisingly, he said that none of his lyrics had ever been crafted into a song! This came together really quickly - one week. I used two Tele's for the guitars - a Fender 52 RI on left and my Tom Anderson Drop T on the right, with the Fender also used in the solo. Bass was my Fender Jazz Bass. Anyhow, questions and comments always welcomed! Thanks for listening. Come and Be Blessed The least will be most The last will be first Come to the well All you who thirst He will give comfort To all those that mourn Unlimited access The veil has been torn He says “Come unto me And I will give you rest If you want to be free The curse is reversed So come and be blessed” The lame will arise And the blind will receive sight The fools will be wise For the battles they’ll fight (Chorus) Though struggles continue The war will been won So take up your armor He calls you to come Come and be blessed (Chorus)

Thanks to Cindy for the extension! I am submitting my new original song! Christian rock (is that even a genre?) song called Come Unto Me.

Love those tobacco burst finishes (I have a 335 like that). Rock on!

I HATE that commercial! Seems like sacrilege.

Weird - link is taking me to GG home page.