The Big Recording Rant

[AcousticDreams]

I have spent the last 7 years once again developing my song writing abilities. I did not just want to do what everybody else has done...I wanted to do something..just slightly different.

I have worked hard at this...And it is not that it is that different....just slightly...enough...to hopefully make my mark as something that stands on its own. Two of the songs...I have been working on for at least 7 years. Every other day modifying them in just the tiniest way. Trying to perfect them.
That was my dream. To contribute in just a slightly different manner. Just the Tiniest bit of difference that would make me....ME.

AND THEN just five days ago...almost out of thin air came that Standard Rock Melody...You know, one of those that just instantly grabs you, and makes you tap your feet?.. More than likely you know it is a hit. Generic...nothing different...But makes you continuously want to Rock and Sing to it.

Where most of my songs get completed in a year to seven years time for me...this one is nearly done in just 5 days! And it ROCKS. Again, nothing new...just the same old same old Rock type song.

Even the Lyrics are nothing new...YET, I can not help but Love, Love, Love singing and playing it! Can't get it out of my head. I go to sleep dreaming this song. I wake up hearing this song in my head.

I guess, the moral of the story, is sometimes one just needs to go with the flow. What we think we want..and what we need are often not in sync with another.

Regardless of what I accomplish or don't accomplish, I am Never more alive then when I(think)I have written something special. There is no other feeling that gives this to us. Not even the flight of a wood arrow out of my longbow, not the climbing the highest mountain., Not canoeing in the outback of Canada, Not the grinding of steel and creating something new. Only music has this completely Euphoric-Take over effect on us.

I really don't understand it...Music...just engulfs us and takes control. When this happens, nothing else matters, and I am King for the moment.
(more rants to come later on. Sorry, that is just the way it is with me! You should know that by now. LOL)

As the saying use to go, Now to just record it and get it on vinyl.

[jim1960]

I'm a big believer in letting the songs take me where they want to go. When I've forced it, I've wound up with bad songs.

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by jim1960

I'm a big believer in letting the songs take me where they want to go. When I've forced it, I've wound up with bad songs.

Very wise words...so true.

[FrankHudson]

I resonate with a couple of things there K&G.

That completing a pleasing composition and realizing it is a great feeling. And yes, sometimes the core idea or motif just jumps out almost unbidden, and that feels great too, since many of us have days when that doesn't happen.

Another thing is implied in your experience: simple often works, and things become "standard" because they are often effective. Composers, and I'll include myself in the high-falutin title, often value and seek originality, And that's good, to a point, too.

[Rudy4]

I'm not sure how this translates to a "Big Recording Rant"?

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

Very wise words...so true.

It happens like that for me all the time.
One example... my maternal grandfather was a like a father to me. I loved no other person more than him. I really wanted to write a song about him and I set out to do that one day. Al was an auto mechanic, so the central character in the song had to have a connection to cars somehow.

I sat down and started doing some stream of consciousness in order to get some bricks to build with but the more I wrote, the less the song became about him and instead became a story song about the Jim Crow era, which really had nothing to with my grandfather who was the youngest son of Italian immigrants who settled in New York City. And not only was it an unintended song, it may be the song I'm most proud to have written. The song knew what it wanted and dragged me along for the ride.

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

As the saying use to go, Now to just record it and get it on vinyl.

Originally Posted by Rudy4

I'm not sure how this translates to a "Big Recording Rant"?

For some of us it is not enough just to write the song...Something drives us to Physically imprint the song via recording. Somehow a recording is a justification for all that time we have spent in music.

A recording is a reflection of ourselves & our efforts. And If we are super lucky, that recording may even become a part of history. But most importantly, It is a way to share ourselves.

If we do not record, our songs will only become a distant memory for ourselves and others.

And as you know...the song can fully realize its true potential in a recording...or it can miss its base entirely. For myself, not really being a performer, the Recording is my end game. It is my everything.

So my rant, is about getting to the recording process. For us amateurs(me) not an easy process. While the Rant may mostly be about writing and the extreme joy a new song can bring us, and or how sometimes a song just develops with ease..., all of that is meaningless for myself...(maybe not to others) unless I successfully get it into a recording.

And there in lies the self doubt & fear.

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by jim1960

It happens like that for me all the time.
One example... my maternal grandfather was a like a father to me. I loved no other person more than him. I really wanted to write a song about him and I set out to do that one day. Al was an auto mechanic, so the central character in the song had to have a connection to cars somehow.

I sat down and started doing some stream of consciousness in order to get some bricks to build with but the more I wrote, the less the song became about him and instead became a story song about the Jim Crow era, which really had nothing to with my grandfather who was the youngest son of Italian immigrants who settled in New York City. And not only was it an unintended song, it may be the song I'm most proud to have written. The song knew what it wanted and dragged me along for the ride.

OOOOOH JIM...what a beautiful recording! Oh my, those vocals stand out clear and so even. Vocals are outstanding!

And The Acoustic guitar sits perfectly in the mix. Surprising actually, cause the guitar is not that loud yet I can hear ever note.

Another surprise is how the Symphony can be heard so well and again..not that loud, but comes through perfectly in the mix.

Love the female harmonies as well. Everything is crystal clear and balanced. Kudos my friend. Lovely song.

[Glennwillow]

Hi K&G,

I understand -- at least, I think I do, without hearing all your own songs.

Sometimes the songs that come easiest to us are the ones that other people most prefer. Maybe they are more accessible to others, maybe they are, in fact, better. I really have no idea if this is actually true, but it seems like it is.

I think the best music tends to make its own path. We think we are the builders, the person with the clay and the tools, but sometimes, I think, especially when we are lucky, some of the inspiration for music comes from other sources. I think ideas are out there floating around in the air or the ether or whatever. Sometimes we are just conduits.

I can tell you that I have never had any idea about which songs I have written will best resonate with listeners. I try my best on everything I do, but often the ones that fell in place the easiest are the ones that people tended to react to most positively. I've had the same experience with engineering developments. The developments that tended to come together as if they were meant to be, as if they were just waiting for me to discover them, tended to result in the most successful products or improvements to existing products.

John Denver's most popular song, "Annie's Song" was written in essentially 10 minutes while he was skiing down a mountainside. It's not complicated at all, but it speaks to a lot of people.

I'll look forward to hearing your song when the time is right for you!

- Glenn

[islandguitar]

I recently saw an interview done by James Taylor who expressed this exact sentiment when it all comes together. Euphoric ......nothing else comes close........your statements reminded me of this interview and how similar it was.
I'm with you on recording....what might be viewed as posterity......the fact that a wonderful "take" did happen, you did it......lightning struck (my words for a great "moment" on a take!), and now it's yours......all yours!
Weeks, months, or years and it stands on its own as a moment in time, be it the lyric, the melody, the rhythm or all of the above that's been captured for all time (especially with originals).
I've had several of my instrumentals that have made their way through to "that other side".....prompted by mood, nature, family, a special tuning, the right guitar for the project and LOTS of practice. It's a great feeling.....and certainly part of the energy put forth for "the next one, and the one after that".
Nice "rant"! Nice thoughts!
Best,
Fred

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by islandguitar

I recently saw an interview done by James Taylor who expressed this exact sentiment when it all comes together. Euphoric ......nothing else comes close........your statements reminded me of this interview and how similar it was.
I'm with you on recording....what might be viewed as posterity......the fact that a wonderful "take" did happen, you did it......lightning struck (my words for a great "moment" on a take!), and now it's yours......all yours!
Weeks, months, or years and it stands on its own as a moment in time, be it the lyric, the melody, the rhythm or all of the above that's been captured for all time (especially with originals).
I've had several of my instrumentals that have made their way through to "that other side".....prompted by mood, nature, family, a special tuning, the right guitar for the project and LOTS of practice. It's a great feeling.....and certainly part of the energy put forth for "the next one, and the one after that".
Nice "rant"! Nice thoughts!
Best,
Fred

When it is right, it is all consuming...one of the greatest feelings, in that moment of triumph.

[KevWind]

I remember a famous performing songwriter (don't remember who) said something like ::::

"The best songs seem to come through you, more than out of you "

I know my best ones seem to be when I am in what is often called "the muse"

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

For some of us it is not enough just to write the song...Something drives us to Physically imprint the song via recording. Somehow a recording is a justification for all that time we have spent in music.

A recording is a reflection of ourselves & our efforts. And If we are super lucky, that recording may even become a part of history. But most importantly, It is a way to share ourselves.

If we do not record, our songs will only become a distant memory for ourselves and others.

And as you know...the song can fully realize its true potential in a recording...or it can miss its base entirely. For myself, not really being a performer, the Recording is my end game. It is my everything.

So my rant, is about getting to the recording process. For us amateurs(me) not an easy process. While the Rant may mostly be about writing and the extreme joy a new song can bring us, and or how sometimes a song just develops with ease..., all of that is meaningless for myself...(maybe not to others) unless I successfully get it into a recording.

And there in lies the self doubt & fear.

I totally understand your viewpoint.

Eventually archiving your creative ideas in the form of a recorded work is an admirable end, but as far as your work becoming a wider part of being heard and even propagated by a wider audience it's a bit like the "If a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound if no one is there to hear it?" question.

It may be better to do a simpler recording of your work and post it where it can be heard and appreciated by a wider audience. Youtube is a good platform for that. If sending your work out like ripples on a pond is your desired outcome then add a note in the description that it is your composition and anyone is free to use it as they wish.

If there's a desire to "protect" your composition or work then that's a whole other issue. It becomes a process of legal protection if we wish to "light a candle and then hide it under a bushel".

The whole idea of creating song and then capitalizing on it is a fairly recent concept, only a few hundred years old. It started with sheet music and then the idea transferred to "recorded" material, and was really only possible to control because large manufacturers were the only ones who had the ability to mass produce a recording. The apple cart has been up-ended with the introduction of digital recording and file sharing.

I'm not sure if this is even pertinent to your "rant", and may only be academic to the discussion. If protecting your compositions isn't an issue then it's never been easier to do simple recordings and post them to Youtube or other social media to germinate in the same way to plant seeds to ultimately reap fruit.

It sounds like you are more interested in having others hear your work, enjoy it, and use it for their own needs. If that's the case then it's never been easier to fulfill your needs.

Consider someone like Towns Van Zandt, who wasn't a stellar performer, but a world class songwriter. His recorded works have been propelled to the highest attainable level by being appreciated and re-done by those with a much wider fan base.

That's not a bad way to be remembered.

[rmp]

Originally Posted by jim1960

It happens like that for me all the time.
One example... my maternal grandfather was a like a father to me. I loved no other person more than him. I really wanted to write a song about him and I set out to do that one day. Al was an auto mechanic, so the central character in the song had to have a connection to cars somehow.

I sat down and started doing some stream of consciousness in order to get some bricks to build with but the more I wrote, the less the song became about him and instead became a story song about the Jim Crow era, which really had nothing to with my grandfather who was the youngest son of Italian immigrants who settled in New York City. And not only was it an unintended song, it may be the song I'm most proud to have written. The song knew what it wanted and dragged me along for the ride.

Jim this is a great song, I am looking forward to hearing the rest of this album from iTunes.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

OOOOOH JIM...what a beautiful recording! Oh my, those vocals stand out clear and so even. Vocals are outstanding!

And The Acoustic guitar sits perfectly in the mix. Surprising actually, cause the guitar is not that loud yet I can hear ever note.

Another surprise is how the Symphony can be heard so well and again..not that loud, but comes through perfectly in the mix.

Love the female harmonies as well. Everything is crystal clear and balanced. Kudos my friend. Lovely song.

Originally Posted by rmp

Jim this is a great song, I am looking forward to hearing the rest of this album from iTunes.

Thank you both for the kind words.