#31
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There's this guy named Bob Dylan who makes records.
8 of 10 songs on his first Greatest Hits album were over 3 minutes.
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Jim 2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi 2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood 2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar 2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce 2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce 1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos. YouTube |
#32
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Seriously he's known as a wordy songwriter, yet only two of the songs are over 5 minutes (one, "Like a Rolling Stone" famously so) and the other "Mr. Tambourine Man" got trimmed down mightily by The Byrds, and yet their version still has plenty of impact. Arguably more impact. One of the styles Dylan used was the old British Isles ballad. More than 5 minute songs are quite common in that, and even with editing and selection of verses and reduction of the Tra La La refrains they are hard to trim down without loosing the narrative or scope. I love me some Tam Lin, Willie of Winsbury, Matty Groves, or Fair Annie, but for singer of my weaknesses they are impossible to perform and keep audience attention -- and I think that's true for even better singers than I am. Similar things for instrumental work. I can enjoy many long jazz blowouts and never notice the time passing, but for my own acoustic guitar instrumentals I like to keep it much shorter, and I suspect the audience does too.
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----------------------------------- Creator of The Parlando Project Guitars: 20th Century Seagull S6-12, S6 Folk, Seagull M6; '00 Guild JF30-12, '01 Martin 00-15, '16 Martin 000-17, '07 Parkwood PW510, Epiphone Biscuit resonator, Merlin Dulcimer, and various electric guitars, basses.... |
#33
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Hey Jude, at just over 7 minutes was released on a 45rpm single. And no one ever complained about the sound quality - maybe the volume was lower so the grooves were narrower and shallower? Mountain (the band) released a live album that had something over 23 minutes per side, with a note on the jacket to 'turn it up' - the grooves were narrower/shallower and the volume was lower than normal on it.
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Mike My music: https://mikebirchmusic.bandcamp.com 2020 Taylor 324ceBE 2017 Taylor 114ce-N 2012 Taylor 310ce 2011 Fender CD140SCE Ibanez 12 string a/e 73(?) Epiphone 6830E 6 string 72 Fender Telecaster Epiphone Dot Studio Epiphone LP Jr Chinese Strat clone Kala baritone ukulele Seagull 'Merlin' Washburn Mandolin Luna 'tatoo' a/e ukulele antique banjolin Squire J bass |
#34
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#35
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Harry Chapin.sometimes it take >3 minutes to tell a
good story. |
#36
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I think it very much depends on the story you are trying to tell. I have a few five minute songs which work with the right kind of listening audience, simply because they are interesting stories.
For any live set you need to balance things out. If you have some long songs use them sparsely. Weirdly, I often don't recognise a short-ish song until I've recorded it. I have songs that seem to say a lot in just 3 minutes and so Harry was right. But then traditional ballads often had more than 20 verses!
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------ AJ Lucas Pavilion Sweep fan fret Santa Cruz OM/E (European Pre War) Martin J40 |
#37
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I think it depends on the genre or the arrangement. 10-15 years ago, my idea of a song should be about 4-5 minutes in length. Lately, I prefer 3-4 minutes max for contemporary music. I usually find songs that are closing in 5 minutes, that have the verse/chorus/verse chorus format and by the third or second time that happens I get bored. However, with soundtrack music, I don't mind listening up to 10 minutes because it's different all the time. So I guess it depends on the format. |
#38
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One of my originals clocks in at a healthy 5:30. There's no chorus in this song but there is a little bit of repetition in 6 of the 9 stanzas that act in a similar way to a chorus in the sense they sort of bring you back to familiar ground. Funny story about this song... one time after performing it at a show, a woman came up to me afterwards, curious about where in Oklahoma one might find Highway 53 which is often mentioned in the song. I had to confess I have no idea if there's a Highway 53 in Oklahoma. Anyway, my point is songs like this one are akin to short stories in that they have the elements of character, setting, conflict, plot and theme. I love a good story song and of all the songs I've written, I think I'm most proud of this one.
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Jim 2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi 2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood 2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar 2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce 2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce 1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos. YouTube |