Kel

More songwriters do this than admit to it! Paul Simon has admitted to it, so why not? Kel

Glad you saw that yourself. I don't like the Stones so I went and looked at some of their lyrics and they are very basic and repetitive for the most part, hence my lyric. (I hope John liked that!) But now you see it, you can adjust it. Kel

it's interesting to see the complete contrast in the stories our two lyrics tell from the same title. K

It will be interesting to see how you "program" when you don't have a grasp of the knowledge required, unless I've misread or misinterpreted or even forgotten what you said earlier. Good luck though.

Red Hot Mama - First Draft You might think I toe the line too easy You might think I give in way to fast You might think I ain't balls to stand up You don't realise just what I got... My red hot Mama She ain't so easy to please My red hot Mama She got me on my knees She's a red hot Mama A red hot Mama to me! You could say she's way hard to handle You could say she's got me on a string You could say she's way out of control You don't realise just what I got... My red hot Mama She ain't so easy to please My red hot Mama She got me on my knees She's a red hot Mama A red hot Mama to me! My red hot Mama She ain't so easy to please My red hot Mama She got me on my knees She's a red hot Mama A red hot Mama to me! I can see Mick doing his chicken strut to this.. lol

I can't write bad enough for them! However, since this is a challenge, I'll go for Red Hot Mama Kel

[VERSE1] Huddled on a park bench Relentless Autumn wind, Overhead, just leaden skies with Dark clouds closing in. Seven nights of searching For a reason just to live Too many days no work, no food Meant something had to give... [VERSE 2] Through manicured hedges Braced against the morning chill An old man, in a wheelchair sat Staring up the hill. I hobbled over said, "Sir, Do you need a hand?" He looked at me through gritted teeth Said, "Boy, just understand...." [CHORUS] I gotta ro-ll with the punches Go with the flow Ev'ry day is a new challenge Don't ever let it show I don't get no free lunches, and All I need to know, Gotta, ro-ll with the punches Go with the flow I thought the guy was crazy So I left him to his drill. Sat back down, to my surprise he Tamed that blasted hill. Right then he called me over And he grinned as I arrived, He put his callused hand upon my chest And gave me this advice... [CHORUS] You gotta ro-ll with the punches Go with the flow Ev'ry day is a new challenge Don't ever let it show You don't get no free lunches, and All you need to know, Gotta, ro-ll with the punches Go with the flow [bRIDGE] I never knew the man's name, Never saw his face again, He came right when I needed him, And made me understand... [CHORUS] I gotta ro-ll with the punches Go with the flow Ev'ry day is a new challenge Don't ever let it show I don't get no free lunches, and All I need to know, Gotta, ro-ll with the punches Go with the flow Ro-ll with the punches Go with the flow V2.2 Roll With The Punches.mp3

Thanks Jan, The song was performed and produced by Nigel Cuff of Nigel Cuff Music in UK. My only beef is that I didn't pick up that he used an early version of the recording I sent him and therefore the guitar is the same monotonous 4 beat chord throughout. He gets the riff right, though not the filler that follows "no good way, not one!" in the middle of the chorus. Still I was very happy with my $AUS78 investment. Yes $AUS78! (Ultra basic plan) He mastered it for free too, though I think that was in the hope for more commissions, and he is line for that. Thanks for your feedback. Kel

Hey there Garrett, Anton, Grimbo and Michelle, I hope you guys enjoy the challenges John throws at us as much as we do. We are an irreverent lot at times, and if you look through the various challenge threads you'll see it's not ALL business! Even the Ringmaster gets in on the act. So make sure you bring your happy face, or at least be prepared to lose your glum face because if it ain't fun, you're not doing it right! Feel free to ask questions, seek advice etc. We have members from all around the globe and you won't need to wait long for an answer, I'm sure. You'll see we break up into teams now and then, but there is no cliques or BFF dramas because we all have a liking and respect for each other. Welcome to the Lyric Challenge Group and I'm sure we're all eager to share your journey with you. Cheers, (It's Five O'Clock somewhere, right?) Kel

This has been a great challenge, and what better place is there than Songstuff? Kel

@John, We (Lisa, Rudi and myself) have engaged a composer/artists/producer. Please consider this challenge well underway! @Les & Sandy, Congrats on securing the amazing talents of Mahesh. I am sure he will do your lyrics great service. I look forward to hearing your song soon! Cheers. Kel

John already said in his challenge blurb that he is too busy to assist. I'm sure Sting will agree to this. Now we've already had this argument, and although I know I pushed for Dianne Warren and you guys disagreed I did settle on Sting since McCartney is on "holidays" whatever that means. Geesh, I know he's never written a country song and that's exactly why I agreed. It will challenge his ego to no end if we hint to him that he probably wouldn't be able to do it. After all, he did write De Da Da Da, De Dum Dum Dum or whatever it was called, pure pop crap... and I'm sure he still cringes about it and donates the royalty cheques to the needy. And if he says no, which I really don't think he will, just look at his ego, Lisa, your friend Pete Murray or whatever his name is will be alright in a pinch. Let's just do it!

Unless the software, any software also makes coffee, we are all safe from this happening. I wonder if I can download an App for my Android that will aspiriate my blood for me so I don't have to go to all the trouble of breathing? I'll do a search! Kel

I have BIAB and ChordPulseLite. I've only had BIAB a week so still learning how to use it. Not in any big rush. I've been using GuitarPro to write with for over a year, but you still have to key everything in by hand unless you write some "standard" accompaniment to use while working on melody. I haven't got around to doing that lol. Kel

Try this website, it does the lyrics for you. Then from here you can put together a chord progression. Then go this website to learn how to best put it all together. See, it's easy! Kel

All good with Les & Goldy's rhyme scheme... they used ABCB. Fair play. K

Hearts On Fire - Passenger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EreZNkWzBAw

Hi Dan, I'm no vocal coach, and have just completed a series of 10 lessons face to face with a teacher and it has helped me a lot. The first thing I would offer is to sing with volume... don't sing directly into your mic unless you needed a second mortgage to afford it. Stand or at least sit up straight. Tilt you head back slightly to open up the pipes. Don't be afraid to use volume. Hitting the notes correctly, relies on the wind from your diaphragm and trying to restrain the volume is counter productive. Practice scales, paying particular attention to opening your mouth to ridiculous levels to create a resonating chamber that produces good tone. I am assured we can scale that back during performances some. Doing scales will also strengthen your voice and extend your range. Warm up prior to recording. Have room temperature water available and lubricate with it. "Get into it" my teacher said when I did this everything (meaning my pitch, my timing, my diction, my breathing) was just "better". These are fairly generic things any singer can do to improve, and as I said, I'm no vocal coach, or singer of renown nor ability, I joke my lessons have taken me from horrible to awful, but practice is the key, and practicing properly. Specifically your diction isn't what it could be, with words slurring into each other and yes, proper breathing will help, as will concentrating on singing every note separately rather than sliding from one to the other. Your pitch seems good, but better ears than mine will guide you better I think. Slow songs are harder to pull off than moderately paced or faster, so you've done pretty well in my books. Cheers, Kel

In the past, I came up with melodies using my keyboard, or on rare occasions, my guitar. Never in my wildest dreams would I think of singing to work out a melody. Why? Because I was horrible. When talents were being handed out, I was out in the back yard building a billy cart. As a non performing songwriter I didn't pay much attention to the melody line, figuring a "singer" would be able to sing what I wrote. I wasn't a singer I told myself, but a real one could do it. In time past I barely even gave them time to take a breath between phrases, if they were any good they'd manage it, I reasoned. Then one day I decided to record something. It was awful! Not, it was horrible! No, it was... worse!!! However, a few people here on Songstuff offered support rather than derision and made a few suggestions, in particular HoboSage and Tunesmithth if my memory serves me. The few tips offered that day changed my songwriting attitude. I no longer considered a singer an instrument on two legs who would probably smokes and drinks too much and worse, offers an opinion on the master melody I was presenting him or her. I began to concentrate on phrasing, on melodies that made sense, that added meaning to the lyric. And I began to practice singing. Now I'm not going to type away about my singing prowess, far from it. What I want to get across though, is that as songwriters, we need to know how to provide an example for the vocalist. Not everyone can read music, especially musicians! If we can't sing to save our lives, how are we going to save our songs from some scrapheap? We need to provide a workable example for a "real vocalist" to follow. It is also way cheaper to sing our own rough demos than paying a session singer to do it. Save the money for the good songs, right? As songwriters we don't need to be able to nail every note and enrapture a theatre full of music lovers, but as I've just found out, life is better with a little singing. So sing a little, and let it guide your writing, and who knows what possibilities may present themselves down the track? Till next time, Kel

Geesh!

Arrrrgh shimates, did you hear that? Somewhere in the fog of confused delusion I thought I heard a wee bit of reason. Could be me ol' ears though. Smee, rig up the Shedevilry, I think I needs me ears unwaxed!

Away, Away from all this pain and all this agony Away Away to someplace cool and warm and full of mystery Away Lord take me away, today! Ummm you guys are infectious!

That's good. We like us too!

He Ain't Heavy - The Hollies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkjBa9jrd74