Kel

Funny really, it didn't work at all for Frankie Laine when he wrote "Battle Of New Orleans"!, But then it seems to have worked for Tchaikovsky (excuse spelling, please!) about the same year... 1812!

Hi, I've use Music Xray a few times. I don't get to hear much feedback on my songs, so I'll send them off to one of the "song critique" submissions. The free ones aren't worth the $4 admin fee, and the low price ones $4-6 give reasonable, if very unspecific feedback, but it's generally enough to know if I'm on the right track or not. I certainly don't send them every song I write, or send the same song to a dozen different "opportunities". I know you didn't ask it, but I'll offer it anyway... the best critique I have received by far from any service available on the internet was from Jason Blume. You can Google him to find his site. I sent a song away, paid $30 and received a voice recorded critique that was specific, constructive and extremely helpful. The reviewer (it wasn't Jason, himself) went through the lyrics, the verses, chord progressions, chorus and bridge all separately and also gave me an overall guide to what was good and what I needed to revisit. I tell you, it was well worth the money! And yes, I'll use his service again. Of course, a live audience is the best source for a critique in my opinion, as long as they aren't friends or family, they tend to either over criticize or over praise from what I've seen. Cheers, Kel

I don't even know most of the songs mentioned so far! Geez! Me & Bobby McGee - Kris Kristofferson Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison Viva Las Vegas - Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman Baby's Gotten Good At Goodbye - Tony Martin & Troy Martin Take it Easy - Jackson Browne & Glen Frey Happy Birthday - somewhere in the world, it gets sung every day! Cheers, Kel

Every songwriter likes to write a new song. At least I know I do! But when do YOU say you've done it? And I'm not talking about rewite after rewrite - I'm talking about when you think it's finished, what form is it in? For me, I don't say "I've written a song," until it's pretty much all in place - lyrics, melody, chords and properly notated, usually with a simple bass and drum rhythm section. I use Guitar Pro myself, so it's easy to add all that in. When I was younger I used manuscript paper and a pencil, and always wrote for piano with vocals separate - 3 staves. From Intro to Coda... all the way. I know some people who write down some lyrics, hum a tune till they like it, and note some chords down over the lyrics and say they've written a song. I'm not saying they're wrong, or that I'm right... but I'm interested to hear about when other songwriters consider their songs written?

Ebony Eyes / Bob Welch

Sorry everyone, didn't realise I wasn't on the last post... it made sense on the last post of the first page.! NOOB!!!!

Don't let the sun go down on me - Elton John Let's not go anywhere near the Radiators song, shall we? What is the rating here? PG13?

Thanks for the warm welcomes. I've just put together a SoundCloud account, and my work (with lyrics) can be found at: http://soundcloud.com/kelabb. When you click on each track's link you will see the lyrics. Cheers, K

1. Do you sing, play an instrument or instruments? I play Keyboards (trained in classical piano as a kid... not for long though), guitar, bass. I also have harmonicas and a tambourine, but I can't say I can "play" the harp yet. When did you start playing? I started piano lessons around 8 or 9. Trained for 2 years then quit because I didn't like the teacher. At around 16 I went to lessons again, mainly for timing etc, I was learning pop songs from the time (1975ish) Did you teach yourself? I am self taught on guitar and bass, though I have used video lessons on the internet recently. 2. Are you in a band or bands I've only been in a band that backed the choir at school, though I have jammed a bit. 3. Do you write songs? Oh yeah, and then some. I wrote my first song at 17 and took it to my school music teacher for some help. She gave me a couple of pointers and then told me I'd be performing it at the end of year speech night. When I woke up, I asked for a singer, and she introduced me to a younger kid who played guitar and sang for me. From memory, he was flat, and we should have transposed it down a few notes. Do you write lyrics, music or both? I write both music and lyrics, sometimes one and sometimes the other. I have days that the tune comes and words don't, and others where the words come but I can't put a melody to it. Do you have a writing partner? I don't currently have a collaborator, but I joined a social group called Brisbane Keychangers who consist of local songwriters, so I'm hoping. 4. Do you record your music? My lack of singing ability frustrates me no end. Having said that, I've spent some time tonight listening to recordings by other unpublished writers and I'm getting all inspired to develop my voice some. Do you use a home studio? If so what gear do you use? Do you use a recording studio? Brisbane Keychangers have a monthly get together at a studio. I've only been to one so far, and had a blast. Do you have music available on the web? if so where? If my midi files are accepted here, soon they'll be here! 5. What other roles do you perform in the music business? Management? Label owner? Publishing? Promotion? Other? 6. Are you a tech head? Nah! 7. What country do you live in? Australia 8. What are your ambitions? I'd like to be invited to the Grand Ol' Opry to perform my songs, hang on, that's a dream... No real ambitions, but wouldn't it be good to live off royalty checks! 9. Do you draw/paint/write stories/computer art/dance or other creative pursuits? I wrote a novel a few years back, but it never got published. Well, not for profit anyway. I found it on the internet one day. And I NEVER POSTED IT! I submited it to a handful of agents, and only one ever got back to me. Said something about my portrayal of Americans was unbelievable! I wrote back saying I dealt with Americans just like I had portrayed every day. Never heard back. Go figure! (No it wasn't disrespectful...my heroine was American!) What are your pastimes? What are they? Between writing songs, playing Warcraft and watching television I hardly have time to work! 10. What would you like to get out of Songstuff? Famous! No, not really. Honest appraisal. Support, Ideas. Collaboration. Entertainment. Fun. All that jazz!

G'day everyone. As the user name suggests, I'm Kel, and from Brisbane, Australia and currently 52 and some change years old. I'm a wannabe songwriter... oh alright, I am a song writer, it's just that nobody has ever heard them! If I could sing, I'd record a few but honestly, my shower turns off if I sing in it! My passion is country music, so that is what I right. Nothing too fancy, Just from the heart, or from memory, or totally made up depending on where I am at the time. I haven't done any writing for around 30 years, and just recently my mid-life crisis hit and hit hard! I've gone from having nothing musical in my life to owning 3 guitars, a bass, 3 keyboards and a tambourine! Yes, a tambourine! However, the shotgun approach hasn't really been too good for me, and I hardly touch the bass, and only pick up my acoustic guitar usually. However, the keyboards are a different story. I bought an old Kawai 50 key thing on Ebay for just under $12. Yes, Twelve dollars! Anyway, it convinced me that keys were a better focus for me. I now have a 88 key stage piano, a 61 key Yamaha I do most of my writing on, and of course, the dear old Kawai. Anyhoo... I find I am writing quite prolifically, and hardly a day goes by without writing something. Hopefully I'm getting all the trash out of my system to make room for the good stuff. I write with Guitar Pro 5.2. I know it's not Sibelius or a pencil, but it's easy to use and my son also writes with it, so we can bounce ideas off each other, though he is into screamo songs, which I just don't get! I can export in midi, and post lyrics but I just can't sing! I will warn you though, I am trying to exersize my vocal chords in the vain hope that one day I can at least record a bad demo. That's enough about me. Cheers, Kel