Sunfighter

Thanks for your ideas. I haven't got a problem with relationship songs, but it seems to be all i can write, at the moment. Lol, it's funny you should say that. The chorus of the very first song I ever wrote was "I'm just a square peg in a round hole".

Thanks to both of you for some good advice. I'm going try to write a passage every night before bedtime, when my brain is hopefully a bit more relaxed. I'm also going to keep a pad with me at all times in case I come across an interesting phrase or word. But in a nutshell, I need to write more, even if it's rubbish! Thanks.

Hi, I've never been particularly imaginative linguistically. I always had a certain amount of trouble at school with creative writing. But I have a fairly decent command of English and I'm reasonably good at expressing myself on paper. As a result all the songs I've written have been about something fairly concrete, usually relationship songs, which I can relate to myself. In these songs I'm expressing myself,imagining conversations etc, more than thinking abstractly. This is the problem. I seem to be totally incapable of thinking abstractly, which is something I'm desparate to incorporate into my lyrics. My writing is so limited, because I can't seem to write anything except relationship songs, and I'm running out of ideas! I have a friend who can write about almost any topic you care to mention. I could never do that. Can anyone offer any advice on techniques that might help me think in a different way? I've considered trying to write some primitive poetry, but it would be like pulling teeth - I've never wrtitten a word of poetry in my life! The lyric writing is becoming a huge issue for me. My productivity has dropped to almost nothing because writing lyrics takes me so long. I've posted a few lyrics here, not for crtique, but simply as an idea of what my last song was like. In the end I was reasonably happy with them, but I sweated blood over them and they took FOREVER. If anyone can offer some advice, so I can make even a small improvement to my songwriting I'd be very grateful. Thanks. "Sing me your mantra, I’ll tell you my favourite joke I smell your perfume, you breathe my cigarette smoke Love’s a misunderstanding, between two simple fools You’re oil on canvas, shadows and light You’re oil on canvas, shadows and light A million times I’ve looked looked into those eyes, Too many times I’ve tried catching the secret behind, whatever’s inside Your Mona Lisa eyes You smile poilitely yet I sense a distance between us I kiss you lightly, it dies on your lips with sigh…. We’re static and drifting, both together alone You’re oil on canvas, shadows and light You’re oil on canvas, shadows and light Too many times I’ve looked looked into those eyes, A million times I’ve tried catching the secret behind, whatever’s inside, Your Mona Lisa eyes"

Thanks. Certainly no offence meant to anyone, it was just that I'm trying to find a good book.

Thanks for all the replies. I've read the messages relating to software plugins, and to be honest I didn't understand lots of it. The only plugins/eq I use are the existing stuff in Cubase SX. I wouldn't a limiter if I fell over it. Do you know of anywhere that help me undertsand what effects/plugins there are and why I should be using them. I'm really keen to improve my gear but I also want to improve my understanding of the home studio. I had hoped to buy "Cubase Sx/Sl: Mixing and Mastering" by Anderton/Deinhardt but it seems to be out of print. Can anyone recommend a good book for somone to imrpove their understanding: like EQ, effects, mixing etc. Most of the Cubase books I've seen seem to be aimed at the complete beginner. Thanks.

Fall At Your Feet - Crowded House

Thanks to you both for your replies. I'd forgotten about monitors actually, I really must get some. FinnArild - a preamp is now top of my list along with a new mic. tgrover, what is guitar wavs3? I'm having trouble googling it. Thanks.

Hearing some of the demos on this site have made me realise how amateurish my mixes sound. I'd like to improve my setup but I can't spend that much (what's new?). I'd really appreciate your advice on where my signal chain can be improved. (I mainly record guitar based songs, with drums, bass, vocals and the odd bit of keyboard). This is my gear Laptop 1gb RAM - running Cubase SX Reason 2 Native Instruments Battery 2 drum software m-Audio Fire Audiophile Really cruddy mic (which I am replacing anyway) Alesis Quadraverb GT Cheap and nasty but functional bass Yamaha DTXpress electronic drumkit. Several guitars - mainly an acoustic with a snap-on pickup I don't have a mixing desk. I think the problem might be this - to get a decent level in for my guitars and vocals I have to use the Quadraverb GT as a preamp. This definitely adds noise at the recording stage. Is this possibly the first thing to fix? Is it worth investing in any additional software for cubase? I'd really appreciate some help on this. I'm getting to the point where I'd really like to kick on a bit and get a bit more serious but I need to sort my gear out first. Thanks for reading.

Er yes, guilty as charged. I have only recently started to write songs and I'm finding it a bit difficult to break out of this tried and tested song structure.