GregB

Why does anyone do anything? Some of us write songs. It's a creative urge, a journey, a challenge, and a result that is hopefully pleasing (emotionally, artistically and intellectually). Why do we then record/release for strangers to hear? Now THAT's a psychological can of worms! I've just listened to a podcast interviewing comedians and something that caught my attention was an opinion that (and I'm paraphrasing) ... most comedians seem to come from family backgrounds where there was a lack of attention/love/praise/support. The laughter is a form of approval. I vibe with that. I grew up without a father. My mother worked and raised us, leaving little to no time (or patience) for emotional support. With my songs, any positive comment, every listen beyond family and friends, is treated like a pat on the back. Greg 😊

To my mind, as long as the instrument feels good and behaves as it you want it to (feel of fingers on the strings/frets, comfortable to hold etc.), everything else depends on your ears and analysis in the space between them. Some people say that different guitars generate different feelings/vibes which helps diversify their songwriting. A person cab have 20 guitars on walls/racks ... and that floats THEIR boat. I have one electro-acoustic 12-string that I love, and has inspired and been the focus of 60+ songs/tracks. I know it inside and out. I've had other guitars and gizmos but I've steadily divested myself of everything else. I never again want the hassle of cleaning, maintaining, restringing multiple things. But we're all different. If you have the money, do what feels good for you. Experiment and find whatever works for you. You can always sell stuff later. Greg 😊

I rarely perform on camera ... I don't see the need for it ... I try to promote my music rather than ME. And my music videos are narrative rather than miming a performance to the album track. Plus I can't stand the sight of my facial contortions as I concentrate, so hence ... no face! In this case, I thought it instead better to frame my two hands so other players can clearly see what is going on. This is a live guitar-only performance made well before recording it for Track 14 "Guitar Suite" on my "The Flat White Album" (2020). It was primarily done as a least-effort quick-and-nasty first video in 2019 for the album's YouTube channel I had just set up. The video was a simple single long continuous take using a fixed camera. There was just one bad mistake on a section start (the wrong chord!), so I froze in position and restarted that section and later fixed the 'gap' in the video edit ... can you spot it? So, in the end, it was one of many practice sessions but with the fab bonus of having an easily produced new video! Because the performance was planned to be just a single take, I had to play/practise each day for a week prior, and practice is very rare thing for me! The audio is the unprocessed recording from a Zoom H1 stereo mic (visible on the table) mixed with a Rode directional mic shoed on a Canon 70D with tripod. The kitchen provides a great room (wood, glass, tile) for live sound . The 'audience' vibe bookending the video was done purely for personal amusement (an audience ... in a kitchen??), but I thought it worked so well for the 'concert' vibe' that I later incorporated it on the album track because it so suited the orchestral performance. The guitar for the album track was 100% re-recorded, section by section. This allowed for continuous tuning checks ... 12-strings are twice as likely to than a 6-string to go slightly out of tune, and this sounds awful when layered with precisely tuned MIDI-orchestral instruments. Recording section by section also meant I could hold the closing notes of a section rather than have to move my hands to the next position. The released track therefore bears little ultimate resemblance to this live video ... but it may be of interest to see and hear the raw composition exactly as it had been developed for guitar alone. The album recording and narrative visuals are here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e-ETLfNyoY GUITAR NOTE. I am always gobsmacked by people who have racks/walls of guitars. I currently have, and have only ever had, ONE guitar ... a 12-string. Unlike a 6-string it is never loud, nor the easiest for finger picking and slide, but I happily forego that in exchange for the exquisite sound. I had an EKO from 1970 which I then sold after buying my current Takamine in 2001. I use D'Addario EJ39 12-String Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Strings, Medium, 12-52. When home-studio recording I play in to my Focusrite Scarlett 2i-4 concurrently via a Rode NT-1 and also DI via the Takamine piezo pickup and Takamine GT-4B-II onboard unit. I EQ the two mono stems differently and pan them across the stereo field. The result (to my own ears) gives a solid and rich sound. MEA CULPA: I do my best, but I can't paper over ALL the mistakes

My last album was released in 2022. I'll now only be doing singles as achievable short-term projects as and when the mojo appears. FIve done so far. Finding suitable imagery is still always a fun challenge. If interested, they can be watched/heard at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKdLEr0TJZA&list=PLzoPh-b4qN3F64hRE_5ecRj5kyF5fLWE7

I did write a response to John's comments but it's not visible here. Did I not press "Submit"? Who knows? (Who cares?) Hmmm. "prefer" ... "like". As with many discussions related to music it is very subjective. I LIKE the music I like. Sometimes I can analyse WHY (e.g. chord progressions, lyrics, etc..), othertimes not. Music 'these days' is definitely simpler. Two people can argue opposite views ... it doesn't matter ... we all like what we like, and (fortunately) 'liking' harms no-one. MY experiences are MY experiences. It's impossible to convey experiences fully to others. The age at which one hears music provides a massive bias towards 'liking' I HAVE heard some great music in the latter half of my life, but it then has to compete for space in my tiny brain with so much that I cherish from the past (including the Great Amercian Songbook). I opened this topic simply because I am fascinated by numbers/statistics. The AMOUNT of music is growing faster than the pairs of ears and listening time available to hear it. Arithmetic suggests that any one new track has fewer opportunities to heard. Performance. My reading is that the number of venues, massive to tiny, is diminishing ... cost, transportation, insurance, audiences. SUMMARY. "Now vs Then". Good or Bad? Who am I to say (even though I AM opinionated). I enjoy discussion for discussion's sake. But there's many many worse things in the world than not having my songs being listened to. I'M happy with having written them and having the wherewithal to produce them . I don't perform in public. I have a feeling for the music industry (without understanding it) and I simply acknowledge the raw numbers. End of story. I'l stop here, take my medication and have a lie down Greg

He used Fma7 to E a lot in his last years. These two songs were on the same demo tape Yoko gave to Paul: "Now and Then" ... Whereas "Free As a Bird" ... I can make my full PDF transcriptions available if anyone wants them. Greg

All true. Also, 'back in the day', there was LESS music released/available, and MOST people heard it on the radio. The program hosts/DJs had a professional interest in wanting to catch/lead the next wave, and they would select/play/promote tracks ... who knows whether this was personal taste, adventurism, brown-nosing the stars/studios, or payola. But it worked to break new artists and releases. In the UK, there was John Peel, Tony Blackburn, Kenny Everett and about half a dozen other main 'pushers' of new music. Through lack of other technologies, EVERYONE listened to the radio ... so unknowns were easily thrust into the limelight. Radio today is a spent force. The many streaming platforms have thousands of playlists concocted by unknowns, and often bought and paid for by the labels. The 'waves' seem to have moved to things like YouTube and TikTok. Does any big hit these days NOT have a video?

With growth ... now an estimated 120,000 new tracks uploaded to streaming services every day ... people wonder why they are not getting heard. Well, rest assured, you're part of a big crowd! According to Luminate’s 2023 Year-End Music Report, fully 152.2 million tracks each received 1,000 or fewer plays on audio streaming services in 2023. That number amounts to a whopping 82.7% of the 184 million music tracks that Luminate measured on audio streaming services at the close of last year via ISRCs (International Standard Recording Codes). Even more tellingly, a total of 45.6 million tracks received zero plays in 2023. That represents 24.8% of the 184 million tracks available on audio streaming platforms. Yup: nearly a quarter of streaming services’ entire available music catalog wasn’t streamed even once last year. Full story: https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/152-million-tracks-1000-plays-on-streaming-services/

Perhaps it's time to determine realistic expectations and face some hard truths. Industry quotes from mid-2023 stated more than 100,000 new releases were uploaded EVERY DAY!! This is rapidly increasing as AI production ramps up and also as people game the system ... e.g. chopping songs into the minimum lengths allowed per platform. This all adds massively to the tens of millions of tracks already available. More than half of all listens are to established artists and, more so, just the 'golden hits' from the six previous decades. So ... who are these people you believe are searching for 'new music' and that you hope will find yours? Even IF there were one million people dedicated to just listening to new music (i.e. stuff they've never heard before) ... and they each devoted one hour a day to this thoughout the year (though, personally, this would drive me insane! ) ... That's 365 days x 60 mins x 1,000,000 people (21.9 billion minutes of listening) / 3mins per track = 7.3 billion tracks of new music heard by just 0.0125% of the world's population (which has just clicked over to 8 billion people). What is the chance that this tiny number of people who may hear and pay attention to your music are in the right frame of mind to listen properly. (To most people, music is interchangeable background wallpaper). If attentive, do they even like your genre (now more than 100 categories in an ever-fracturing music scene?) If they like your genre, will they vibe with and like your TRACK? And will they like it enough to rave about it on social media, or privately to friends, or even listen more than once themselves? Of course, this is just my personal view which tends, as you may have surmised, to be less than optimistic. As a fellow amateur singer/songwriter, I posted some of my ideas and experiences in 9 affordable ways to get "heard" in Musician's Lounge, Nov 25, 2023. I should add that there's no reason why you cannot succeed. The likelihood simply depends on perseverance, luck, networking/contacts, effort, money and, most importantly, what YOU regard and set as your measure of success. Cheers, Greg

A prime example of the band Chicago's move from Jazz/Rock to Soft Rock, this track still holds up as a great song despite the odd closing lyrics "you're going to be the lucky one" [ ... if you came back to me !! What a smug tosser! ] I'm surprised that I still liked the song after hundreds of listens throughout the inevitably arduous recording/production process! I prefer to add SOME twist to any original I cover, usually just in the arrangement. In this case, I've instead added a story prequel via sound effects and new music/lyrics that attempt to underscore the passing of time that the original song implied. Unfortunately I can't officially release this cover to the music platforms as I'd need to get permission from the rights holders for the substantial 'changes' ... a task/cost not worth pursuing. MUSIC CREDITS The 'familiar' song was written by Peter Cetera & David Foster Lead guitar break - Martin Hale Harmonies - Paul Harris and Jennifer Matthews (BigNote Productions) The folky prologue was written by me The guitars (my 12-string acoustic and Martin's 6-string electric) are real instruments and the vocals are real people. All other instruments are MIDI - drums, organ, flute, brass, piano, violins, cello, electric bass, horn. All elements were mixed and mastered at home using Pro Tools on a Windows 10 laptop Originally arranged by Chicago (1982) but I was only able to recreate it after 'seeing' the contributing elements in Leonid Vorobyev's fabulous cover ... VIDEO CREDITS All images of 'the guy' in my music video were AI generated in Midjourney 5.2. Character consistency was not great but also not bad considering we're still in the pioneering years. CHORDS/LYRICS attached if interested (with transposing advice at the start). Hard To Say I'm Sorry.pdf

It just requires a steady water-on-rock approach when you have a spare moment What singer-songwriter would ever consider themselves to be rubbish? Although “good” is a contentious concept, I still like to think that I make good music and interesting music videos. But not in a million years could I be considered ‘popular’, nor do I even try to follow modern styles and trends. My only idea about songwriting, once I wrote my first, was that it needed to keep ME interested intellectually and emotionally, be pleasing to ME musically, and that any listener (whether or not they like it) would at least appreciate the songwriting quality and effort. In addition, I wanted my music to be heard beyond my few friends and small family. All these criteria have been met. Firstly, I need to stress that I’m a nobody from nowhere who doesn’t play in public, has no fan base, manager or agent, and does not subscribe to any service that purports to ‘promote’ my music. I’m totally at peace with the ‘amateur’ label and have no desire for stardom, fame or striking it rich. I’ve always been the most comfortable in my own company, in being a jack of all trades, and not having to ask or rely on others for anything. I’m hopeless at socialising, networking, brown-nosing in general, and I’m very sceptical about the music industry ... because it IS an ‘industry’. Also, apart from my very first album having to be squeezed into a normal busy working life, all the subsequent creative activity has been conducted once I semi or fully retired ... a life phase in which I have no ‘spare’ money to spend on myself, but I DO have the luxury of time to think and also time to act. I’ve been forced to use guerilla tactics because I simply could never afford what the money the chimps were demanding! [PS. That was a joke ... the chimps will do anything for a banana 😄] So, keeping all this in mind, I am surprised but also very pleased that my tracks have exceeded 960,000 clicks across all digital media platforms. It’d be great to say “a million”, a nice milestone number, but I’m not quite there yet ... but hopefuly in January 2024! This article describes the marketing I’ve done to have reached this point, and the out-of-pocket costs. There’s no proof that any of my self-marketing techniques actually CAUSED the numbers stated but the marketing was free/cheap and low effort. Perhaps the broad-brush approach was the key? Big-dollar digital marketing only benefits the platforms like Google, Apple, Amazon, eBay, Spotify etc. who operate the servers that deliver online services. I’m not flexing my ‘achievements’ here, which are paltry. Writing articles ‘lubes’ my mind, an exercise that comes in handy when searching for lyrics. Also, being at the tail-end of the bell curve of life expectancy, I’ll likely be dead in 10 years, so I’m freely sharing what I know with anyone else struggling to get their music heard. The marketing areas that I’ve personally employed and are covered in the attached 13-page illustrated PDF are: Website YouTube Channel Music Videos Facebook page and Facebook groups Reviews News articles Managing Statistics Competitions and Festivals Some other things to think about It'd be great if YOU have a trick or two up your sleeve to share them here. Cheers, Greg 9 affordable ways to get your music heard.pdf

Are ALL songs these days only about falling in and out of love? Published in a local magazine, this is my quirky look at modern music and its obsession with romantic relationships. When people write about music, they all fall into the cosy welcoming trap of personal opinion ... inevitably commenting on what they like and don’t like, the ‘whys’ and comparisons. While excusable on one hand, a longer life means exposure to more music styles and trends, the other hand forgets (yes, I know a hand has no memory!) that the music we hear in our most vulnerable and formative years, our teens and twenties, has the maximum imprint and impact and will form the backdrop and baseline against which all other music will be measured. To take the pulse, I started to listen to Spotify’s Top 20 at the end of April 2023. I soon lost the will to live and limited my listening to the Top 10 where I found the following: • All were about infatuation, love or breakups • More than 50% of words could not be easily understood (though when you read the lyrics onscreen you realise there is very little there that actually requires understanding!) • Only one of the Top Ten had a complete through-story without the usual massive repetition of words, phrases or lines • Banality reigned supreme Rather than launch into music analysis, it got me to wondering why so few songs (actually none) were about things other than relationships. A few years ago, I attended a songwriting workshop at Currumbin RSL. It was sponsored by either APRA or QMusic, and was hosted by an established husband and wife professional songwriting team. There were approx 30 attendees and everyone had been invited to bring and publicly perform a song and receive feedback from the hosts. As the baton was handed around the room, I was increasingly amused that each person in their teens and twenties (and not in the least bit shy) introduced their songs with something along these lines: “I wrote this when I broke up”. Oh, the furrowed brows, sad faces, angst and pain! Though now considered ‘old’ myself, I can still remember the all-consuming emotions of yearning for love, the raw passions of a new relationship, and the devastation and heartbreak of breaking up. Perhaps my memories are getting dimmer, as is my empathy for the impacts of falling in and out of love, but I wonder whether after at least a million love songs we have collectively run out of new ways to express the sentiments of this most basic and universal of human experiences? Musically, I’ve never been wild about love songs. Sure, some have heart-stopping melodies and arrangements, but the majority are ho-hum, especially when it comes to lyrics that can be seen from a mile away, lurching forwards, easily guessable in advance. Occasionally, a few songs are clever in their use of rhyme, metaphor and allegory, or perfect lyrical rhythm that fits or counterpoints the melody, but too many are just pedestrian. A failing usually made worse by being overly repetitive. Of course, all such comments can only ever be personal opinion. Myself, I like the music to lift the soul and the lyrics to engage the mind. And so I come to the nub of the story. Back in the 60s and 70s there were hundreds of songs about or alluding to the issues of the day, or of that particular generation. The threat of nuclear holocaust, the Vietnam War, pollution, racism, police brutality. Our own Midnight Oil took up the mantle and led the charge in the 80s and 90s, raging against politics, mining, mistreatment of Aboriginal people. Surprisingly, such songs were not only popular but many became generational anthems. So how come, at this current moment in time, no-one is writing (or listening to) songs about stuff OTHER THAN falling in love and breaking up? Where are the songs today that address climate change, the environment, the global shift to the Right, the rise of the Autocrats, homelessness, refugees, fire and flood, pandemics, conspiracy theories, the widening wealth gap, social media, politics based simply on three-word slogans, AI, rampant social media, Ukraine, and so on? It doesn’t have to be ‘protest’ songs, but just putting the spotlight on the many murky areas of the human condition. For example, Joni Mitchell’s 'The Magdalene Laundries' still rips my heart out on every re-listening about Irish girls abandoned by their families into slavery and abuse by Catholic nuns ... a hard message delivered by transcendent music, lyrics and performance. One possibility is that younger generations feel more isolated. Perhaps an effect of social media as we become increasingly trapped inside our own heads, so that the flames and despair of relationships are magnified more? Perhaps it is a sense of hopelessness that comes from disenfranchisement so that love becomes even more important and relatable? But remember, the people who are riding the crest of the music industry are simply churning out formulaic product that meets the current demands of music consumers. Marketing 101. But if ‘love songs’ are all that artists and producers are making, then we are being forced to choose from an extremely limited menu; our musical souls will become malnourished. And so, dear reader, can you suggest modern songs that address real issues? Please comment below and nominate a title/artist, preferably with a link (e.g. Spotify, YouTube or Apple), along with your own views on the topic.

No one has asked and it doesn't really matter what I think, but anyway ... The Beatles were my biggest of all musical influences. I can actually remember being transfixed hearing “Love Me Do” for the first time on my transistor radio just a couple of months shy of my 12th birthday. It unlocked something in me, bringing colour into a drab world and giving me and my generation a new focus. They dominated my complete high-school phase from Please Please Me (1963) to Let It Be (1970). They were the reason I started playing guitar at age 13. And now ... “Now and Then”. The verses are brilliant melodically and lyrically. Simple, plaintive, but beautiful and inventive. The choruses are unfortunately mediocre due to trite melody/lyrics, a confused arrangement and some muddy mixing. Ringo’s voice doesn’t help, but who could deny him this unique moment. Paul’s slide guitar, despite good intentions, doesn’t come close to George’s technical ability, musicality and unique tone. Giles Martin’s string arrangements are NOT as good as his Dad’s. But, hey, compared to much of recent music, it is a masterpiece. Fortunately they avoided repeating Jeff Lynne’s ‘ELO effect’ so evident on “Free As A Bird” (which I regard as a much stronger song). What really pushes “Now and Then” into greatness, in my opinion, is the innovative video which complements the music. It presses every conceivable button of emotional nostalgia for the great times we’ve had with the four Beatles. While the “Free..” video contained many, many easter egg visuals from past songs, “Now..” instead concentrates solely on the men themselves, cleverly melding them ‘now’ and ‘then’. The final shots, of them receding into history, and a final bow on stage, mirrors the "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we've passed the audition" from John at the end of the rooftop performance in the “Let It Be” and “Get Back” films. It may be age, but I am hard-pressed not to get misty-eyed and my throat tighten each time I watch and listen to this, their latest and last production. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opxhh9Oh3rg Cheers, Greg

Hi. Don't know if it's an age thing, or it's becuase I've always LOVED her music, but the ideas expressed in this article really vibed with me. To save you the onward link and masses of adverts there, the text is lifted direct from https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-conversation-that-made-joni-mitchell-quit-music/ ... any text colouring is mine. Greg The conversation that made Joni Mitchell quit music Elle Palmer FRI 13TH OCT 2023 17.30 BST Joni Mitchell has had a lengthy love affair with music. She spent the late 1960s and the majority of the 1970s occupying the folk circuit, pairing vulnerable lyrics with soft strummed soundscapes. By the end of the decade, she had pivoted to the world of jazz, collaborating with the likes of Charles Mingus and Herbie Hancock. She even tried her hand at electronic music. But with the new century’s dawn, Mitchell’s disdain for the industry surrounding her began to overpower her love for songwriting. As the music business began to prioritise aesthetics over sound and commerciality over art, the folk legend took her leave and announced that her 2002 record, Travelogue, would be her last. Mitchell’s decision to quit was a result of the superficiality of the modern music industry, which was once distilled down to her in a conversation with an executive. In the album notes for her Artist’s Choice – Music That Matters to Her compilation, the ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ singer stated, “By the end of the 20th century, it seemed to me that the muse had gone out of music and all that was left was the ‘ic’.” For labels and music industry professionals, artists who prioritised creativity and innovation had taken a backseat to those who were commercially viable and easier to control. As a result, Mitchell suggested: Nothing sounded genuine or original. Truth and beauty were passé. Shock was the reigning value and schlock was rating raves in "Rolling Stone". Mitchell even recalls hearing a record label boss on the radio openly announcing, “We are no longer looking for talent. We’re looking for a ‘look’ and a willingness to cooperate!” The situation seemed increasingly dire, but one conversation with an executive seemed to put the final nail in the coffin for Mitchell. As a “prelude” to rejecting her, then, last album, an executive told Mitchell, “We’re selling cars now. We’ve got fast cars and cute cars…” This insulting comparison seems to sum up everything Mitchell disliked about the industry. As a result, she quit music: “I got the picture. I quit the business.” The changing workings of the industry had pushed out one of its most important and influential figures. For five years following the release of Travelogue, Mitchell stayed true to her word and did not put out a new album. It was only in 2007, with the release of Shine, that she returned to music. Over 15 years later, it remains her final full-length studio offering.

When neither the actor or photographer play guitar ...

The very new and free Dall-E 3 has been highly praised for it's ability to create words within images. Prior to this, Dall-E - and also others like MidJourney - could only display gooble-de-gook scribbles. My prompt was: photo of a pretty blond woman in her twenties wearing a white t-shirt which says "The Flat White Album" written in large black capital letters. The resulting lettering IS remarkably good and it follows contours of both the body AND the cloth folds, but not one of the three logos presented was spelled correctly!! No doubt this will be fixed within weeks ... and then MidJourney will likely frog leap Dall-E with many new features. Progress in AI image generation is absolutely astounding.

The very new and free Dall-E 3 has been highly praised for it's ability to create words within images. Prior to this, Dall-E - and also others like MidJourney - could only display gooble-de-gook scribbles. My prompt was: photo of a pretty blond woman in her twenties wearing a white t-shirt which says "The Flat White Album" written in large black capital letters. The resulting lettering IS remarkably good and it follows contours of both the body AND the cloth folds, but not one of the three logos presented was spelled correctly!! No doubt this will be fixed within weeks ... and then MidJourney will likely frog leap Dall-E with many new features. Progress in AI image generation is absolutely astounding.

Hi Ronja Great to have you join the Music Video Club and look forward to some interaction (and examples?) there. Greg 👍

I think the main thing here is that we are now finally on the road to AI video. It's still early days and everything I've seen so far (Sep '2023) LOOKS experimental or proof of concept, cartoony, ill-defined edges, and very SHORT clips. But considering the steep J-curve improvements seen in the last 12 months with image generation, video (and music) are perhaps just 6-months away from stunning 'can't tell the difference from real footage' results, along with consistent characterisation.

... though personally I'm not a fan of arbitrary images which have no relationship to the song's story.

G'day and Welcome! There's a small number from Oz here. Greg (Gold Coast)

My latest (and likely my last) music video. It had to wait almost 3 years after the track's release in 2020 before the very recent advances in AI allowed me to generate the images I had had in my head when creating the song. In the past I've used a lot of stock video, largely from https://artgrid.io/. The main benefits have been: high quality - framing, content, colour, resolution multiple 'story' clips - allowing for consistency of character/location videos clips, provided they are relevant, can fill a LOT of time in a music video!! price (unlimited downloads and total freedom of usage) HOWEVER, if given the choice, I much PREFER to use still images. I think photography is far more impactful and the eye is free to examine and absorb an unchanging image. This remains so even with a slow steady zoom/pan of an image. And recent AI can produce exquisite stills of tremendous surprise, beauty, detail and 'imagination'. It'd be nice to delve deeper into the issue of stills vs film if anyone wishes to contribute their thoughts. Greg

Wowsers! Seemed pretty simple ... close-up of a kind smiling face , realistic --style raw --ar 16:9 BUT ... (spot the mistake!)

Hi. I've just posted a new music video in "Showcase" with more use of AI imagery. All the images of the guy were AI. E.g. <link to previously generate image of a guy> a handsome man in his 30s lost in thought, soft crumpled white shirt with collar, realistic, writing a letter, moody lighting [though these are square because I forgot to use "--ar 16:9" for normal landscape video!! It was early days for me ]