john

hi and welcome to our community

Hi John Drop me a PM confirming what details you can, such as your previously registered email address and I will merge the accounts for you or change your email address on the old account so you can get access again. Better that than two accounts Cheers John

Hi Tezza Welcome to Songstuff! Best forum would be the lyrics critique forum.... the melody is a critical component of a song... in fact, it is one of two essential components... lyrics and melody make the fundamentals of the song. Unfortunately chords are just too little to judge what a song will sound like. You can have too many melodic variations over the same chords rendering further comment of very limited use. Don't get me wrong, you can add your intended chords on the lyrics board, you might get some useful comments. You might not be confident in your vocals... you may be a writer who is only going to be presenting a guide melody, not the finished singer... that is perfectly okay. It's all about the song (or at least it is if you explain at the top of your critique posts!) But it's about what you hope to get out of feedback. If you can find a way to get the melody posted, played if not sung, then there might be a real value in posting to the song and recording critique board, for both you and the reviewers. The only other suggestion I can make is to collaborate with a singer. I am sure some community members would help... if you could somehow convey your melodies to them? Skype maybe? At the end of the day I am sure you are wanting critique on your songs, but to do that you would need to present... the song. Otherwise we would all just be guessing, and that doesn't help anyone. We're a friendly bunch... honest! Good to have you aboard! John

Hi This thread is in the ideal place, Nine90. The answer to your question is not straightforward. The number of lines of lyrics is dependent on a number of musical factors relating to the melody. It doesn't hurt lyricists to learn some music theory basics. Assuming that music can always be fitted to lyrics, especially if you don't understand some music related issues. It's definitely worth the effort. It can be a great idea for lyricists to learn to play at least one instrument. You don't need to be an expert, but be able to play is definitely an advantage. A lot of starting lyricists who don't play an instrument don't understand why their lyrics aren't working. Musicians they work with ask them to make changes all the time, or the melodies they come up with to fit the songs aren't that great. What the lyricists aren't getting is that what they do, as lyricists, impacts the melody. A song is a fusion of words and music. The balance may vary depending on genre, but both melody and lyrics are important, and both depend on each other to really shine. It's not there is not beauty in each part, more that together they are more than just the parts. If a song is written lyrics first, what the lyricist produces can either make the music writer's job easy or more difficult. Very difficult. Almost impossible, if the lyricist is not prepared to make changes Verses can vary greatly in length, as can chorus lyrics or the lyrics of other song sections. As a simplistic view. typically, most common would be 4 line and 8 line song sections. An even number of lines is more common than an odd number of lines. Some genres tend to work with longer verses, for good reason. For example, country songs are often ballads, and use "ballad song form" as a standard. The basic format for a ballad is that the verses tell a story. Instead of a chorus they work with a refrain line or lines. (you can find out about ballad form, song sections etc in the Songstuff songwriting articles. Those articles should help fill in quite a few gaps, but they are likely to also raise a few more questions... so don't hesitate to ask. http://www.songstuff.com/song-writing/article For lyricists who don't play, I would recommend starting with a melody and writing words to fit it. You can start with some existing songs, though it is a better exercise if you have something where you can hear melody without the words, otherwise they mihgt influence your song too much. The point is to use it to give you a framework to work with. Something that gives you rhythm, tempo and a sense of line lengths. If you can work with original melodies, even better. Cheers John

Hi Lisa was good enough to highlight this article on the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/with-change-at-the-top-of-copyright-office-a-battle-brews-over-free-content/2016/11/07/a8c0b140-a4ea-11e6-8042-f4d111c862d1_story.html The article is about the latest danger to Copyright, where the latest casualty in the ongoing war between the creative industries and free content advocates (like Google and Microsoft) appears to be the head of the US Copyright Office. In essence, musicians, writers, actors etc getting paid is not a concern of free content advocates. It is simple. They want free content so that their service users are unrestricted in social sharing, and importantly, Microsoft and Google get to use and distribute videos, graphics, songs, without paying a cent. This is not new, but it is the latest, and very significant, exchange in the copyright administration war. The fact that streaming services pay so little for distributing content is no accident. Just look back a few years. Napster and other peer to peer content sharing sites were at war with primarily the music industry. There was an information war. A disinformation war. It went something like this: "Pirate: Music is too expensive. It only costs a band 75 cents to press a CD yet we pay $15 - $20 per CD and most of the songs suck! We think music should be free! After all, record labels make all the money from selling music! Hit back at the labels ripping artists off. Rip their music!" Of course anyone in the music biz knew this was fantasy with almost no relation to reality. The reality bit being that the cost to press a CD was between 60cents and $1, depending on how many were pressed. But that was completely misleading. It didn't cover any other costs. For example, the glass master, on body printing ( image on CD), jewel case ( or other), booklet (various pages color or black and white), bar code, shrink wrap, distribution costs, rehearsal costs, recording costs, mastering costs, promotion videos, promotion graphics (web and real world), wages for band, songwriter etc during writing process, share for manager, promoters, administration staff and offices, promotional gig costs which can be expensive, launch party etc etc etc. All of which made the cost of making music much more than the 75 being claimed to justify piracy. It didn't gain traction at first, but then something interesting happened. Most articles supporting piracy went to the top of search engine listings, meanwhile those supporting the music industry disappeared somewhere passed page 10. Curious! Accusations of collusion started, and then Google bought YouTube, and everything became much more clear. You see, if Napster was to be guilty of breach of copyright, then so was YouTube, and YouTube would face a massive bill in unpaid license fees. It may well have closed YouTube, and Google would not be happy. Connection, who knows? (lol) An agreement was reached and Napster lived to fight another day. So did YouTube. A little while later the first agreement was running out and YouTube and others had failed to reach agreement regarding license rates, with PRS, a UK based PRO. So YouTube effectively shut off all video content that contained copyright material to the UK. At the same time, curiously, articles supporting PRS and Bands bombed out the of the rsearch results and pro free content articles fill the top fifty search results. Not that I would suggest that Google fixed the search engine results in order to win an information/disinformation war and heavily influence public opinion. It just happens that public opinion was what won the war. I could go on, but I think that is plenty background information, to help put the latest events within a realistic context. What do you think? Are things about to get much worse for people in the creative inductries? Cheers John PS thanks Lisa!

Hi and a big welcome to Songstuff FAD! Any questions, please just ask! You might find this topic useful:

Hi David It's good to meet you. Welcome to Songstuff! I look forward to reading your lyrics, and hopefully hearing them as finished songs too. Songstuff is a fairly broad church of writers and music creators. We might differ in approaches or the detail of what we do, but we are all united in the passion we hold for creativity, and the buzz of creating something new. I love to encounter different approaches, to challenge my own thinking and that of others with constructive discussion. I look forward to discussing different perspectives with you. Different opinions are healthy and discussing them is natural. Exchanging knowledge and understanding is, at once, both enlightening and enriching. I, for one, offer my perspective in friendship, and I know the majority of members do too. Our community are a good bunch, and there is a lot of talent amongst our members. I hope you love being a part of it! Cheers John

Read Our Rough Guide To Our Community Welcome to the Songstuff Songwriting and Music Community!It's good to have you aboard. You've made a great choice in joining our community! We hope you both enjoy your time here, and that you get some real benefit from being a member here. To help you make the most of Songstuff, we have put together this brief introduction to help you. Being new, anywhere, can feel a little awkward. However, it is worth remembering we were all new once, and we all have an interest in making great music in common. Getting to know people makes a huge difference to what you get out of a community. So dive in. We don't bite. So what is Songstuff?Songstuff is a free music resource covering creative, technical and business topics involved in the music industry, and a number of related topics. Use the menu at the top of the page to investigate the site further. Introduce YourselfThe best way to get to know board members quickly, and for them to know you. Things to think about including your music experience so far, what your musical interests are, what you hope to get out of, or put into, the Songstuff forum. Even if you do not explain much about yourself, taking a little time to say "hi" and let people know that you are here is appreciated by members. So, please drop by the Introduce Yourself board and make your first post!Tell us about yourself, what you hope to get out of Songstuff, what you hope to contribute to the community and (importantly for our site promotion efforts) how you found the site! The best way to get started is to make some friends on the boards. Reach out to a mix of members. While it is great to get to know long term members, getting to know other recent members is also very useful. For a start they are new here, don't know anyone, and are looking to connect too. Welcome them to the site, find out a bit about them. A little conversation goes a long way! Visit member profiles, leave comments. While we are on that topic, remember to fill out your own member profile via account settings (from the drop down menu in the top right corner when you click on the down arrow next to your user name). For ease here is a quick link: http://forums.songstuff.com/settings/ Signature and Your “About Me” Page Filling in your profile is very important. Members getting to know each other builds connections, and it starts with you board profile. There you will find your signature and your "About Me" page. You can edit your signature after you have made a few posts. I really recommend filling out your "About Me" page. You can add images, links, embed sound cloud songs using just the song link, embed YouTube videos using just the video link... it's a great place to tell members about you and your music. Right Board For Your Topic Use the musician's lounge for general chat, and try to use the right board for new topics and stay on topic when replying to specific topics. That doesn't mean you cannot wander a bit, more that if the topic is singing lessons, don't make your reply all about buying motorcycles! Keep it related as much as possible. This really helps with finding information. Have fun, improve your knowledge and skills, and make great music, and great connections. Any questions, please ask a member of staff. We're a friendly bunch. Subscribe, Add Friend, Become A Fan Got a page on Facebook? Myspace? YouTube? Twitter? Become a Fan of Songstuff on Facebook Add Songstuff as a Friend on Myspace Subscribe to the Songstuff Channel on YouTube Follow Songstuff on Twitter Board Guidelines Before posting, please read the Board Guidelines. These explain the code of conduct expected of board members, including some examples of content that is allowed and content that is not allowed in posts or attachements. Initial Limitations Due to spamming we have been forced to introduce some limitations on your account until you reach 10 posts. This includes limited uploads, and no access to the PM system. Once you pass 10 posts you will be ablse to take full advantage of board features. Moderators Moderators are volunteers who help to keep the boards tidy and spam free amongst other things). Moderators can also give advice on board features and how they can be used. If you have an issue with the behaviour of another member, or you wish to report a post, please contact one of our moderators. Account Settings and Your Profile Most of your personal set up is in the Account Settings. You can access this panel by Selecting "Account Settings" from the menu at the top right hand side of the boards. From here you can set up your About Me page, signature, and notification settings. Critique Boards The critique boards are maintained by the good will of all those who take part in these boards. They rely upon members reviewing each others work. While members are not all expected to be of the same technical experience level, there are many areas without technicality that even new writers can help their fellow writers with, even if it is general impression or the way a lyric made you feel. When you post your work to the review boards for review please take the time to review others work to a good standard. If you post work, but few reviews, or your reviews are short and trivial, don't be suprised if this is the response your work receives. While songs about topics such as religion or politics can be posted, please keep comments about the song. I.e., do not use such review topics to pass comment on differences in religious or political views. Please support our critique boards by keeping them active, by reading and commenting on submitted pieces, even when you do not have work up for review! Blogs You can set up and configure your blog on the Blogs home page. Gallery You can set up and configure your gallery on the a Gallery Home Page. This includes album management. The Musician's Lounge The musician's Lounge is a general interest chat board. Topics in this board are pruned intermittently. While most subjects are discussed, remember to treat other members with respect and in accordance with the board guidelines. Private Messaging (PM) System The PM system allows you to send messages to individual members. To reduce problems with abuse of this system your PM system will not be available until you have some board posts under your belt. The board guidelines apply to the PM system as well as the boards themselves. Invite Others One of the main ways you can help to support our community, is to invite people to join. If you know someone passionate about music, please consider inviting them to join! This is not simply a numbers game, we need new members who will take part in the spirit of our community, and respect it's rules. Inviting others is a great opportunity to help make this community even better. Owners Of Other Sites / Employees / Site Promoters Please contact a site admin BEFORE posting any links, promotion items, or promotion content on Songstuff. This includes adding links, promotion text, and non active urls to your About Me page, Signature, or anywhere within your profile. Our Site Admin will provide guidance on permissable use of links and promotion content and advise on any possibilities that are open to you at that time. Cheers John PS it is needing brought up to date, but you might also find our "Getting Started" guide of some use: Getting_Started_Songstuff_2011.pdf

Hi Jordan, Welcome to Songstuff! Good to have you aboard. The best way to get started is to make some friends on the boards. Reach out to a mix of members. While it is great to get to know long term members, getting to know other recent members is also very useful. For a start they are new here, don't know anyone, and are looking to connect too. Welcome them to the site, find out a bit about them. A little conversation goes a long way! Visit member profiles, leave comments. While we are on that topic, remember to fill out your own member profile via account settings (from the drop down menu in the top right corner when you click on the down arrow next to your user name). For ease here is a quick link: http://forums.songstuff.com/settings/ There you will find your signature and your "About Me" page. You can edit your signature after you have made a few posts. I really recommend filling out your "About Me" page. You can add images, links, embed sound cloud songs using just the song link, embed YouTube videos using just the video link... it's a great place to tell members about you and your music. Please support our critique boards by keeping them active by reading and commenting on submitted pieces. Use the musician's lounge for general chat, and try to use the right board for new topics and stay on topic when replying to specific topics. That doesn't mean you cannot wander a bit, more that if the topic is singing lessons, don't make your reply all about buying motorcycles! Keep it related as much as possible. This really helps with finding information. Have fun, improve your knowledge and skills, and make great music, and great connections. Any questions, please ask a member of staff. We're a friendly bunch. Cheers John

Rudi, Stop fretting. You can relax. There is a mathematical formula you should use: If Y = Ideal number of guitars and X = Current number of guitars Then: Y = X + 1 There now. All better You can make your purchase guilt free.

Hi and welcome to Songstuff Tommyfizz!

Welcome to Songstuff Lee!

Hey hey, welcome to Songstuff!

Hey It depends how seriously you approach your music, what your goals are. To put all your eggs in any one basket is a pretty large risk which ever goals you have, but the Impact should the worst happen, if for example you planned on having a career in music, or took your music seriously as a planned semi-pro, is pretty catastrophic. I recommend multiple OMDs no matter. After all, why restrict yourself to just one? You are just getting your music out there. That said, if you are remotely serious about your music, I would recommend having one site as your core, central site.... the site that all roads lead to. I.e. Have the other sites too, as promo sites. Which one to have as your core site? None of them. Build a site. Capm.com. Preferrably, don't host it with any of those sites. If you have never built a site that will sound pretty daunting, but it all comes back to risk. What is this risk? Why go to all that trouble? mp3.com Once upon a time MP3.com was thee site for indie music. If you were involved in indie music you your music pages there. Bands spent hundreds of hours promoting their pages, networking on and around the site, building links on other sites pointing to their MP3.com pages, and then... MP3.com was sold, and the new owner wanted to switch to mainstream music. With almost no warning, they closed the indie artist pages overnight, and that was it. All that effort, wasted. Hundreds of links out there to band pages that no longer existed. You run the same risk when sites close. If you have your own site, you can control everything. Yes, your host can still go bust, but hoisting other sites is core to their business. They also have mechanisms to allow you to transfer your domain, capm.com, away to another host... and in a way that doesn't leave hundreds of broken links out there. So, if you absolutely must, go with an OMD that allows you to host your own domain. Just know that their level of business is much lower than a host that will host any site, and size is definitely a factor in how long sites last. Unless the site owner is bloody minded, like a certain Songstuff.com owner I could mention. i would say more, but I have to go just now. Cheers John

lol nice to meet you hotpants... welcome to Songstuff

How did you get started writing lyrics? I used to write poems when I was younger but I was always so active that it was on the back burner. I had got sick a few years back so I could not be as active as I wanted, I saw a song contest online and changed some poems into a song format. I started doing that as a hobby and liked it. I have been writing since 2014. I Bought books by Pat Pattinson and Due White and taught my self song formats. Do you play any instruments or sing? I can't carry a tune and play no instruments. My only instrument is my Ball point pen or pencil. Do you like to collaborate with other writers? Yes all of my complete songs are colaborations because I only do lyrics. I have met collaboration partners on song stuff, NSAI, sound cloud and at a songwriters group at my church. if you were to describe yourself as a writer, what would you say? I like to write stories and songs that capture real emotions. I write in country, Christian, Gospel as well s pop and rock genres. I still learning formats, but copy exsisting formats to help to learn what works. Working with other musicians has helped me learn too. What kind of lyrics do you write? Country, story type songs, Christian, Gospel or several types. Why do you write? What do you hope to achieve? I write with the hopes of one day an artist picking up one of my songs and having it be played on the radio. I do have one song that an artist wants to pick up, it is currently on hold until his 2017 album comes out. it is always fun to see a lyric come to life. What interests you when you write? Life stories, conversations, things we go through and sometimes silly things. if you could write a song for an artist, who would it be and why? Carrie underwood, because I like her story type songs and she is a great singer. What are your goals as a songwriter? To make songs that are commercial but can help somebody along the way. Do you have a favorite song? Many favorites The Dance by Garth brooks is my favorite ballad type. I tend to love the songs from when I was in high school the most. There are lots of songs I love. Of your own songs, do you have a favorite? Hand Up and Dancing on a memory, although Love May come late is the one that got picked up. Do you have a favorite situation or location when you write? At night on my porch, or at church they have music rooms with pianos and instruments, my cowriter meets me there sometimes. Has being a member of Songstuff been beneficial to you? Yes it has. I enjoy getting feedback from other artist and it has helped me learn song formats quicker. I have colabarated with a few members and that has been lots of fun.Song stuff has some talented artist from many different places and have learned from many of them. Why do you take part in lyrics challenges on Songstuff? I sometimes struggle with what to write about, that helps me to focus on one topic and helps me to grow. I like the challenges because they help me to write about things I may not have thought about on my own. If you were to offer any advice to your fellow songwriters, what would it be? Try to write something every day, even if it is just one line, if you get out of the habit of writing, it is hard to be creative. If someone really likes your work, what is the best way for them to keep up with your latest writings? Sound cloud, Broadjam, Reverb and for lyrics here. I am working on building a website soon. View full interview

As a child I would stand in church and happily sing the words of that well known hymn: Bringing in the cheese bringing in the cheese We shall come rejoicing bringing in the cheese As a fan of cheese, this made complete sense to me lol

Hey Do talent shows have any virtues? Are they an essential route to fame in the 21st century? If you don't think current talent shows have any credibility, is there anything that you think they could be doing that would be credible? If you were to design a format for a credible talent show, what format would it take? Or perhaps you think there is no need to be credible in the modern music industry? Cheers John

Hey Fredrik... good to see you back being active... it makes a world of difference to your experience here. We have a great regular community.

Hey Jack, good to meet you Welcome to Songstuff

Hi and welcome to Songstuff Nexilius!

That would be my guess Tom. I just couldn't resist lol

Maybe he's thinking of beatin' the cream? Lol

Hey gang The title says it all.... what is good music? Is it a purely personal thing? Is it subjective and that is it? Are there universal musical truths? Cheers John