chased

Lol, I did that first time too. But only downloaded a few at the time so that was lucky. Use the file size function in Google Images and go for 1M plus as well as getting the picture not the thumbnail and you'll be safe. And always be respectful of copyright, my friend.

Maaaate, don't get too sensitive! Those songs were mostly hits here in Oz when we hardly had a music industry, and the terms 'on a roll' and 'makin tracks' sound pretty Aussie to me. Y'all have to remember its Winter down here, and in Brisbane where Kel and I live we only get about 6-8 weeks of cold weather per year so Summer has a different vibe for us! The cold messes with our heads. But it's obviously good for Kel's muse and his two songs and the others here are excellent. I couldn't get inspired to take on this challenge but looking forward to the next one. Enjoy your Summer, upside-downers!

Its funny, I've just started buying records again after a long hiatus and of course really enjoying the covers, but I feel a bit cheated when the innards are so thin. There was a time when you would get lyrics (almost always), photos, bios, even sometimes a cutout thing to build something out of. And that wasn't too long ago, I probably stopped buying records weekly in the early 90s. Although just the other day I open up a new release and out pops - a card-sized bit of paper with a download code to get a digital version of the album. I really liked this, and hope the record companies/distributors can take this further so the code links to more info about the band etc. Sure, I can google them, but its just nice to see that extra effort made for the humble home buyer. So, a renaissance in cover art and etc. is nigh, I say, let's teach this mp3 generation of the glory of musical by-products !

Tom, sorry this is off-topic but well done to you and the other moderators this week, putting yourself out there to stand up for this whole community isn't easy and you did a great job

I got a few, SM57 & 58, AKG 170 pencil mic for guitar, and a no-name Condensor that's pretty awful. Currently have an AKG C3000 just visiting from a mate's rig. Mmmmm, love a bit of mic envy.

Hey guys thanks again for the advice here. I've made my first video for my song Intelligent Design Flaw. It's over in the Members Section of Songwriting Critique and I'd love your feedback. Ended up using iMovie which was pretty usable but fiddlier than I hoped. Got my workflow sorted for next time though. Cheers

Nice blog post Randy. Read your other one too. I'm similar to you in many ways. I think starting a blog is a great way to muse, mull over, think-while-typing. I don't have anything profound to add, just encouragement and best wishes for those goals. You have a right to them!!!

How ironic. Lennon and the other Beatles suffered from poor publishing decisions for many years, theirs is one of the most famous copyright cases in history. Do your research before you spout, dude. Also, I'm pretty sure 'Can't Buy Me Love' is a McCartney write and the prefix Money is from the aphorism 'Money can't buy you love' which doesn't appear in any Beatles/Lennon song. Seize the day, carpedm, and check out the many intelligent discussions on Songstuff about this important issue.

Woah, nothing like a good ol' controversy. I too practiced more when I was younger: practice meaning repeating scales, arpeggios, new chords and such for hours and hours. I had nothing better to do. I wish, though, that I had learned some more rudimentary skills properly - I'm probably of the earlier spoilt generation Mike mentioned - so I would jump ahead whenever possible, when I ALMOST had it. HoboSage/Wes were right about the Blues!! Playing for fun and playing with others soon took over and now I only consciously practice a new instrument like John says. Or if I want to teach myself something new in my instrument, like I did with 'latin feel' guitar lately. It all goes towards serving the current song or song cycle I'm writing. However, I feel strongly that a practice regimen is the key to better playing, writing and understanding of music and here's why. UNLESS you're a prodigy, a lot of what we come up with seems really cool at the time but it almost always forms part of some already-held musical theory, drill or body of knowledge, like Layne said. Not being unkind here, but few of us are truly original, and that's OK. But it's no point believing you're really talented or unique if the body of knowledge is already there! Why not just immerse yourself in the thousand years of combined musical cultures already at your fingertips? It means that when just mucking around, creating, jamming, whatever there will be so much more to draw on than if you stayed 'individual' like Mike points out. I have written songs for 30 or so years but I would be all the better, even professional perhaps if I had kept up a practice regimen, learnt more when I had the time, worked out where my meanderings fit into the great and wonderful world of music theory and nailed them, then. No regrets, but I do take practice more seriously now. If I have to play live or for a recording I get it perfect first before I play or sing a note. Works for me. Good thread.

Great thread, Kel, I count myself among you all here as a singer to whom singing didn't come naturally. And I concur with the great comments and advice from Rudi and Hobo and Dave. I have had some nice compliments from members here and one or two friends but essentially hardly anyone has heard me sing and said they loved my voice. Its that natural thing we're talking about here, what you're born with? but also what you do with what you have. I had considered the 'that's just my voice' approach for many years as good enough until I took lessons for a year, working on faux-Opera songs I was singing in a community musical. I learnt some stuff that stayed with me, but that was over ten years ago. I now find myself drawing on it more and more as I have tried to improve of late. These are the things I try to remember to do, Kel, that help me and may help you with your question about control: I warm up my voice by humming or sing scales but don't strain my voice sometimes I sit but with my chest raised, usually I stand, strongly I make like a funnel or pipe in my throat, it feels like a wide open space for breath, by making my tongue loose the way you say Aaah at the Doctor's then breathe freely so I can take enough breath for every line or phrase, each one is different I peel back my lips to look like I'm smiling I sing from the back of my throat just above the back of my tongue and move up and down in pitch by moving this 'source' of the sound 'up' to my head or 'down' to my throat I 'feel' the song a la HoboSage if recording, I do a whole take as a further warm up I concentrate on pitch a la Dave I try to use my voice in different ways a la Rudi, then choose the way or ways I like best, whether it be sweet or raspy or deep by the end of the take I'm either in control or I need to do one or more of the above again I press Record --- I can't tell you what happens next, that bit is always a mystery but if I've done all the former it usually comes out all the better. I'm sure this is all covered in books and online too but this is how I have created my 'style', along with my natural physiognomy, my influences, and the demands of the song. Hope you can use some of it.

You just started one, four-stringed brother!

Y'know, as I'm not doing this to make a million, I think I'll take the same route as I have with private health insurance and staying away from bad women...just ignore the advice and hope for the best! But thanks for the info, guys.

Lol this is classic, I was in Berlin 20 years ago and it was exactly the same! I can see why you'd have trouble finding classic rock there. But aren't there lots and lots and lots of clubs? Surely every style of music is covered somewhere! I live in Brisbane, Australia and we have the reverse problem dude. Luckily I have the Internet and Songstuff and my own collection to make it all go away. Best of luck with your search!

Anyone know if it's the same for Down Under? Thought the idea of putting © at the bottom of the work with your name was enough? Or maybe just for the Kangaroo Courts we have down here... Sorry David, at work and too lazy/busy to google it

Excellent examples mate, I am getting a sense of what's possible. It's hard to believe something that is free can look so convincing. The video of Christmas is priceless. How old are those kids now?

Thanks heaps for the hint mate, I did get that program - I have Windows 8 and had to download it separately with a bunch of other useless Microsoft clutter. But the Movie Maker looks good. The way you describe it, I could probably do the same with iMovie on the Mac. I just thought there was maybe some even simpler product people were using but I guess it doesn't get much simpler than those two! Cheers, Stephen

This is a real noob question, and I hate that word so I am really showing my noobness by using it. How do folks here make those YouTube videos that accompany their song? Some are really simple, like just one image for the whole song but its better than watching the orange line move in Soundcloud! I'm sure I can find this out somewhere, sorry HoboSage, I haven't googled this 'cause I'm really just wondering how Songstuffers do it.

I'm not sure if this is true. I haven't found anything like the amount of onboard synth settings, for example, in GBand as there are in Logic Pro 9. But there definitely are heaps of settings, and two things that ONLY the iPad and iPhone version of GBand has is the touch-sensitive options in the Smart Drums, Keys, Bass, Guitars and Strings and the loops that go with them. You can make the strings really sound like they are vibrating across notes, and the loops are a bit naff but great for getting a vibe happening. Only negatives are the lame EQ control and lack of automation on the i-things. Interface is also not quite sensitive enough in arrangement view. BUT I really recommend you purchase this - don't expect to eat, sleep or work for a week! Not probably appropriate for pro recordings (although you can import to Logic as others said) but excellent for experimentation and putting down ideas super-fast.

Hiya DanteLarka, and welcome. As this is a self-regulating community, we do like members to have a read of the site "rules" which are really more instructions for efficient use of the site. So, you would usually post an introduction first, then if you want to post a song and want some ideas, give some critique to two other songs so it's all shared. We are a very sharing lot! And even though you haven't put this in the Critique section I am reminded of a comment Songstuff founder John Moxey made to me in a PM: Critique is a vital tool for improving songs, but a basic, good draft should really be in place before critique, otherwise the songwriter can get lazy about using their own creativity. As to this, it is in very very draft form so it's hard to give advice. It could go one of a hundred ways. At the moment you have some nice playing and maybe a verse and a chorus but it has a ways to go before I can say anything interesting. I suggest you sit with this bit, now you have it recorded you can start humming a random tune over the top, then add a few words, and before you know it you'll have half a song. There are loads of articles out there about how to do this but also mountains of stuff here. I look forward to seeing how this develops.

Yeah it's different with the two. I have a bass, banjo, uke, and mando too and they are all so different. I do reckon for sure they stay nice-sounding when kept in a case but some folks don't like that. I find I buy a new set whenever doing a 'serious' recording project, so I voted for "Every 3 to 4 months".

Cheers Kel. As I said, really enjoying the Murphy vibe. Thanks for checking my website, I'll admit it's pretty lonely out there in www-land. Now how about reviewing my two songs on here for me, would appreciate your structural analysis and I'm finding it a bit hard to get them noticed. Probably need a cuter profile photo...

Thanks Kel, happy to come along for the ride, even though I suspect the driver has had a few... Had to vote for topic 4 just because of the crazy syntax. Are you a genius or maniac? The line is often blurred. Syllabilically yours, Stephen

Kel mate, what sort of larrikin craziness can we expect?? Am holding my breath as I click the link...

Lol Kel, that was a politician's moment, it all came out wrong! What I meant was that I don't normally write country music, and he does, but his Laws relate to all genres of music. Ironically, I am becoming more interested in country as I get older, and liking it more and more. Can't say I'd be any good at writing in that style but willing to learn. Good pickup.

Hi Kel, thanks for letting us in Aussie know about this. I have been madly reading Murphy's Laws of Songwriting since seeing this post and REALLY liking what I'm reading. Not sure if I'm ready for a public critique session but even as a country writer he clearly had lots to offer all songwriters so still considering attending. Could always sit on my little ditties and just listen, I guess. But cheers mate and thanks for the tip.