[Pen And Paper, Or Going Digital?]

I'm surprised at how few people prefer computers over pen and paper.

I too prefer using a pencil and paper. This is because I am easily distracted and my computer is full of distractions, and I hate reading something from a computer screen (which sucks as a computer science major...). I do like to use software like Guitar pro, just to capture a riff before I lose it, and Microsoft Word for spelling and sometimes grammar within the lyrics.

~Daniel~

[What Do You Do With Your Songs?]

I do nothing after I write them. I have tried recording, but I always have trouble with timing and adding multiple instruments (I'm a one man band, so I (try to) do everything). I also cannot sing, so even if I get all the instruments "down", that's as far as it would get.

Maybe if I get some instruments recorded, I could get Mr. Bieber's contact information from Tom and I could have Justin sing them for me...

~Daniel~

[Youtube And Facebook Promotion Tips?]

I am in no way an expert... Remember that if something sounds like complete nonsense, because it likely is.

As someone who frequently uses facebook, I really hate it when people and groups post tons of stuff and it clutters my "wall" ("homepage" or whatever you want to call it). As soon as I see another post from that person or group, I usually grumble, utter a few profanities, then pass it over. The next thing that bothers me is the sheer lack of creativity in some posts. Don't just post a link, make something a little flashy (but not too much so) that demands (positive) attention.

I guess what I am saying is that you need to be aggressive, but don't come across as a spammer (for lack of a better word).

If we move back a little bit, we can look at the product (the music and the video). Like you said, you need to make high quality music, and a high quality video. You must also take into consideration how interesting it is (what is the point of catching someone's attention with an advertisement if the product can't hold the audience).

Again, I am no expert, so hopefully someone with more experience can drop in and give some better insight.

Oh, almost forgot to mention, I checked out your soundcloud page and really enjoyed what you have up there. Looking forward to the EP.

~Daniel~

[How Do I Get My Voice Back?]

1) Is there a risk I have damaged my voice permanently?

I myself, am not a doctor, so I cannot say. If you suffer from acid reflux, chances are that something has been irritated, any cold medicine may have also had an effect. As to whether or not it is permanent, I will not say as I just don't know.

2) What can I do to help things get better?

The best thing would be to wait until the doctor tells you what is happening, meaning don't sing or use your voice aggressively (not using it at all would be extreme, but could go a long way). If there is something permanent, there may be therapies, furthering the damages will only hinder your progress. Also, honey is supposedly good for sore throats, and it tastes good too. This site has some tips for lubrication of your throat, I don't know if it's credible or not, but you can take a look and see what you think:

http://isabellasnow.hubpages.com/hub/Tips-For-Singers-and-Public-Speakers-Throat-Lubrication-

3) Should I take some lessons?

Again, a diagnosis from a medical professional will provide the definitive answer. If it's just aggravated acid reflux or something that is remaining from the cold (which can happen), the best solution would be laying off the voice, just let it recuperate. If it is something permanent, there may be therapies to lessen the burden, but it all depends on the what and the severity.

I wish you all the best,

Daniel

[The Lyricist's Challenge]

I think it's a great idea. The only suggestion I would make would have been wait awhile and get a know for the people here and let them get to know you better (participating more frequently in the boards and shoutbox would be a good start). Such a reputation would likely attract more people to this challenge.

About the rules, how do you plan on finding the "best lyrical piece"? Just wondering.

Best of luck with this competition.

[Favorite Bass Solo?]

I love the bass solo in "Maxwell Murder" by Rancid. I love it even more when they do live shows and Matt Freeman goes insane with it. I have no reason's why I enjoy it so much, I just do

[How Do You Identify Song Genre?]

had me a beer

I lol'd a little bit.

To me, genre is defined by the music. Let's use religious again. It really isn't it's own genre, it creates sub-categories in other genres (christian rock for example which has a rock sound to it) because people don't want it played on mainstream pop/ rock stations because they (mainstream pop-tards) hate god.

If we look back at country, we can use Taylor Swift as an example of how lyrics mean nothing (as to genre). She has songs on country and pop radio. How surprised was I to hear "Love Story" on the local rock/ pop station. What was the differnce? The music, it had more of a synthetic sound to it as opposed to the country version which sounds more like real instrumentation.

Now I wanna make my own examples:

My all time favorite band, Green Day. Are they punk or not? For the most part, their (Insomniac era) music can be described as stripped down. It was considered punk. 21st Century breakdown is more, well, sophisticated (for lack of a better term) and is therefore considered to be pop-punk. Punk is considered to have stripped down instrumentation and political themed lyrics. Insomniac isn't really political, where 21st Century Breakdown was. What does this say? Meu-zac auw duh wae beh-beh *cringes*

Saying that lyrics hold no merit towards genre is extreme, and I'll try and correct myself with this thought. Lyrics can have a certain feel when presented on their own. "Fall To Pieces" by Avril Lavigne, for example. These lyrics, to me, could be taken the pop route which she took or it could be a country like song similar to something Taylor Swift may do.

This is just my opinion which I myself don't take seriously.

[Lyricists That Inspire You]

She supposedly does some lyrical work, so I'd have to say Mette Lindberg from The Asteroids Galaxy Tour. Why do I love her? She has an amazing voice, she's beautiful, funny and intelligent. 'Nuff said.

Oh, you mean lyrically? Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day. I like to think back to their first two albums. Songs like "Going To Pasalacqua", a song about overcoming obstacles in a relationship ("Pasalacqua" was supposedly a funeral home in the area that the members of the band grew up in, so could the aforementioned obstacle be death?). "80", the line "80 please keep taking me away" in a song about young love (80 is taken to mean an 80 ounce alcoholic beverage by the general population. Billie Joe's wife's name is Adrianne. The name Billie Joe sometimes calls her by? "Adie". Draw a connection?). After Billie Joe and his (now) wife shared their first kiss, Billie Joe went home and wrote the song "2000 Lightyears Away" about how he felt afterwards. From the chorus: "She holds my malachite so tight so never let go" (Malachite is a green copper carbonate mineral. Billies Joe's eyes? Green). These corny little things make me love each song so much more every time I hear the songs.

[whos your favorite singer and WHY!!??]

Mette Lindberg

'Nuff said.

Okay, why do I say she's my favorite singer/ songwriter? She's got a captivating voice (drives me up the wall with lust), her lyrics (co-lyricist really, does she still count?) are amazing, she is beautiful, she's not one of those morons you see on late night TV who is completely ignorant to others in their own part of the world as well as other. Did I mention she's beautiful.

[sigh] [/sigh]

[Do You Focus On One Genre? I Find It Hard]

Hopefully, some of the pros will chime in here & get you a mix of perspectives.

Sorry, but it's just me. lol

To the question at hand, I would have to say that I write in phases. I started out writing love songs for my friend's sister. Then, once I realized that I could (lyricly speaking) write and entire album in two months (the longest summer break of my life up to that point), I decided I wanted to try and broaden my spectrum (pardon me ladies). Seeing as I was on a "21st Century Breakdown" craze, it only made sense to make a pop/punk opera (it failed by the way). Then I started getting into acoustic songs, and one cool winter night, the dog was barking at something and I went out to take a look (damn foxes), and as I was heading back into the house, I happened to glance up and notice the beauty of the little dots on the Earth's ceiling. I ran inside and wrote a song called "Starry Nights". So now I'm on an Indie acoustic kick right now.

Does the idea of different sounds on an album pose a problem... So long as you have them aimed at a specific genre, it shouldn't be an issue, but putting a metal song as track two with a country at number one and pop on the other end in third, you may get some people who complain.

At the same time, you don't want everything to sound too similar, or else people will likely get board, so switching it up a bit isn't a bad idea.

I guess it really comes down to how you release it, if you start your own web site all by your lonesome and let people download (free or at a cost is up to you) your tunes from there, you'll be fine (so long as you advertise properly). If you're on a label, then your producer and someone from the label will likely be there to say what to use and what to hold.

I'm anything but a pro, I like Tom write as a hobby, so my input is merely a shot in the dark (pardon the cliche).

In the end, I too hope that someone who knows what he/ she is talking about comes along and gives you some help, and I wish you well in creating your album.

[Writing Your Band Bio]

Not to seem picky, but I found this a bit interesting:

4. Highlights and Achievements

You definitely want to list your successes. You may hev had your music played on the radio,

Okay, I always (try to) spell have as h.a.v.e. but hev works, unless:

No Typos

If you think that a typo or two would not count against you, think again. A simple rule: NO TYPOS

Okay, it's not a big deal, I actually thought it was a bit funny, but I'm weeerd like dat.

To the point, I have no band [unless me playing guitar, bass (at seperate times) and adding fake drums count as a band]. However, for the sake of the usefulness (humility really) of this post, I will make one up.

[bio]

"Uncle Fred's Freedom Fighter Fighter's Of Yesteryear" was formed by Uncle fred and his sister, Aunt Betty in the backwoods of New Orleans in a small church while making their third child, Billy Bubba (they were in the back pews unnoticed by the choir when they started beltin' out some uh dem back home lovin' hymns when Uncle Fred started singin' along along and Aunt Betty started playing the drums on and the next thing they knew, they's was livin' the high life in "The Big Apple"... which Uncle Fred hollowed out his self).

The pair got started writin tunes when they heard that lovely tune by that singer guy, uh, whatsisface, and ain't lookd back since.

The band was the first ever band to be inducted into the Harwood county jail/ hall of fame for moonshinin', pochin' and with yer cousinin (all in one day!!!).

From the "Homewrecker Gossip Magazeene":

Fred, Betty, Robkin and Fredbert was all 'rested Saterdae when Fred askedthedentistly drove hims old F150 intuh the county mourge with a box full at the old family recipe. A warent then led the poleece to the family ranh where Robkin and her cuzin Fredbert were, well, we ain't allowed to write no dirty stories, so wes can't talks aboot what Robkin and Fredbert was done caught doin'.

[/bio]

In all seriousness though, the article (blog post) was extremely informative and could really benifit bands looking to some self-promotion.

The only thing I would like to point out (that isn't completely asinine) is the bit about personal notes, the "Ricky played violin since..." bit. Adding it into the band bio is a bad idea, but I enjoy going to band websites and reading about the band memebers themselves as well as the band as a whole. It gives a bit more of a personl connection that allows (me at least) to get a deeper understanding of their music. That's just me though and it's not really relevant.

Overall, great job and a very great read.

[Help Me To Write A Rap For My Song]

Hi Aryan, welcome to SongStuff. If you are serious about getting help writing a part for a song, here are several things you should do:

Pop in at the "Introduce Yourself" board and say hello to the community. There is actually a topic (I think) explaining some of the things you should talk about in your introductory post, so you might want to check it out first, and then make your own topic about you.

Fill out your profile a bit. It is very hypocritical of me to say so seeing as mine has little to nothing. For the sake of being (somewhat) honest, I will add some details to my profile.

Go to the "Songwiting Collaborations" board (I think that's what it's called), and post there with a bit more detail as to what you're looking for. Giving an idea of what you actually have (lines leading to and coming from the section you need help with).

Go to the "Lyrics Critique" board and the other one that involves music and critique a few songs. This way you will gain some respect from the people in this community and they will be more willing to work with you.

Again, welcome to SongStuff and best of luck with your song,

- Daniel -

[What Step-By-Step Process Can Be Used To Write Interesting Lyrics?]

It varies from person to person. I'm not by any means an expert when it comes to songwriting (or anything really, but that lies beyond the point), but my ¹/₂ cents wroth of advice would be to stop looking for the perfect "process" and start writing. Just pick a method to write, and go, if it doesn't work switch it up until you find what works for you.

[The Power Of Words]

I started writing lyrics because I had a crush on a friends sister and was too affraid to tell anyone, so I told it all to a pencil who told a piece of paper and the rest isn't history.

[Songwriter Poll 2011 Part 2]

Marketing? ("...'pitched' a product on your behalf", that gave it away, I was originally thinking that it had something to do with fixing the pitch for vocals or something, but brokering was throwing me for a loop, so thank you for clearing that up)

[Songwriter Poll 2011 Part 2]

Just realized that there is a "part 2".

As of now, there are six (6) people (including me) who wish to know what a "brokering/pitching service" is. So, may I ask what a "brokering/pitching service" is?

[How Do You Guys Record?]

I'm running Windows XP (yay for old school). I use Audacity to record with a guitar, patch chord and computer mic. I am going to try and start using pedals soon, but that just complicates things (audio levels, you know, trying to get the vocals and guitar even so one isn't drowning out the other). I don't do full band stuff yet, but Guitar Pro seems (to me) to be a good idea (for rough works).

[How To Write Completely Meaningless Lyrics]

In my opinion, meaningless lyrics and good don't belong in the same sentence unless related by a negative reference. Like I said, this is just my opinion, based upon nearly nineteen (19) years of listening to country music

*

I believe some of the best writers in that direction is to be found in the countryscene.

*

Even as I moved through metal, rock, punk and pop, I have never heard a song without meaning that I remember today. Granted, there are some really weird songs out there, but they have meaning as well, and that is what I enjoy in music.

Just my five-cents.

[Convert Your Pen Tablet To Midi Instrument]

If you need it, go here:

http://www.dlldump.com/download-dll-files_new.php/dllfiles/M/MFC71.dll/7.10.3077.0/download.html

(ha, I told you where to go...), then click on the "Click Here to Download MFC71.dll" and download the dll file.

[Convert Your Pen Tablet To Midi Instrument]

So, this thread is really old, but I would like to add that in some cases, you may have to download a dll file, mfc71.dll is what I had to get. Am I allowed to post the link to the site where I got it?

[Have You Changed?]

Bump?

I wouldn't say that this site has changed my writing (I haven't been here all that long). My song writing in general has changed a lot since I started writing (the second time), I used to start with a title that seemed catchy, then wrote around that, now I start writing random lines and going from there, sometimes never finding a fitting title. My structure is similar, I still use verse, chorus kinda thing, but the feel is different, I used to have the melodies of the verses match up (melodically speaking), but now I'm finding that it's more fun just to write it, if it doesn't fit the rhyme scheme or the melody of the previous verse(s), but it fits the lyrics, use it anyway.

What songwriting means to me has changed big time, the first album that I wrote was when I was in highschool and it was about a girl who I had a huge crush on, and that's really the only reason that I started writing (again), to express how I felt about her. Now I'm trying to tell a story, something that the listener can follow and enjoy, not really expressing anything, just having fun.

[Debate About Song Structure..]

And, quite clearly, I am a jaundiced and desperately cynical old git who deserves to be beaten and then ignored,…. but at least I know how to spell ‘canon’

I laughed a little

[How Do You Find Your Inspiration?]

Damnation - I missed it - sounds like it might have been fun.

It wasn't all that bad, I just feel like it was out of line, so you didn't really miss all that much, lol.

Quad. But please don't apologise for what you believe. Just be prepared to have it argued with in a reasonable and cogent manner.

That's it though, you were arguing a valid point and I had to act childish and attempt to assert my opinion as fact. I guess that that means that I am not apologizing for believing, it's how I reacted.

I still believe in inspiration, because (to me), it's what makes me want to write, it's what get's everything rolling, the discipline will hopefully come in and make me better at it.

[How Do You Find Your Inspiration?]

Hey quad,

I must apologise to you as I jumped on the "I don't need inspiration boat". It clearly offended you and I do understand why. I meant merely to say I don't particularly rely on it at all. If you need it and use it then that is fantastic as each of us here clearly have different ways to write.

Don't worry about getting hot headed either. I get annoyed by people who are very blunt but sometimes what you don't like is often good for you.

Take care

JD

No one offended me, I just over read and assumed that I was being trampled on because I'm new here. Then I wrote a post which wasn't explicitly insultive, but I thought it was rather arogant. After looking around the site for a couple of minutes, I cooled down and realized how stupid and paranoid I was being so I removed the post and wrote something which I thought was more civilized.

I hope that I haven't offended anyone with my "I'm right, you're stupid" attitude.

As for the topic at hand, inspiration, it is indeed fantastic that we (and many others) have different writing styles, this can lead to great music that isn't confined to a narrow scope.

[How Do You Find Your Inspiration?]

That's a shame. I'd be interested in hearing or reading some of your stuff.

Well, I've posted a song (lyrics only) on the "lyrics critique" board, I'm trying to follow by the three reviews per one song posted, and I've only reviewed one so far, so it might be some time before I post another. As for hearing it, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself and make empty promises, but I am currently working on a website (coding it myself). I have no idea when it will be up and running, I still have a lot to do, I have to make all the lyrics pages, record a bunch of stuff, write and post the tabs/ chords etc.... Hopefully I'll get it going, and if I do I'll post a link.

Here's my trouble, I don't know if you experience this or not, but when I write purely out of inspiration I usually write with too many clichés, it's those damn clichés that spoil the craftsmanship of writing for me.

Usually a line just comes to me in my head and I run with it, I write it down and while writting it down another comes, so I write that one down, and the process just keeps going until I have a song. I do sometimes (okay, very often) run into cliches, but then I look at the rest of the song, if it's one giant cliche, then I leave it, otherwise I say th eprevious line over and lead into the one in question, then bam, new line.

The problem I run into with songs that I have not been insired to write, the quality is awful, mainly because I don't want to write it. That is the only reason I wrote my first song, and that is why I've written 50 songs since, something happens and I need to vent (for lack of a better word), so I break out a pencil and notebook and write a song for who or whatever pushed me.