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Lars68

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Hi friends. I just wrote and recorded a new song while away traveling. The circumstances for recording could have been better. I only have my tiny 3/4 guitar and the iPad mic at my disposal, but it will take a while before I can improve the recording quality so it will have to do for now.

 

I tried a somewhat different approach this time around. Usually I start with words and melody and then add the guitar. This time I did the opposite. So I'm curious to hear how you find the guitar playing in relation to the mood and melody,

 

The words are in my native language, Swedish, which is not that common for me. I've only done two songs in Swedish before so I thought it was about time. The song is about memories from my childhood when spending time with my grandparents in their cabin in the dark woods of the Swedish countryside, near a mysterious lake created by a meteor impact long ago.

 

https://soundcloud.com/lars1968/huset-pa-kullen-1

 

As always, excuse the pitchy singing. It is very likely a life-long struggle... [biggrin]

 

Lars

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When you record your songs are you playing and singing on the same track? I am not the greatest multi-tasking guy, and I much prefer those few times in the studio laying down the final vocal seperate from the guitar. You are inching closer and closer, keep 'em coming ! Never stop !

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When you record your songs are you playing and singing on the same track? I am not the greatest multi-tasking guy, and I much prefer those few times in the studio laying down the final vocal seperate from the guitar. You are inching closer and closer, keep 'em coming ! Never stop !

 

I always play and sing at the same time. I have tried doing two tracks. It improves my singing a bit perhaps, but I tend to do much worse with the playing for some reason. I lose the rythm of the song and it becomes more sterile, if that makes sense.

 

Thanks for listening and the words of encouragement!

 

Lars

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Nice job, I really like the guitar. I wish I knew what you are saying but I think it is a good song regardless

 

Thanks! I don't know what I'm saying either [biggrin] The song is about this old cabin in the woods in the middle of nowhere in a dark forest. In the early 1900s it used to be a school for the kids of the few poor farmers that lived in the area. My grandparents bought the cabin and I spent my summers there when younger. The song is about memories from my time there, with this mysterious deep meteor lake and dark woods close by. Nothing fancy, just memories. I might attempt a translation later.

 

Lars

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Thanks! I don't know what I'm saying either [biggrin] The song is about this old cabin in the woods in the middle of nowhere in a dark forest. In the early 1900s it used to be a school for the kids of the few poor farmers that lived in the area. My grandparents bought the cabin and I spent my summers there when younger. The song is about memories from my time there, with this mysterious deep meteor lake and dark woods close by. Nothing fancy, just memories. I might attempt a translation later.

 

Lars

 

 

Well that at least tells me what it is about, appreciate it.

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Sal, I think the last word that come to mind in connection with my minor key music is "dance" [biggrin]

 

The minor key stuff is where I want to be at the moment, and where the melodies and ideas flow the best. Can't explain it, must be a subconscious thing. As long as I'm not repeating myself too much I'm fine with it. Capo is on fourth fret this time, which was a first for me, so a slight variation there at least. Have never done anything capoed beyond second fret before. Very adventurous, being me...

 

Lars

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I always play and sing at the same time. I have tried doing two tracks. It improves my singing a bit perhaps, but I tend to do much worse with the playing for some reason. I lose the rythm of the song and it becomes more sterile, if that makes sense.

 

Thanks for listening and the words of encouragement!

 

Lars

Hey sounds are good. I couldn't help but notice in your post about loosing rhythm etc.... I've had similar experiences, playing and singing at the same time and everything goes to $it. A friend of mine (professional) suggested to play the old songs I grew up with, which would may help connection between it all. Dam, what a difference it made for me ! I kept the rhytmn simple etc....and sang. I remember ( can't spell it) Farajacha ?

Play on.

 

TOS

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Hey sounds are good. I couldn't help but notice in your post about loosing rhythm etc.... I've had similar experiences, playing and singing at the same time and everything goes to $it. A friend of mine (professional) suggested to play the old songs I grew up with, which would may help connection between it all. Dam, what a difference it made for me ! I kept the rhytmn simple etc....and sang. I remember ( can't spell it) Farajacha ?

Play on.

 

TOS

 

 

It's actually when I play without singing that I have a tendency to lose rythm a bit. I find that when playing ang singing at the same time, I seem to do ok as far as rythm. The melody of the voice guides the rythm of the guitar.

 

Lars

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It's actually when I play without singing that I have a tendency to lose rythm a bit. I find that when playing ang singing at the same time, I seem to do ok as far as rythm. The melody of the voice guides the rythm of the guitar.

 

Lars

Oh ! I gotcha. If I had to play and go back and sing on top of it, I'm dead in the water. I always play and sing at the same time. I still have to dodge a flying object every once in a while ! Play on man.

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Lars you do good things with your guitars.Your voice has a nice tone / timbre.You write pretty good chord progressions / melodies. But keep working on the " singing in tune".That's what it all revolves around as far as listeners are concerned.

I reckon you can crack it eventually.

 

Yes singing is my weak link. The guitar parts, chords, lyrics, and melodies come to me surprisingly easy. It kind of took me by surprise when I started writing my own songs about a year ago. I do realize the songs are no masterpieces, by any stretch of the imagination, but they are my own, and if someone had said to me a year and a half ago that I could write a half decent song, I would have called them nuts. This means a lot to me and gives me tremendous satisfaction. Learning to sing in tune might very well take me years and years, if I have it in me at all. Not so sure about that, but In any case, I am very glad I found songwriting as an avenue to express myself. It really makes my life fuller. While never giving up on the singing, I have to be thankful for the things I CAN do. I started singing and writing about a year ago, at the age of 47, and I plan to live a long life, so who knows...

 

Thanks for listening!

 

Lars

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As others have already pointed out, I really like a lot what you do with the guitar Lars. You have this ability to add real tasty and interesting notes to a standard progression that sets the mood of the song and makes the guitar melody distinct and memorable ... thats a great achievement, not many can do that, but you have this.

 

The singing on the other hand is very pitchy, and mostly off key, you need to fix this Lars otherwise you let all good work go down the drain. Sorting out pitch problems is absolutely something that can be done, easier than you think. And I talk from experience, suffering from the same problem.

 

My suggestion would be to really focus on this area, and stop writing songs until you sort this out, as its fundamental, it just has to be there. Strongly suggest to simply learn to sing some songs you know by other artists and do it until you are on pitch and know where the notes are. Once you have done this come back to your material and let it shine, because it really deserves it and has great potential.

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Hey Lars,

 

A lot of great advice. I'm a pretty easy-to-please listener, so I'm not the best person to give you advice.

 

I will say: guitar playing was very pretty (I'm sure you're excited to play this on one of your proper guitars); I enjoyed you singing in Swedish...changed it up a bit; while I noticed some off-key moments, there were parts of the vocal that I enjoyed very much. Overall, I enjoy hearing you sing.

 

I hear what EA is saying, but I would suggest that you can write songs and work on your singing simultaneously. They're not mutually exclusive goals. Something tells me you feel like you have to keep writing songs and that's a very good thing.

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As others have already pointed out, I really like a lot what you do with the guitar Lars. You have this ability to add real tasty and interesting notes to a standard progression that sets the mood of the song and makes the guitar melody distinct and memorable ... thats a great achievement, not many can do that, but you have this.

 

The singing on the other hand is very pitchy, and mostly off key, you need to fix this Lars otherwise you let all good work go down the drain. Sorting out pitch problems is absolutely something that can be done, easier than you think. And I talk from experience, suffering from the same problem.

 

My suggestion would be to really focus on this area, and stop writing songs until you sort this out, as its fundamental, it just has to be there. Strongly suggest to simply learn to sing some songs you know by other artists and do it until you are on pitch and know where the notes are. Once you have done this come back to your material and let it shine, because it really deserves it and has great potential.

 

EA, everything you say about focusing on singing makes perfect sense. I have given this avenue some serious thought previously. However, the catch for me is motivation and joy. I was so close to giving up on guitar about two years ago. I found that my playing was not going anywhere. I was completely stuck, and I had lost all motivation. It took me years and years just to learn what a talented beginner will pick up in a year or two. All cover songs I tried to play and sing sounded like total crap. Absolutely horrendous, and that is an understatement! However, once I found songwriting the joy came back, and I realized that I could make use of the very fundamental guitar skills I had and be able to come up with some stuff that kind of surprised me. When I listened and looked for notes on the fretboard, and just played what sounded good to me, I found that I had more guitar playing in me, than was the case when I tried to be Neil Young [biggrin] So now with the songwriting I have more motivation and fun than ever before. The singing lets me down big time, I am fully aware of this. I do practice singing, but not enough. I am worried that if I give up on what motivates me, to focus more on the singing, that I will lose the joy of the writing and playing.

 

Between working full time, raising two boys, and remodeling a house, there is very little time left for guitar/singing. I need to find away to keep up my motivational level with the writing, while still being able to find more quality time for practicing singing. I have yet to find a way to do this. EA, and others reading this, if you ever were in a similar situation, how did you tackle it?

 

Lars.

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Hey Lars,

 

A lot of great advice. I'm a pretty easy-to-please listener, so I'm not the best person to give you advice.

 

I will say: guitar playing was very pretty (I'm sure you're excited to play this on one of your proper guitars); I enjoyed you singing in Swedish...changed it up a bit; while I noticed some off-key moments, there were parts of the vocal that I enjoyed very much. Overall, I enjoy hearing you sing.

 

I hear what EA is saying, but I would suggest that you can write songs and work on your singing simultaneously. They're not mutually exclusive goals. Something tells me you feel like you have to keep writing songs and that's a very good thing.

 

 

Thanks for listening, Avery. Yes, I'm really looking forward to getting a chance to record this song with a better guitar and my normal mic. Hopefully, I will also be able to improve the singing some.

 

Also, as I mentioned in my post above, songwriting matters a great deal to me. I will be looking to find a way to practice singing more, though.

 

Lars

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I get what youre saying Lars, having motivation is key to progress and fully understand that just working on technique without application can be tedious and demotivating. Hence I suggest what Avery mentioned, try to combine the two. But you must learn to sing on pitch, this is non-negotiable.

 

Ive metnioned this before, and I will mention it one final time, get yourself Brett Manning's Singing success, the 360 course. Follow his lessons, all you need is 20 mintues per day, which Im 100% certain you can find. He will start you off with doing a simple 5 note hum, but thats already a big step forward, and then build up you vocal muscles and work on your technique and control. If you do it for 20 mins per day you will be singing on pitch no time. Trust me, i couldnt do a 5 note hum when i started but moved along fast.

 

There is no point is trying to sing if you dont know what the technique is, infact all it does is become demotivating as one is trying but not getting results.

 

http://www.singingsuccess.com

 

EA

 

 

 

EA, everything you say about focusing on singing makes perfect sense. I have given this avenue some serious thought previously. However, the catch for me is motivation and joy. I was so close to giving up on guitar about two years ago. I found that my playing was not going anywhere. I was completely stuck, and I had lost all motivation. It took me years and years just to learn what a talented beginner will pick up in a year or two. All cover songs I tried to play and sing sounded like total crap. Absolutely horrendous, and that is an understatement! However, once I found songwriting the joy came back, and I realized that I could make use of the very fundamental guitar skills I had and be able to come up with some stuff that kind of surprised me. When I listened and looked for notes on the fretboard, and just played what sounded good to me, I found that I had more guitar playing in me, than was the case when I tried to be Neil Young [biggrin] So now with the songwriting I have more motivation and fun than ever before. The singing lets me down big time, I am fully aware of this. I do practice singing, but not enough. I am worried that if I give up on what motivates me, to focus more on the singing, that I will lose the joy of the writing and playing.

 

Between working full time, raising two boys, and remodeling a house, there is very little time left for guitar/singing. I need to find away to keep up my motivational level with the writing, while still being able to find more quality time for practicing singing. I have yet to find a way to do this. EA, and others reading this, if you ever were in a similar situation, how did you tackle it?

 

Lars.

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Yeah Lars , I would take EA's advice .

I'm not sure what we're supposed to do with these songs ? Are we to guess what the tune should be when it is sung on pitch and in key ?

 

My hat comes off to you for writing any song as I can't seem to get it and admire your tenacity .

So hopefully there's no offence taken by what I'm saying.

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I'm not sure what we're supposed to do with these songs ? Are we to guess what the tune should be when it is sung on pitch and in key ?

 

Like so many others on the forum, I'm simply sharing my best song efforts. It just happens that my best efforts are not as good as what gets posted around here on a regular basis. When putting a song up on the forum, I invite all to have a listen, and throw some comments my way for those who like. I post songs with the most humble of attitudes and sincerely appreciate and pay attention to all advice and pointers given, but in the end, no one is of course supposed do do anything. It's just a song on the internet...

 

Most of you probably know what level of quality to expect from me by now. So for those of you with sensitive ears, from now on please move with caution when opening one of my song links. This is my official advisory sticker. Don't say you haven't been warned! [biggrin]

 

Lars

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Hey Lars - I really agree with you on writing and playing originals, it's the most enjoyable thing I reckon, even if it's hard work its way more rewarding to my mind. [thumbup]

 

I do wonder (with no idea of the answer) whether singing out of tune is a vocal thing or a hearing thing. What I mean is when you, EA, or anyone else who struggles with the issue are singing, do you hear that it's out of tune? Or does it all seem ok till you hear the playback...or even then until someone else comments on it?

 

When I'm singing I know pretty much right then if I've miss a note or two - and if it's whilst practicing I'd stop and get it right (live you just say 'c'mon man, get with it! in your head [biggrin] ) but if you don't actually hear that then you've no way of knowing...which would be very frustrating I'm sure. I have no answer for you apart from finding your best range so at least that's not 'fighting' you, but if you're using a capo I guess you're already thinking of that.

 

All the best and it's cool that you are enjoying getting back into which is The main thing of course.

Good luck and Go the originals mate!!

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Hey Lars - I really agree with you on writing and playing originals, it's the most enjoyable thing I reckon, even if it's hard work its way more rewarding to my mind. [thumbup]

 

I do wonder (with no idea of the answer) whether singing out of tune is a vocal thing or a hearing thing. What I mean is when you, EA, or anyone else who struggles with the issue are singing, do you hear that it's out of tune? Or does it all seem ok till you hear the playback...or even then until someone else comments on it?

 

When I'm singing I know pretty much right then if I've miss a note or two - and if it's whilst practicing I'd stop and get it right (live you just say 'c'mon man, get with it! in your head [biggrin] ) but if you don't actually hear that then you've no way of knowing...which would be very frustrating I'm sure. I have no answer for you apart from finding your best range so at least that's not 'fighting' you, but if you're using a capo I guess you're already thinking of that.

 

All the best and it's cool that you are enjoying getting back into which is The main thing of course.

Good luck and Go the originals mate!!

 

I'd say that in my case it's mostly a hearing thing. I have difficulties picking the sour spots in my recordings, when listening back. However, when putting my guitar parts together, I have a very strong sense of which notes work and which don't within the key, when I'm doing some single note lines/riffs. A little weird. My singing technique is poor too, but I really think the biggest issue is my ear.

 

Lars

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My trip was cut a few days short, so I had an opportunity to record my song with my normal gear yesterday. The sound quality is vastly improved, the singing maybe just a bit, but I'm very happy about how the guitar turned out, both as far as playing and recorded tone.

 

I also added a third verse, which I think closes out the song better. It's about experiences of childhood staying with you and eventually forming who you become as an adult. I apologize for not doing this one in English. It was just so personal that it had to be in my native language, or it would have felt fake.

 

Far from a final version, but more like something I can revisit one day when I hopefully have learned to sing better.

 

Lars

 

https://soundcloud.com/lars1968/huset-pa-kullen-2

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Very nice! Seemed to fluctuate between 'old world' European and Spanish sounds throughout but blended in a way I found pleasing to hear, then almost building to a pop type major chord bit a couple of times. I thought to myself that if you were singing and playing that in the corner of a restaurant serving any style of ethnic European fare (and a nice bottle of red) it would fit in beautifully. =D>

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