The Songwriter Forum - songwriting reviews, tips and chat
Songwriter Forum => The Bar => Topic started by: Martinswede on January 28, 2018, 09:06:48 PM
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Physician, shrink, psychic, they might all advice against it. For some reason I decided to go for it. Anyone with experience?
I first thought 2h/day would be a good aim but then I read about the forum and community and other internet related stuff. This will take both time and work by the look of it.
Martin
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Hi,
Its a wild ride. and you kind of need to understand how it works and what your strategy is?
Its a very fast moving and hugely enthusiastic environment, so you need to work out how much time you spend reviewing others and whether you want to collaborate with others.
Good luck.
:)
neil
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To all of those much braver than me - I thought it would be useful to have another FAWM sticky to host all discussion and songs (and therapy sessions) for all things FAWM 2018
Good luck everyone and see you on the other side...
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Thanks Boydie for making it a sticky! I saw the 2017 sticky and thought it was time to mention the subject...
Mostly I'm wondering if 48h-48h-48h etc for every song is the advised tactic or a more loose 3 1/2 songs a week?
I believe a fast pace will lower the quality and touch of my own personality in my songs but nothing says they are completely finished the last of February. I can keep working on them. If I get two good songs out of 14 attempts I still end up with twice as many songs as I regularly write a month. (But twice a small number is still a small number.)
Good luck to all who dare!
Martin
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Firstly...apologies for not being around much of late. I thought I’d post this just to show how I’m trying to do it
I’ve done song 1 tonight...thought of a guitar riff...recorded it into my iPhone then tried to come up with a lyric idea. Picked a fab Alan Bennett play that I’m particularly fond of called “say something happened” so went with that. It’s pretty sad. You probably guessed as much. I wrote a load of lines yesterday and tried to get a tune going. Fired up GarageBand and expanded a little on the riff, picked a few drum loops that suited, recorded acoustic guitar and added a simple bassline and uploaded the bare arsed version to my Dropbox. I played it loads today as I was driving around working out a melody and once I’d settled on a definite structure, picked out a few lines to keep and knocked them into shape. Got home and cut/pasted the original track to accommodate the structure. I’m a bit gutted as I couldn’t really expand on the lyric ideas that I’d hoped to fit in...but I’m happy enough with what I kept. I recorded a one-take vocal and left it at that.
I was a bit of a mug last year...killing myself with almost finished versions of lots of full arrangements...that was really intense...so this year, I’ve decided to take it a bit easier and not try as hard. Also, last year, I had a few ideas I was able to use, whereas this year, I’m really starting from scratch. That was part of the attraction, I suppose. Might even do a few simple acoustic + vocal numbers.
I’ve been recording little riffs into my phone for a few days now...hoping to find a few things I can turn into songs. I need to relax more with my lyrics and just write stuff I don’t think much of. No point killing myself. If I have a few songs that turn out ok...I’ll be happy and I can work on them more at a later date. If I feel so inclined.
FAWM is a bit terrifying, to be honest.
Anyway...the song is here
https://soundcloud.com/thefuneralcrasher/say-something-happened
I’m going to try to stick to this fawmula...one day for ideas and brain-storming lyrics etc, then one day to consolidate and record it.
And if I fail, it’s fine. I’ve been failing all my life. I feel no shame.
Ps if you can, check out the audiobook version of “say something happened” with Brian Wilde, Thora Hird and Imelda Staunton. It’s a heartbreaker.
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So it has started... It's a blast!
I liked your song PaulAds looking forward to more of them! Am I right to assume you stick to the 48-48... model?
I'm working more on parallel tracks with three shifts. (Love the midnight shift playing unplugged electric btw.) Chaos on the inside, why fight it on the outside.
I've written three songs so far. Doing my best to procrastinate recording.
Martin
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Hi Martin...sounds like you're doing great...and if you can enjoy it too...that's excellent!
Yeah I'm trying to keep it to 1 song every 2 days.
I wrote and recorded the skeletons of 5 songs yesterday...pretty short and rough...but that gives me something to work on for a few days.
But I need to pick one and get it finished today. Back to work tomorrow, of course :-(
One thing I noticed last year...a lyric by itself counts as 1 song...and an instrumental by itself counts as 1 song. If you write 14 songs with words and music...you've effectively done 28, really.
An idea for getting over the line and taking some pressure off would be to put a lyric up...then a few days later put the instrumental up...then you've done 2.
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Well...song number 2 is done...
https://soundcloud.com/thefuneralcrasher/six-ways-from-sunday
I bought some Pete Thomas drum loops a while back so I used the set from Elvis Costello's "Radio Radio" for this one...kept it short and sour, scribbled the lyrics down and came up with the chorus just before recording the vocal...but I think it's ok. After my mellow first song, this one's a bit punky,. Surprise surprise ::)
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Here's my first recorded song.
https://soundcloud.com/k-martin-j/far-enough-demo-fawm (https://soundcloud.com/k-martin-j/far-enough-demo-fawm)
Kind of a sad song.
Not so much inspiration at the moment. Mostly getting ideas for music.
Are you planning to record all your songs PaulAds?
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Hi Martin
Well done on getting the first one recorded. It’s all about getting people to write. Anything we can keep is a bonus.
I knocked out a simple one-take guitar+vocal song today. Just wrote the lyric as I was driving around.
https://soundcloud.com/thefuneralcrasher/imagine-my-surprise
I can get lyrics going without much problem, so I’m going to try and get some music done for the whole 14, if possible. I have a ghastly euro-pop number I might embarrass myself with at some point. I think it’s a good idea just to do stuff you wouldn’t normally do.
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I believe a fast pace will lower the quality and touch of my own personality in my songs but nothing says they are completely finished the last of February. I can keep working on them.
I completely agree with this. I think that takes the pressure off, and makes it less terrifying too. It's not a competition. Actually IS IT? I don't really know much about it. I only just found out about it yesterday. I figure it's there to get the creative juices flowing! The way I see it, you don't need to have anything perfect by the end, just the foundations. (being a newbie, I could be wrong though :D)
I've decided to do my own thing, and just try and write 14 songs in February. I have already written 4 this month, and think that something like this will keep me on track. Really looking forward to see how it goes.
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Nice that you made the commitment too MjayP, in your own way. It's a bit like making an inventory of your songwriting skills. After three songs in a week you get this sense of what's easy for you and what's not.
I think the idea is to set the bar so high you can't say 'I'll do it later'. A lot of my creativity gets lost that way. Waiting for inspiration. At this point I have NO inspiration left for lyrics. I write two lines and then that idea is exhausted. Soon I'll probably write about not being able to write.
I've realized my weakness is all that happens after the song is written. Performing and recording.
Martin
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I wrote a (comically, I hope) bitter diatribe about the (in)famous Spanish City in Whitley Bay a while back. I just recorded a summer-type backing track for it and banged that up as song number 4
https://soundcloud.com/thefuneralcrasher/summer-horrorday
The music was meant to slightly reflect my loathing of Bobby Goldsboro's god-awful Summer (the first time)
Great to see MjayP getting involved too :)
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At this point I have NO inspiration left for lyrics. I write two lines and then that idea is exhausted.
I have some issues with lyrics. I tend to only ever write 1 verse. It’s more laziness than anything else. I guess the way I see it is. Get a verse and chorus sorted, and you’ve got yourself a song. Time to move on! I can never seem to work on one song longer than a couple days. I get bored too easily. Once I have a decent number of songs, I’ll record them professionally. That’ll be the time to tweak!
I wrote a (comically, I hope) bitter diatribe about the (in)famous Spanish City in Whitley Bay a while back. I just recorded a summer-type backing track for it and banged that up as song number 4.
This really works for me. Very unique. Your accent is great for spoken word. There was something very poetic about it. Liked the Summer Holiday outro too! :D
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Really enjoying following you guys on this venture. You've produced some top quality stuff already
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Nice to hear pompey!
Here my latest contribution https://soundcloud.com/k-martin-j/mathilda (https://soundcloud.com/k-martin-j/mathilda)
Oddly it's both short and kind of happy.
Wrote it in 15 min while having coffee.
Tomorrow week two starts. 3 1/2 more songs to write. Anti yay. I aim to get that half song written at least.
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Oh I need to find you guys on FAWM. I joined up a few weeks ago but didn't really plan to participate, just meant to enjoy it from a bystanders point of view, until today that is. Apparently I decided to join in with a quick song I wrote yesterday.
Damn, that means I'm way behind!?!?!!
Paul and Martin, I'm impressed with you guys, I'm always impressed by FAWMers. It's a really cool idea. Best of luck!
/Peter
Oh, here's my song if you'd care to take a listen, just a one take demo with sloppy guitar playing. Hehe!
http://fawm.org/fawmers/boostock/
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Hey, Peter :)
What a great song to get you started...very impressive!
And well done too, Martin...you're doing great!
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Hi Peter!
It's great that you've started too. The song you posted shows quality. Your not that far behind you just have a different quota. .65 songs a day isn't that bad.
Best of luck!
Martin
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Ahh, Matilda... certain names make great sounding lyrics, that’s for sure. Also, my shortest songs are usually happy too. Maybe because happiness is fleeting... :o
Anyway, I couldn’t resist signing up to the proper site. I’m quite liking it over there!
http://fawm.org/fawmers/mjayp/
And Peter, your song sounds very Dylan-esque. Great stuff!
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I'm already impressed by the bravery that you guys have shown in taking this task on.
Last night I decided to register with FAWM. I read the brief for the first week and wrote a song today as I wasn't at work. I then thought about what I have to juggle: the next two days working 12.5 hours per day before a two week holiday then a trip to the north East to collect my children and bring them over to the North West. I'll be spending a week with them so thought that perhaps it might be more than a little unfair be writing and recording when it's important that I spend quality time with them. Then there's work related study and very importantly time for my partner. If I omit to do the last part, I'll be in for a real kicking - stormy waters indeed. Ok, I got a new song out of FAWM - I didn't post it but it made me think seriously about the commitment that it requires.
Best to everyone who participate as we all have commitments and demands on our time. For my sanity, I don't think 2018 will be the year for me. I am however, watching this thread with a great deal of interest and wish everyone who participates the very best of luck!
Paul
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Paul, (Wicked)
To be honest, there's not a chance in hell I'll be doing all 14 songs. That I knew from the moment I signed up.
I'm in the midst of writing and recording a song a week with an old buddy of mine. That's my first priority, and that, work and family doesn't leave much room for any other big commitments.
Just figured, it doesn't hurt to post if I got one or two (or more) demos made quickly.
Always been intrigued by FAWM, so I'm just glad to hang around the place and participate in any way I can.
Sure, I'd be happy to give FAWM a real try one day, but that time is not now. But I'm really impressed by the ones that do, and one day I will.
Paul, FYI, you are allowed to just post one or a few if you feel that's what you can muster, that doesn't make you less welcome. Just saying.
Cheers,
Peter
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Yo Paul of the Ads variety.
Summer Horrorday is a friggin' masterpiece.
If I'd written that and never wrote anything else in my life,I'd be more than happy.
Yer a clever bastrid.
Just thought I'd let ya know. 8)
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Aw...thanks Davy.
You and all the other guys really help keep me going :)
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Well, I've got nothing to lose and as I write pretty rapidly, I decided to sign up and I've uploaded the two songs that I've written this month.
If I don't do 14 then I don't do 14 :)
See you guys on there :)
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Wicked Deeds - We all have a different amount of time to... waste on making music. One song is still great!
pompeyjazz - Cool! The piano on Blitzkrieg has this Here Comes The Sun vibe too it.
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OK - First 3 are up on FAWM
https://soundcloud.com/pompeyjazz/blitzkrieg
https://soundcloud.com/pompeyjazz/im-bleeding
https://soundcloud.com/pompeyjazz/down-where-the-cattle-were-shorn-fawm-2018
Another 2 in progress :)
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Great stuff, John!
I've lost three days with other commitments...but I had a few hours today...knocked up three pretty basic tracks...dunno if I'm quite feeling it this time...but I shall persevere :-)
I found the drum track for "Complete Control" this morning on youtube...and as the other day was "international clash day" I thought I'd load the mp3 into GarageBand and make a new song around it...was pretty fun to do. Topper is such a great drummer...
It's here
https://soundcloud.com/thefuneralcrasher/outnumbered-but-never-out-clashed
Off to a gig now...more guitar....aaarrrgghhhh :P
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I like your song PaulAds. It captures many emotions. A piece of music history I've never taken a closer look at.
I've written 7 songs now. I hesitate to record them. Don't have the focus.
I've started on the Week #2 'challenge' with a falling bass line.
Still a whole lot of time left.
I
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That's brilliant going, Martin!
I'm a bit more relaxed this year...bits of ideas are fine for now...we can always expand on any good ideas once February is over.
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Hi!
I recorded one of this weekend's songs. It's mostly about Star Wars and a bit inspired by a band called Broder Daniel.
I also wrote a song in Swedish but I don't know if I'll record it for FAWM.
I've heard about the embed function but I resist the temptation.
https://soundcloud.com/k-martin-j/dark-heart-fawmorg-2018 (https://soundcloud.com/k-martin-j/dark-heart-fawmorg-2018)
Cheers,
Martin
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Yeah, definitely do the Swedish song @martinswede I'm not too sure if I'm enjoying my FAWM experience but it is an experience for sure
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Nice electro song John.
If you're enjoying FAWM you're doing it wrong.
This is my latest. https://soundcloud.com/k-martin-j/join-us-fawm-2018 (https://soundcloud.com/k-martin-j/join-us-fawm-2018)
Simple telephone recording. Hopefully not to sinister for pg-13.
I'll see what happens with the Swedish song.
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You're on fire, Martin! Pomps is going like a train too :)
I struggled quite a lot with a reggae thing I was trying to do...couldn't get any decent lyrics going at all...I managed to cobble something together...but it's nowt flash...in memory of Willie Fisher...born about 10 miles from me. He was the Soviet agent exchanged on The Bridge Of Spies for the U2 pilot, Gary Powers...
https://soundcloud.com/thefuneralcrasher/the-spy-who-stayed-out-in-the-cold
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A great reggae vibe Paul. Some great stuff coming out of FAWM although personally I feel that I'm knocking out songs just for the sake of it and I don't know if I really like that
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Yeah...I feel the same, John...it isn't such a bad trade off for a lazy b*st@rd like me, though...
I've recorded another seven or eight ideas...but I'll be AWOL for a couple of days so will have to concentrate on some lyrics instead...I reckon I might do a couple of strange ones again...a dance/synth thing and an acapella maybe...
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A great reggae vibe Paul. Some great stuff coming out of FAWM although personally I feel that I'm knocking out songs just for the sake of it and I don't know if I really like that
This is my first FAWM so I don’t really know too much about it, but I imagine knocking out songs for the sake of it, is part of the process, or quite common. There are no real rules though. If you’re not feeling certain songs, don’t make them! I’d much rather end up with 5 songs I loved than 14 I thought were meh. Personally, I’m in a very creative place at the moment, so I’d be writing a lot, with or without FAWM.
(By the way, I’ve been listening to some of your stuff and enjoying it. There’s so much variation!)
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I’d much rather end up with 5 songs I loved than 14 I thought were meh.
Totally agree with you on this one. I'm just going to write at my normal pace, not for the sake of it :)
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I haven’t ended up with five songs I love in over 30 years of writing :D
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I haven’t ended up with five songs I love in over 30 years of writing :D
I agree - It's funny how we feel about our own songs though - Some of the songs that have been on this forum are in my all time fave list :) :)
Here's my latest 2
https://soundcloud.com/pompeyjazz/this-train-dont-stop-at-milton-keynes-fawm-2018
https://soundcloud.com/pompeyjazz/digital-electro
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I must agree with John, PaulAds. Some of your songs are highlights in the music I listened to last year.
I'm taking on a different approach to FAWM now. I've decided to record all my unposted songs. To finish the rest of the songs I'll focus fully on lyrics. This opposed to sitting by the piano with underdeveloped lyrics trying to make them work might do wonders.
Fellow FAWMers, I hope your work goes well!
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Another 2 written but don't think I'm going to force write any more this month !
https://soundcloud.com/pompeyjazz/broken-youth
https://soundcloud.com/pompeyjazz/can-i-be-your-action-man
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Another couple of good 'uns, John. There's no point killing ourselves over it...it's a hell of a thing to try and do, really
I'm running on empty at the moment...making up lyrics on the hoof...and half of the half-tunes I had recorded in my initial flurry of activity all sound the same in places :)
I didn't even get the opening line of my last one right...recorded the vocals, mixed and uploaded it in less than an hour...I didn't even spot the vocal mistake until the following day. oops :P
https://soundcloud.com/thefuneralcrasher/clinging-london
I really just tossed together a Who-style number...heavily influenced by the intro to "substitute" and I used Simon Phillips "won't get fooled again" drum loops...got a rather twee acoustic thing lined up next...trying to get some lyrics down now...don't want anything too heavy on this one anyway. Trying to do "jaun-ty" but I'm much more at home with "jaun-diced"
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Paul, I've got a couple of instrumentals I can bung you if you think it's remotely worth while. It's a harsh place for sure and to be fair if I've learned anything from it , it's that I don't enjoy writing like that. I see Silver is still smashing it up though ;)
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@Martinswede (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=20851) or any other Swedish guys could you possibly do a talk over on this track
Listen to Morddetektiv by pompeyjazz #np on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.com/pompeyjazz/morddetektiv
What I want it to be is a bit of a parody of the TV stuff we have on bbc4 on Saturday nights which incidentally is my favourite TV ever :)
Something really straight like .....
My name is xxxx, I am attached to the homocide squad in Stockholm county. I'm far too old to do this sort of stuff. I have a drink problem and a nagging ex wife. I just want to chill out and listen to jazz / classical / opera / punk.
Any takers?
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Paul, I've got a couple of instrumentals I can bung you if you think it's remotely worth while. It's a harsh place for sure and to be fair if I've learned anything from it , it's that I don't enjoy writing like that. I see Silver is still smashing it up though ;)
Thanks, John :)
I think I’ll be ok...but if i’m struggling, I know where to come!
Very kind of you
Paul
ps here's number ten (2 were lyrics-only)...I just finished and uploaded it...
https://soundcloud.com/thefuneralcrasher/publish-and-be-droned
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Hi guys!
I'll take some time to listen to your tracks tomorrow.
I've taken a step back in FAWM. It started to feel a bit pointless. But I've learned a lot.
@pompeyjazz (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=20269) I've listened to the track you refer to and it might be fun. I have no idea what's going on at bbc4 but I think I get the picture. I'll listen again and see what comes to mind.
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@Martinswede (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=20851) we get loads of Scandinavian drama on Saturday nights. Lots of it Swedish. Bron, Beck, Wallander , Modus, Before we die, all great stuff and some great characters
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Well...I didn't really know what the Whisky Tango Foxtrot I was doing with this one...I heard a free female vocal sample singing "all the things you love" and liked it...so...I made a synth-y thing in the session band EDM iPhone app and transferred it into GarageBand ...then added Omar Hakim drums and rattled off a bassline and guitar track. Then I got stuck. So I just went overboard with the one vocal line. I had some other free samples so I whacked them into the breakdown part and managed to get number 11 done
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John (Pompeyjazz) and Silver Machine recently posted some great guitar instrumentals for FAWM...so I thought I'd have a crack at one of those...not really my strong suit...but I whacked up the tempo and tried to give it a "love song" / "ace of spades" damned/motorhead kind of mayhem vibe.
Whilst doing it, I think there might be a song in there too..so will maybe look at getting some lyrics going soon. Off to a gig this afternoon...so that's me done for today.
Not much further to go now...good luck to everyone.
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Here's the guitar instrumental which is a Shadows / Surf rip off
I called it "Wonderful (G)land" in tribute to the shads but one guy on FAWM actually thought that I'd written it about the adrenal gland ;D ;D ;D
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That was a hoot, John ;D
I just put together a cheesy Eurovision Song Contest style backing to a somewhat exaggerated and paranoid set of lyrics I wrote about the European Union. Used the Mac Narrator function again. I'm just about done now...my head's in bits somewhat...but I'm nearly over the line.
It's meant to be reminiscent of the old 1970's Public Information Films. But probably isn't.
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After a couple of crocks...I added lyrics to the instrumental I tried to do...as it never had enough to stand up on it's own...and I found myself singing this tune over it even as I was finishing recording it...that's 14 officially done...though I hope to post another one as I'm short of the full 14 words and music goal I was hoping for...got a couple more on the go but looks like I'm going to run out of time...we'll see...
it's 245bpm. That's quite fast, I reckon...even for an old punk.
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Respect Paul. It's a big tough gig that wasn't really my scene but I've got 11 in the bag so who knows :) This latest one is brilliant. I love the drums that drives the song. Haven't heard from many other guys doing this but I know @Silver Machine (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=21182) has knocked out a lot. Well done All :)
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Another one finished :)
Sort of an electro fusion I guess
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Well...for my part...that's me done. I've fulfilled my obligation to do 14...although two were lyrics only and then two were expansions on original ideas that I'd posted...so it was really 10 full songs. Having said that....there were really only nine "proper" songs.
I have written and recorded another 4 or 5 basic ideas during FAWM, but it seems daft uploading them just to show I've done something...and it's daft to wrack my brains trying to come up with lyrics to go with them when I'm not feeling particularly inspired. So that'll do.
For what it's worth, I have enjoyed this year in parts...it's been quite exciting pulling the occasional rabbit out of the hat...but mostly, it had become a workmanlike exercise in song construction. It often feels like I'm out of my depth. There's some fantastic stuff posted there...they're a friendly and supportive bunch, though...although there isn't much time for giving feedback..that's something that it's perhaps best to be able to live without.
Without rambling any further...I've probably got half a dozen songs out of it that I'm pretty happy with...and they're songs I wouldn't have otherwise written. So it's been worthwhile for me.
Massive thanks to the other forum guys who have helped me along with kind words and encouragement. And they've all done fantastically well with their own material...it's anything but easy.
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Yes a big Thank you to @Martinswede (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=20851) @PaulAds (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=20253) and @Silver Machine (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=21182) Some cracking songs and some hilarious comments . Try it at your peril
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Very impressed, guys. I know it’s not for me as I need much more time to get things into a reasonable shape. But I expect it might be quite good to have an annual clearout of ideas and get them past the initial stages. And daily practice helps for the future even if the FAWM songs aren’t the absolute best (though I don’t think there was really a noticeable drop off in quality!)
Chapeaus all round...
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So it's over. Thanks for comments. Many good songs PaulAds, Pompey, The S.
Frankly I stopped writing for FAWM over a week ago. Got two other songs that I work on now.
Somewhere I changed direction. I wrote a song in Swedish and it was a positive experience. I'm a stranger in the English language and lyrics are hard for me to write. I finally managed to write in an unobstructed way. I'll keep writing in Swedish for a while now.
Cheers,
Martin
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Yup, really great work, I've listened to some fantastic songs and as always, I'm very impressed by you FAWMers. No, I don't consider me being one, I haven't earned the right to call myself that...yet. I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of songs that dropped in the last week, my profile page just exploded with people posting songs, hehe, very cool. Sorry guys if I didn't keep up with the commenting and stuff, life happened but I'll try to pop in and make some listens and comments.
Again, great work all of you.
Ps. Martin, good luck with the change of language. (though I think you're really good at writing in english) I've tried swedish but I'm more comfortable in english, I might not be good enough, but that's where I find most ease and flow.
/Peter
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Thank you Peter!
I find English being a poetic language, myself turning less poetic.