[shadowfax]

Yeah, definitely the English Skiffle

[Viscount Cramer & His Orchestra]

It's a nicely written song Vicki which is the main thing!

When I first saw your lyric a few weeks ago I thought, 'Whoa, that's a mouthful of words' and there were a few moments when this was a bit evident but I guess you get away with it, and anyway this may be a personal thing for me....I quite like a bit of space.

The performance is good and the timing is tidy and helps the song bounce along nicely. Next thing is to get rid of that percussion track but I'll leave the helpful tips to somebody who knows more about it than I do.

Can't deny that it's a happy love song with a twist so a very apt entry for the comp. Good luck!

Here's a link to more samples and loops than you'd ever care to look at but there are some percussion ones. I've never used them but I've experimented with some of the other stuff and i should think the percussion will be in 2 or 4 bar loops which you'll find easy to slot into your tracks.

http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/free-music-samples-download-loops-hits-and-multis-627820

As has been noted your timing is great which is very important and the song is solid. The rest will come. You should have heard my first effort (and the timing was crap!)

I'm in the not much else wanted camp for this song and have one tip which I keep having to remind myself of without total success.

An instrument track -  ie percussion - there is a tendency is to make it too loud where it can often stand to be lower in the mix and still fulfill it's role. You can experiment by fiddling with the levels and testing it with the track muted etc etc to try to find the right balance. You'll be surprised how much something gives to a song without it really being 'in your face' noticeable.

[CaliaMoko]

Hey VC!

Thanks so much for the helpful tips. These forums have been a gold mine of hints and tips for me. I am moving too slowly to take full advantage of them, but that means I never have to wait, right?

As soon as I have a chance, I will check out the link you sent me. Little by little I'm learning how to get Reaper to do things. It's two steps forward and one step back a lot of the time. For instance, I've just learned how to add a midi track, which was so amazing to me. But then, something changed on the screen...and then it quit making any sounds...but every time I start learning something new, frustrating stuff like that happens. Eventually, I figure out what's going on and start getting more consistent results. I just have to be careful not to hurry too much.

I have noticed I tend to make everything too loud, including backing vocals. I can usually tell when something is blending together well, but I have a very hard time figuring out what I have to do to accomplish that. Practice, practice, practice.

Thank you for the great feedback; I really appreciate it!

Vicki

[ShinyThang]

Wonderful song and bang on target for the competition. I enjoyed this one very much. The simple production works perfectly for this helped in no small measure by your excellent voice. You've created a very entertaining song which works as it is but would also be great fun to develop with a band. Knowing that you wrote this to order for the competition only makes it more impressive. 

[IronKnee]

Hey there CaliaMoko.....Love the song. Cool songwriting.....reminds me Hank Williams' style of composing.
And just love that last line  
                                                    -Tom

[CaliaMoko]

Thanks, Tom! I'm not a country fan, but I like some of the good ones.