[Ramshackles]

hey guys
thought I would try to use the forum to help with a bit of writing..
I've been working on a song the past couple of weeks and today I've been trying to get the intro into some kind of interesting...thing..
Anyway, recorded it so I could get your opinion. Its a v. short intro so I played it twice...
Aswell as the intro its gonna be the break between verses etc..I.e. the main 'hook', if you will...
My may concerns are - is it catchy, unique? Is the melody clearly defined or is it all a jumble? Does it leave you wanting to hear the rest of the song, or boring?

The song itself is gonna be a kind of duet between our 2 singers, we are thinking of closing gigs with it..I spent ages working out how to play it while keeping a nice rhythm going and its a bit of b*tch to play, so sorry for mistakes (not got it down yet...)

http://snd.sc/XVKByN

[nooms]

that works well ram,  intertwines like a braid..
sounds interesting and ambiguous at the same time >?  listeners not sure whats coming but interested enough to wait, are you using a specific tuning ?
no idea what it would sound like between other stuff but strong opening..

[Ramshackles]

cheers nooms...
yeah, it's tuned DGDGBD...I tried a few different tunings, and this one was the only way where I could play it how I had in mind...

[Boydie]

That is a lovely intro/riff

I think going 'round once is plenty though - 20secs for an intro is perfect for me and does achieve the "wanting more" feeling

Playing it twice is pushing 40secs and a direct repeat (along with repeats during breaks in the song) could be a little much (although difficult to say without hearing it in context)

This is for any "recorded" version where someone can play it again - when playing live I think you can "milk it" a bit more a go for the "double" (or more!) intro

The piece is definitely "hooky" but I am not sure there is enough of a top line melody for it to be a strong hook

It way be worth experimenting with a very simple melody on top (with lots of space to hear what you have already) to solidify the hook - perhaps use what you have for the intro and introduce the extra top line melody in the breaks?

[Ramshackles]

That is a lovely intro/riff

I think going 'round once is plenty though - 20secs for an intro is perfect for me and does achieve the "wanting more" feeling

Playing it twice is pushing 40secs and a direct repeat (along with repeats during breaks in the song) could be a little much (although difficult to say without hearing it in context)

This is for any "recorded" version where someone can play it again - when playing live I think you can "milk it" a bit more a go for the "double" (or more!) intro

The piece is definitely "hooky" but I am not sure there is enough of a top line melody for it to be a strong hook

It way be worth experimenting with a very simple melody on top (with lots of space to hear what you have already) to solidify the hook - perhaps use what you have for the intro and introduce the extra top line melody in the breaks?

Yeah, my intention was to only play it once through when we do the actual song...just did it twice hear as I thought it would be easier to listen to (I usually have to listen a couple of times to things before forming ideas...)


I really like the idea of introducing another line on top of it in the breaks...

[flossie]

Hi,

Lovely, I think once round to 11 seconds twice if you add another instrument which adds something even lovelier .

Hope that helps

Flossie
x

[andy5544]

Sounds tricky to play , works for me , i like it 

[tina m]

is that realy 1 guitar there i am so ignorant of acoustic guitar playing it sounds amazing if its 1 guitar cos it sounds like 2....it sounds very camberwick greeny & very good
i would  whack up the overdrive a bit & smack it with reverb ....but other than that it sounds great

[Ramshackles]

is that realy 1 guitar there i am so ignorant of acoustic guitar playing it sounds amazing if its 1 guitar cos it sounds like 2....it sounds very camberwick greeny & very good
i would  whack up the overdrive a bit & smack it with reverb ....but other than that it sounds great

It's one guitar, tuned DGDGBD and with a capo
Yeah, when I finally record it properly it will have a load of reverb probably I actually quite like the sound of an acoustic through a tube amp so you might get *some* of that distortion
I suppose acoustic guitar playing doesnt have to differ that much from electric...same concepts anyho
Camberwick green?

I'm liking this posting while I write, I've got some good ideas from it. So I might continue to write this song like this. At the moment Im trying to fill in holes in the lyrics and play around with the wording...
Ill post something up later

[stephaniedema]

Very nice fingerpicking, man!
Really like this. Esp. for an intro.
For the inbetween, I guess it all depends on the structure of the song (if that makes any sense?)
Great start, that's for sure!

SD

[Paul]

Hi Ramshackles,

It's a lovely intro that I would make half as long.  It will then have greater impact when you showcase the whole song. 

Good luck completing this song and nailing that riff!

[James Nighthawk]

Love it. Totally my thing.

keep the "blackbird" style top tapping in the final version, works wonder on the headpones.

The melody is clear yet leaves room for counterpoint in the vocal, so I say it is a winner

It is quite brisk, so work closely with your vocalist to ensure any melody written atop it doesn't feel "squeezed in".

Happy writing!

[Ramshackles]

Love it. Totally my thing.

keep the "blackbird" style top tapping in the final version, works wonder on the headpones.

The melody is clear yet leaves room for counterpoint in the vocal, so I say it is a winner

It is quite brisk, so work closely with your vocalist to ensure any melody written atop it doesn't feel "squeezed in".

Happy writing!

Cheers
At the moment I plan the voca to go over a slightly different voicing, to fit better with the lyrics and also not to clash to much with the vox..
This then would be the intro/inbetween verse/outro type thing..

[james bond 007]

it needs a few gunshots i think to realy make  it credible
 ..let me put a few holes in that acoustic for you

[Ramshackles]

So, taking boydies advice I tried putting a little melody on top, which is what will play inbetween verses (I think)..It plays once through the riff and then the little melody comes in:
http://snd.sc/XVKByN