Hi everyone! nice to meet you!

I've just spent a little time reading a few of the recent review postings etc and decided to be brave and register and maybe post some things up for review.

I guess I've been writing lyrics for a few years now but have never shown them to anyone - it's kinda scary as I guess lots of you would agree - but lots of you are doing it so I felt inspired. I also have only recently started thinking, if I'm writing all this stuff, what is the point of it all if I never show anyone - have been picturing someone after my death finding a dusty shoebox under my bed full of my masterpieces  ! That's when I suddenly though why not look online for some kind of songwriters forum... And here you are!

I've written loads of lyrics but musically I can't get very far - I am a (very) rusty pianist but don't have an instrument and also a (very) rusty flautist. I do have 2 guitars but I can't play them!! Haha isn't that stupid!... Anyway so I have all these lyrics but I can't seem to hear them to music in my head... Sometimes the bones of a melody start to present but even then I can't get very far with any sort of accompaniment... I'm not sure whether that's because my lyrics are no good or because I have no musical talent or because I don't have an instrument to experiment on... Hope it's the latter!!!

I don't have any recording equipment either (except my laptop's inbuilt webcam/mic) and in any case I don't think I'm brave enough yet to post myself singing. So I guess my first post/s will be lyrics only. I hope that is OK! I know lots of you are much more advanced than that... I guess maybe some comments on whether you could imagine any of my lyrics set to music would be quite helpful. And then any tips on how I could get that side of things happening would be great!
 
Right now to decide which lyrics I can bear to expose to scrutiny......... scary stuff!!
 
I'll also have a think about some comments I could leave on some other recent posts - I don't think I'm much of a critic but will give it a go.
 
Thanks... I'm looking forward to getting involved!

Hi Caco

Well done for taking the brave step and joining our little forum. You chose the right place; we're a friendly and helpful bunch, and I'm certain you'll get lots of beneficial comments on your songs.

As for the musical side of things, I recommend getting yourself a stage piano. Not as convenient as the guitar, but a portable instrument you can use to accompany yourself that doesn't have to set you back a fortune. The most basic yamaha stage piano is about £250 I think and actually has a pretty decent sound for the price. Of course a second hand, older one will be considerably less.

Looking forward to your contributions

Tone

Welcome

Don't worry about you feeling like you are not musical. It doesn't matter. You like music, you write lyrics,
you're here, cool
Don't be worried about giving feedback to sings either. There are some people on here who give
fantastic advice about all kinds of technical stuff. (I have learned plenty on these forums) But there are also plenty who
won't tell you whether the last chord of the chorus should have been held for an extra two beats or that
there's too much chorus on the guitar but instead will just tell you if they liked it, how it made them feel, whether is
had them tapping their feet All feedback is good regardless of whether you you feel yourself to be a credible
critique.
I hope you join in and stay around.
Greetings Lee.

Hi Caco. Welcome to the forum. There's no need to be nervous as everyone is friendly here.

I was in a similar situation to you. I've been writing songs for years but only ever played them to family and friends until I joined this forum in October last year. I also didn't have any recording equipment but I now have a reasonable condenser mic after tips from this forum. It hasn't made my singing any better though  .

Do you have any interest in writing music or just lyrics? Do you intend to invest in a piano/keyboard/flute?

Schavuitje is right about giving reviews. The general rule is to review other people's songs so they review yours. The review doesn't have to be technical, it can simply be what you liked about the song.

Justin

Thank you all! Very welcoming!!

Justin to answer your questions - yes I really want to get more into the musical side. I've written loads of lyrics just for myself - some of which I'm really proud of, some of which I'm kind of embarrassed by - but I don't want it all just to be words on a page - I'd love to somehow bring them to life and make them performable - I guess you never really know whether any of it's any good until you can actually hear it... And yes I definitely want to invest in a portable digital piano so that I can try to get back what little playing ability I once had and hopefully use it to help me write some music. I am job hunting at the moment though so don't have the money, and as I'm applying for jobs here and abroad I don't know where I'll end up, but as soon as I am settled somewhere I think it'll be the first thing I'll buy. Then maybe if I get anywhere with that I might then invest in a mic too. Total novice there though - I have no idea what a condenser mic is! Guess I'll get to know lots more about this sort of thing reading other people's advice on the forum...

Anyway thanks again, you seem like a nice bunch! 

Welcome Caco - get stuck right in

Welcome aboard.

There's lots going on here, and more happening all the time.