Moderators davie Posted June 25, 2013 Moderators Share Posted June 25, 2013 Hey guys,I've got a song sample that I need your opinion on. I roughed out an acoustic demo. I have a few other songs in the works, but I'm not sure if this song is worthwhile to work on. Its feels like its leaning towards a short verse directly into a chorus or something like that. Thinking about maybe throwing in a bridge to add constrast.Also something else has been on my mind as well. Regarding song production and performance. It seems like some songs sound good when played/produced in certain style whereas it might sound bad when done in another style. Do you think the way a song is recorded can reflect on how 'good' a song is? Or do you think a good song is a good song regardless?I've tried testing the song in different styles, like full band, synths, slow piano, and now just acoustic. For some reason the full band version doesn't sound as good, and doesn't have as much 'vibe'. Maybe this particular song needs a softer vibe?Anyway, let me know your thoughts.Here's the Link! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oswlek Posted June 25, 2013 Members Share Posted June 25, 2013 Definitely worth continuing. For me, it sounded like it would work wonderfully with a tamer piano backing, which you are probably calling "slow piano". Whatever the arrangement, I think you need to focus your attention on getting some separation between the verse and the chorus. Right now, if it weren't for the fact that the title just came in, I'd have no idea that it wasn't just two verses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted June 25, 2013 Moderators Share Posted June 25, 2013 I love the verse. That verse would work in lots of different styles. the first thing that came to mind was that cinematic thing that Vanessa Carton did on A Thousand Miles with the big sweeping feel. And it clearly works as a smaller more intimate thing. Good verse. The chorus, as O pointed out, lacks an identity. But it's almost there. The issue is twofold. The melodic rhythm is more of a run-on from the verse. There's no... HEY! HERE'S THE CHORUS!!! And, the melody actually steps down in register from the verse. In the verse you're centering around that 5th above tonic. Then you arrive at the chorus and go down to the tonic. But I like what you have too. So... How about modulating up a whole step? It wouldn't get you up to the high notes of the verse but it would give you a sense of lift and set it apart. And the melodic rhythm. Here's an idea. What about a whole bar rest after "I wanna"? Like this: I wanna (rest 2 3 4) wake up in the arms of an angel That's just one idea. But I do think you need to focus on those two components and address them to give your chorus the attention it deserves. Good stuff. Very cool pop mentality. The title/hook, the melody, it's all really good. I like it. Oh, and I love the guitar intro as well. Very nice, Davie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LCK Posted June 25, 2013 Members Share Posted June 25, 2013 davie wrote: Hey guys, I've got a song sample that I need your opinion on. I roughed out an acoustic demo. I have a few other songs in the works, but I'm not sure if this song is worthwhile to work on. Its feels like its leaning towards a short verse directly into a chorus or something like that. Thinking about maybe throwing in a bridge to add constrast. Also something else has been on my mind as well. Regarding song production and performance. It seems like some songs sound good when played/produced in certain style whereas it might sound bad when done in another style. Do you think the way a song is recorded can reflect on how 'good' a song is? Or do you think a good song is a good song regardless? I've tried testing the song in different styles, like full band, synths, slow piano, and now just acoustic. For some reason the full band version doesn't sound as good, and doesn't have as much 'vibe'. Maybe this particular song needs a softer vibe? Anyway, let me know your thoughts.Here's the Link! The song is nice. The chorus is very catchy, but it doesn't seem all that different from the verses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhino55 Posted June 25, 2013 Members Share Posted June 25, 2013 Definitely worth continuing "Also something else has been on my mind as well. Regarding song production and performance. It seems like some songs sound good when played/produced in certain style whereas it might sound bad when done in another style. Do you think the way a song is recorded can reflect on how 'good' a song is? Or do you think a good song is a good song regardless?" Yes to both. I think a good song is a good song regardless of presentation. (I say that instead of production because I think production is more or less how a song is presented when recorded, but presentation can also apply to playing it live) I also think that different presentations of the same material will be received differently by different people. Some will have a better shot at resonating with more people. An example that comes to mind is 'I Want You to Want Me.' When Cheap Trick was in the studio recording it for the first time they, or at least the A&R producer types thought it would be best to play the song really tame.My assumption is that they figured that was the best chance they had of having that song resonate with the most people. I think it's reception was kind of meh. It was too generic and got lost in all the other pop music that was coming out at the time. Then however many years later they did Live at Budokan and all of a sudden here is the same song played with some fire and BOOM. It's the main reason the band can still tour 35 years later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kumarlabels Posted June 26, 2013 Members Share Posted June 26, 2013 ya damn sure worth continuing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rickidoo Posted July 4, 2013 Members Share Posted July 4, 2013 It's funny - I listened to teh song before reading your post. When I was done, I thought - I can hear a good song in there, but the full speed ahead approach o its production doesn't do it justice. Then I read where you were experimenting. I am hearing a much slower, piano supported version, maybe with a bit of strings brought into the chorus. Just a thought. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators davie Posted July 5, 2013 Author Moderators Share Posted July 5, 2013 Thanks for listening, Rick. That's exactly what I've been doing to the song recently. As for the modulation, I think its out of the question. lol.. Instead, I decided to transpose the whole song down by a major sixth and then kick the chorus up to the next octave (taking the high and loud chorus approach). Surprisingly its still singable. I was worried that this method would make the verses too low to sing and the chorus too high to sing, but it still works. For the verse, I decided to make the vocals low and gentle sounding. I also added two extra bars at the end of the verse that repeat the last line to make the verse-chorus transition more natural sounding. I wrote a backing harmony for the chorus to make it stand out from the verse as well. So hopefully everything will come together okay. Just need to tackle that dreaded 2nd verse and also come up with a bridge. Thanks for all your feedback, guys. I'll try to post up something later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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