Members nat whilk II Posted December 1, 2015 Members Share Posted December 1, 2015 My understanding is that this is a Songwriter's Forum, and that the "F"avorite "I"nfluences "T"hread has to do with sharing music that you've found inspiring or influential in reference to your own songwriting. Not just another I Like This or I Think This Is Cool thread. Just sayin' nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oldgitplayer Posted December 1, 2015 Members Share Posted December 1, 2015 ^^^ You are quite right in your observation. (BTW - Friday Influences Thread).It started out a few years back and although some postings were simply the song without any additional commentary, most posts talked about the way a song or writer or musician had influenced their own writing or playing or singing or arranging etc…………It was pertinent to the craft of songwriting. That seems to have fallen away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted December 1, 2015 Author Members Share Posted December 1, 2015 Oh yeah, corrected - Friday, not Favorites. duh. I mean the line doesn't have to be kept razor sharp on this, but if, just for instance, someone new starts posting to the F.I.T. thread I would hope they would also be involved in the Forum as a producer of songs and/or commentator on other folk's writing. Of course, if nobody is posting new stuff, it's kind of moot. I'm guilty on that score - but lots of stuff is in the works, stay tuned. nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Idunno Posted December 23, 2015 Members Share Posted December 23, 2015 The notion that any song, or a selection of them, are the influences that set our musical muse in motion is solid. But, while I can make a personal observation about their affect, they are as much to blame as they are a credit to our personal musical identities. On the one hand they have spoiled the child, on another they've inspired him. I don't know which is worse with regard to stilting development in a uniquely refreshing manner. I could keep the FIT threads stocked for the next few years with influences I both cherished at one time and now attempt to expunge from my mind. For my own part, I now wish I came up in a musical vacuum, although I cannot imagine there being innate desire to be musical or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted December 24, 2015 Members Share Posted December 24, 2015 While a list of play links to influences is nice, even if unaccompanied by text, the merits of a given track may not be immediately apparent on a first listen -- and that's why I think a few words (or more than) about the elements in the song that have had an influence on one's music craft can be especially helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted December 25, 2015 Author Members Share Posted December 25, 2015 The notion that any song, or a selection of them, are the influences that set our musical muse in motion is solid. But, while I can make a personal observation about their affect, they are as much to blame as they are a credit to our personal musical identities. On the one hand they have spoiled the child, on another they've inspired him. I don't know which is worse with regard to stilting development in a uniquely refreshing manner. I could keep the FIT threads stocked for the next few years with influences I both cherished at one time and now attempt to expunge from my mind. For my own part, I now wish I came up in a musical vacuum, although I cannot imagine there being innate desire to be musical or not. It's certainly true that one can have an influence that is "bad" for one. I wouldn't, 'tho, "blame" the influence as if it was somehow pernicious - I'd blame my own narrow-minded obsession with persisting to try to emulate somebody else when it's just not working. I mean I can't sing like James Brown, 'tho I'd like to. Silly of me to even think about trying - but at a very young age, I did try - not good, no, not good at all Really liking and responding to some other musical icon is one thing, but coming up with your own style is definitely another - it takes some personal space, some personal vibe from your own head. If you're too full of someone else's material, that can intimidate or discourage or stifle personal development. I had to "get over" Peter Gabriel at one point. Not that I admire his output any less, but he didn't really offer much that I could do something with except "sound like him". On the other hand, The Beatles are, in pop/rock, probably my biggest influence, but I can rob from them freely and somehow make the swag my own - a bit like but more not like at the same time. Maybe it's the highly eclectic nature of their output, or that I absorbed them at a young enough age that it's all deconstructed down in depths of my musical storehouse, digested, ready to be rebuilt in forms that serve my own purposes. But, yeah, I agree that influences can become crutches that keep you from developing your own musical muscles. But I would never stop listening to people because of that - I'd just work on my attitude instead. Who knows when that "bad" influence could one day flip sides and come to your aid? I don't like to throw anything away. John Lennon after all had his jukebox - I won't give up mine, either. nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LCK Posted December 25, 2015 Members Share Posted December 25, 2015 John Lennon after all had his jukebox - I won't give up mine, either. nat whilk ii "I Call Your Name" (John Lennon) and "Your Cheatin' Heart" (Hank Williams) are pretty much the same tune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Delmont Posted March 9, 2016 Members Share Posted March 9, 2016 ... I now wish I came up in a musical vacuum' date=' although I cannot imagine there being innate desire to be musical or not.[/quote'] Itr would be interesting. Like that movie Nell. Yes, there is an innate drive to make music - and to create, in general. We're hardwired to think in terms of beginning, middle, and end, to create meaning, to organize, to make connections, to communicate, and to shape. But if you'd never heard music, the sounds you'd create would have little relationship to what we think of as music. You wouldn't invent any of the scales we take for granted, you wouldn't think of three-note chords, you probably wouldn't invent rhyme, and syncopation wouldn't occur to you. So it's a trade-off. Personally, I'm happy that I've heard as many kinds of music as I have. Without it, I'd probably create simple melodies and rhythms and find words to go with them, which, in a world without music, would be a huge step forward (and a lot of fun), right? Did you know that in almost every culture around the world, small children say "Nyah, nyah-nyah nyah nyah"? Music is in our wiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Idunno Posted March 10, 2016 Members Share Posted March 10, 2016 Reading through the responses, and knowing music wasn't discovered under an over-turned rock, I can admit that it is hard-wired into us. But, I think that it dwells in its most raw, unrefined state silently, not unlike how an object lies motionless, until acted upon by an outside stimulus. The object will react to an influence in an opposite direction but the motion is linear. Music can also be that way and few seem to be able to get off its path successfully. Take the Blues. It's a rather deeply rutted path few can get their wheels out of once they get rolling. Is that altogether a bad thing? No. Of course not. But, we're all eclectic to some lesser or greater extent yet we still become inextricably trapped by some early exposure that influenced our muse away from its original raw, unrefined state. So, what to do? Just keep on keeping on, purposely stumbling around with an open mind and a resilient ear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members arteg Posted March 23, 2016 Members Share Posted March 23, 2016 I found this song is very inspirational for me: Talking Heads - Drugs.I am very impressed of contrasting chords of G-verse and E-chorus, I cannot explain, why. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGpE2oXf0aE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Delmont Posted March 25, 2016 Members Share Posted March 25, 2016 ... Take the Blues. It's a rather deeply rutted path few can get their wheels out of once they get rolling. Is that altogether a bad thing? No. Of course not. But' date=' we're all eclectic to some lesser or greater extent yet we still become inextricably trapped by some early exposure that influenced our muse away from its original raw, unrefined state. So, what to do? Just keep on keeping on, purposely stumbling around with an open mind and a resilient ear.[/quote'] Hm. Yeah, up to a point. But there's nothing wrong with a little refinement. Personally, I play blues to get untapped! It's like iambic pentameter for poets: a structure that allows you to express yourself in infinite ways, often expansively and extravagantly. The only limit is your imagination. I can't listen to Luther Allison or John Baldry or B.B. or the Butterfield Blues band or Delbert or Albert Collins or Marcia Ball or Koko or Etta and think that they're trapped. They're cutting loose, breaking out, blasting off. There's nothing wrong with having a framework to build on. That's how a lot of folks us off the ground. No one works without human influences. Even Adam and Eve had each other! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.