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complexity vs simplicity in songwriting- which is the best route?


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nice stuff.

i dig her voice. i hear a lot of innocence mission and [a touch of] johnatha brooke in there. for me, that's awesome

track 4 doesn't sound so simple to me; that change is out, man. (really liked it) also, the arpeggiated guit approach is layered pretty intricately. 7's beautiful. straight up. nice chromatic descent in progression.

i dig this album. i think this music's not a good example of simplicity in any of its presentation.

nice stuff, man - let me know when and where i can get myself a copy.

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I don't think this is a real dispute until the terms are given stable stipulative definitions which can ground the discussion.

I will note my dissatisfaction with the anti-intellectual tone in some of the posts. Songs can appeal to listerners in many ways.

Personally, I tend to de-emphasize appeals to commonplace experiences and easily recognizable emotions in my own work...I want to my audience to be uncertain about a) what it is that they are feeling when they listen to my songs and b) why it is that they feel that way.

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guys, like i said in the original post-- complexity can exist in lots of different forms, and all of them can apply here

im not saying a song has to have crazy time signatures and insanity the whole time to be good, just that it needs to be interesting.. someone can play a very standard sounding 4/4 guitar riff but make it very interesting simply by changing the attitude with which he plays it, putting something unexpected behind it when its time to add drums & bass, or anything. you dont have to be flying around the fretboard to make a good song, you just have to have a good amount of things you purposely stuck in there to keep grabbing the listener's attention.

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Ryan,

Many novice songwriters make the mistake of attempting to create a revolutionary new chord progression or sophisticated lyric.

It takes years to to be profound AND simple.

Try writing a great song with only three chords. There have been many and there will be many more, so let the next one be yours.

Good luck, Sherwood

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Originally posted by sherwood

Ryan,


Many novice songwriters make the mistake of attempting to create a revolutionary new chord progression or sophisticated lyric.


It takes years to to be profound AND simple.


Try writing a great song with only three chords. There have been many and there will be many more, so let the next one be yours.


Good luck, Sherwood



you see, i dont see much point in this.. yes, i understand that it can be more of a challenge for some people to make a catchy hook of a guitar riff than a complex one, but to me the catchy part just comes natural, as i've worked with music all my life.. so i dont much see the point in trying to make a song out of three chords just to show off that i can make a simple song compelling when there's so much opportunity for there to be more to the song. of course sometimes less is more, but only sometimes. as with all things, you've got to find a balance. i really feel like not only will a listener connect to the song more if there's more to it, but the songwriter will feel it is more his own, and that it's really some thing to be proud of. i dont know :freak:

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Hey Ryan,

I really dig that Aloha song, they're really good. The progression is fun, easy to listen to, and still retains alot of musicality in the different instrument tracks.

:thu::thu:

I wish I could write like that! heh. Ive been listening to Tool for too long :(

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Originally posted by sherwood

Ryan,


Many novice songwriters make the mistake of attempting to create a revolutionary new chord progression or sophisticated lyric.


It takes years to to be profound AND simple.


Try writing a great song with only three chords. There have been many and there will be many more, so let the next one be yours.


Good luck, Sherwood

 

 

I'm scanning messages here and yours in my opinion really stands out to me. The others are all great opinions too, this is an interesting topic for me.

 

If I get the urge to start the process of writing, it usually just sneaks up on me. In other words, it just "happens". I rarely get it all down the 1st time, if it becomes work to me, i set it aside leaving it alone, sometimes for months.....then BOOM, know the feeling?

 

What i have come to realize from listening to a wide variety of music, is that when one can touch the feeling of honesty in your lyrics which you believe in, it suddenly transpose itself into reality.

 

Hmmmm that almost sounds complex, to me it is simplicity.

Don't get me wrong, my music is "my" stuff, it's about tangible occurances and situations from my life experiences. Not bragging or anything like that.

 

Ever had the experience when playing guitar & working on lyrics you get a chill up the spine, or the feeling that wow.....that sounded good to me? My 2 cents says go for it!

 

Hope to read more of your opinons and discussion in the future.

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