Floating Singer Songwriter

[Bob Blues]

There I was in the middle of a session recording to a very tight deadline, and I was burning the oil at both ends and was trying to record a hard rock Christmas carol piece Lots of guitar tracks had been sent to me and I had to put Hammond and a load of synth parts down before sending them back the next day to be mixed and mastered so they could hit the Christmas rush.

 

The Synth parts went down easy and as they are Direct to the AD/DA Converts all I needed was a pair of headphones. The difficulty was when I had to put the Hammond down, I need to use the monitor speakers instead of the cans. I shifted the dog down the boat onto the bed and miked up the Leslie and started the recording process. Suddenly half way through the dog shot down the boat and started barking at the door (right next to one of the Leslie Mikes). Suitably scolded and put back on the bed I started again, Same thing happened at the same place dog ran down the boat and started barking at the door. This happened three or four more times at the same place before I caught on that in my hurry to record one of the synth parts I had left a mike on and had recorded my friend coming to the boat in the afternoon and knocking on the roof which got recorded by mistake.

once that was edited out no more problems and made the deadlines.

 

Are you sure you want to record on a boat?

 

Bob

[FORTUNATA]

There I was in the middle of a session recording to a very tight deadline, and I was burning the oil at both ends and was trying to record a hard rock Christmas carol piece Lots of guitar tracks had been sent to me and I had to put Hammond and a load of synth parts down before sending them back the next day to be mixed and mastered so they could hit the Christmas rush.

 

The Synth parts went down easy and as they are Direct to the AD/DA Converts all I needed was a pair of headphones. The difficulty was when I had to put the Hammond down, I need to use the monitor speakers instead of the cans. I shifted the dog down the boat onto the bed and miked up the Leslie and started the recording process. Suddenly half way through the dog shot down the boat and started barking at the door (right next to one of the Leslie Mikes). Suitably scolded and put back on the bed I started again, Same thing happened at the same place dog ran down the boat and started barking at the door. This happened three or four more times at the same place before I caught on that in my hurry to record one of the synth parts I had left a mike on and had recorded my friend coming to the boat in the afternoon and knocking on the roof which got recorded by mistake.

once that was edited out no more problems and made the deadlines.

 

Are you sure you want to record on a boat?

 

Bob

I concluded my German Shep wasn't musical. If I played back a recording of a track I did he'd lie down and start to snooze. However, one day he seemed to quite like it. Started wagging his tail and then grabbed a squeaky toy to "join in with the harmony".

As time is short now, I'll just add that I think it's a pity so few people are learning piano. I started to set my synth on piano and, for a while, left off my multitrack recording to just play with both hands. I worked out the Incredible Hulk Lonely Man theme one day and that was quite easy to play. The part where Bill Bixby is thumbing for a lift on a highway and the piano in the background.

Anyway, I think what it is is people think learning to play piano is difficult. It is if you go through all the long winded grading systems with musical notation but the truth is if you spend time on a piano messing about, you figure it out. I started just doing arpeggio chords with my left hand and then trying to play a melody at the same time with the right. At first it was really difficult and I had to go extremely slow to train my hands to operate apart. After a week or so, though, it started to come. I am now doing John Lennon style - piano played with the idea of singing at the same time. So, I now do bass with the lest and am swapping over a bit to do chords with the right hand.

Anyone reading this can start with a cheap keyboard and start learning to play piano. It's a cheap hobby. There is also YOUTUBE where you get simple lessons.

[FORTUNATA]

I've been on a creative bend. It always happens when I take a total break from music and do work on the boat. Then when I go back to music it's so easy to make good riffs. I find if I do too much music I get hyper critical and strangle my riffs and licks as never good enough. That's a big mistake in music. The Beatles used to simply knock out part of a song and then pass stuff on. Baby You're A Rich Man was chorus by McCartney but John did the other part. They went with the flow and made a sad song better.
I was mucking about today and just worked out Michelle by ear. I did it in a strange key. I think I started it in maybe G Minor (can't recall). However, I had this furious argument with someone about this once and figure maybe I should get feedback. You see, the way I play I don't know the names of chords. I only know by name about 5 chords but the many many chords I use I don't know what they are. I was told by someone who's very self opinonated it is impossible. That is, he says you can't just listen to a tune and fish out chords purely by ear. And I maintain I can do it easily. Like Michelle I was playing the melody with my right hand and I got the chords note by note. I listen to the sound of each note and when it sounds right, I am O.K. with it. I have never claimed to be able to totally reproduce the song exactly as it is. Sometimes I might change a chord just a touch so the song is still the same song but a slightly different variation. I call it "jazzing the chords". I feel confident it sounds fine. I have met other people online who claim they have no" major" issue sussing out chords by ear alone.
Anyone else relate to that?

[Neil2]

I've been on a creative bend. It always happens when I take a total break from music and do work on the boat. Then when I go back to music it's so easy to make good riffs. I find if I do too much music I get hyper critical and strangle my riffs and licks as never good enough. That's a big mistake in music. The Beatles used to simply knock out part of a song and then pass stuff on. Baby You're A Rich Man was chorus by McCartney but John did the other part. They went with the flow and made a sad song better.

I was mucking about today and just worked out Michelle by ear. I did it in a strange key. I think I started it in maybe G Minor (can't recall). However, I had this furious argument with someone about this once and figure maybe I should get feedback. You see, the way I play I don't know the names of chords. I only know by name about 5 chords but the many many chords I use I don't know what they are. I was told by someone who's very self opinonated it is impossible. That is, he says you can't just listen to a tune and fish out chords purely by ear. And I maintain I can do it easily. Like Michelle I was playing the melody with my right hand and I got the chords note by note. I listen to the sound of each note and when it sounds right, I am O.K. with it. I have never claimed to be able to totally reproduce the song exactly as it is. Sometimes I might change a chord just a touch so the song is still the same song but a slightly different variation. I call it "jazzing the chords". I feel confident it sounds fine. I have met other people online who claim they have no" major" issue sussing out chords by ear alone.

Anyone else relate to that?

There are a lot of people who claim to be able to do it, but if the efforts you see on the internet are anything to go by not that many are successful.

 

It depends.

 

When I played semi-pro we had a repertoire of maybe 40 songs, and every one I had meticulously worked out by ear. Being a guitarist I found I could easily tell whether the song had been composed on guitar or keyboard, and if it was a guitar composed song I would get it almost straight away. But if the song had clearly been composed on piano say, sometimes I would give up in frustration. For example, trying to work out the chords on a Carole King song is maddeningly difficult for a guitar player, but her oft time collaborator, James Taylor wrote all his stuff on guitar and his songs are quite easy to suss.

 

I think keyboard players maybe have a better ear for this sort of thing. I had an uncle who couldn't read music but could play almost anything if he knew the tune well enough. I've often wondered if this is a by product of learning the piano, or whether natural keyboard players have some sort of innate ability.

 

I have seen chord sheets and tablature in guitar magazines that are obviously wrong and these have been done by professionals. I have heard many well known tunes such as "Brown Sugar" or "All Right Now" played wrong because the band haven't bothered to work it out correctly.

 

Another real challenge is Joni Mitchell who used a plethora of open tunings, so the first step is to try and work out what tuning she used to write the song. Open tunings are a guitarists worst nightmare. I once nearly had someone fall at my feet because I showed him how to play the famous riff from "Nutbush City Limits" which is impossible to do unless you know that Ike Turner wrote the song in open G, (like Brown Sugar and Honky Tonk Women, BTW)

 

The holy grail in rock music is the classic instrumental "Sylvia" by the Dutch band Focus. It sounds so simple on the face of it but there are so many chord changes behind the guitar solo I don't know that anyone has ever been able to do it accurately.

So there's a real project for you Fortunata - if you can nail those chords you could be a Youtube hero.

[Bob Blues]

The holy grail in rock music is the classic instrumental "Sylvia" by the Dutch band Focus. It sounds so simple on the face of it but there are so many chord changes behind the guitar solo I don't know that anyone has ever been able to do it accurately.

So there's a real project for you Fortunata - if you can nail those chords you could be a Youtube hero.

Yea agree, I play the Hammond part to Sylvia, Its such a lovely piece and you have to listen carefully to get the full chord arrangement. Jan Akkerman and Thijs van Leer who played the on the track are two amazing musicians. I think they both tour still.

 

Bob

[Neil2]

Yea agree, I play the Hammond part to Sylvia, Its such a lovely piece and you have to listen carefully to get the full chord arrangement. Jan Akkerman and Thijs van Leer who played the on the track are two amazing musicians. I think they both tour still.

 

Bob

Not quite sure how this fits with a canal boat forum, but anyway...

 

Focus were dare I say it such an underrated band, even though they were required listening when I was in the sixth form, partly because there was always a huge amount of friction between Thijs Van Leer and Jan Akkerman. This, I'm told, was largely because Akkerman refused to play anything "straight" (because of his jazz background) whereas Van Leer thought their live performances should be as close as possible to the original recordings.

 

I saw them live in Sheffield in the 1970's and it's true even the classics like Sylvia, and Focus II Akkerman couldn't bring himself to play them note for note. Also he always sounded a little out of tune to me. But their recorded work is absolutely peerless.

[FORTUNATA]

There are a lot of people who claim to be able to do it, but if the efforts you see on the internet are anything to go by not that many are successful.

 

It depends.

 

When I played semi-pro we had a repertoire of maybe 40 songs, and every one I had meticulously worked out by ear. Being a guitarist I found I could easily tell whether the song had been composed on guitar or keyboard, and if it was a guitar composed song I would get it almost straight away. But if the song had clearly been composed on piano say, sometimes I would give up in frustration. For example, trying to work out the chords on a Carole King song is maddeningly difficult for a guitar player, but her oft time collaborator, James Taylor wrote all his stuff on guitar and his songs are quite easy to suss.

 

I think keyboard players maybe have a better ear for this sort of thing. I had an uncle who couldn't read music but could play almost anything if he knew the tune well enough. I've often wondered if this is a by product of learning the piano, or whether natural keyboard players have some sort of innate ability.

 

I have seen chord sheets and tablature in guitar magazines that are obviously wrong and these have been done by professionals. I have heard many well known tunes such as "Brown Sugar" or "All Right Now" played wrong because the band haven't bothered to work it out correctly.

 

Another real challenge is Joni Mitchell who used a plethora of open tunings, so the first step is to try and work out what tuning she used to write the song. Open tunings are a guitarists worst nightmare. I once nearly had someone fall at my feet because I showed him how to play the famous riff from "Nutbush City Limits" which is impossible to do unless you know that Ike Turner wrote the song in open G, (like Brown Sugar and Honky Tonk Women, BTW)

 

The holy grail in rock music is the classic instrumental "Sylvia" by the Dutch band Focus. It sounds so simple on the face of it but there are so many chord changes behind the guitar solo I don't know that anyone has ever been able to do it accurately.

So there's a real project for you Fortunata - if you can nail those chords you could be a Youtube hero.

You're right it's easier for keyboard players. This is because you get to know where all the notes are and can see the patterns. I could talk about this for ages. The thing is, many times I've been working out a known song and I've accidentally hit a chord that, for some strange reason, works fine but isn't the original chord. Yet, it makes the song sound great because it's a bit like drinking lemonade and adding a drop of whiskey. I have no idea of music theory but it may be harmonic chords I stumble upon. I have a feeling jazz piano players do it on purpose and play jazzed versions of songs. So, I am open to admit if I use a chord that might not be the exact identical one to the original, I don't get hung up on it if the song is still intact and everyone knows what it is I'm playing.

Sometimes also, I struggle. Last night I started on Strawberry Fields Forever, singing and playing on synth. I got the "Let me take you down cause I'm going to..." part to perfection but drew a blank on the "and nothing to get hung about.." bit. I just cannot fish it out.

On a very very ambitious day, I had a go at Moonlight Sonata. I know it inspired John Lennon to write Because since he heard Yoko Ono play it on his piano. Anyway, I'll be honest and confess I did get a fragment but the entire composition is graded complex. I've got new respect for Yoko as I've been told Moonlight Sonata is about grade 7 piano (advanced).

I've been having a great time with music lately. I've had a lot of stress with everyday issues and it seems to me when you're stressed, your music becomes more creative. I wrote a great pop/rock tune with some really cool bass in it and was pleasantly surprised my singing sounded fine. I was also singing John Denver's Sunshine On My shoulders which I put into another key. I feel pretty sure he based it on Here There And Everywhere. On playback, I decided my singing will need a lot of work on that track because some parts sounded O.K. and other parts terrible. For guitarists, this is quite simple to play (and, yes, I'm a Denver fan and been working on a tribute song to do on YouTube).

Here is the original:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3yt2aH42JE

 

 

[FORTUNATA]

There are a lot of people who claim to be able to do it, but if the efforts you see on the internet are anything to go by not that many are successful.

 

It depends.

 

When I played semi-pro we had a repertoire of maybe 40 songs, and every one I had meticulously worked out by ear. Being a guitarist I found I could easily tell whether the song had been composed on guitar or keyboard, and if it was a guitar composed song I would get it almost straight away. But if the song had clearly been composed on piano say, sometimes I would give up in frustration. For example, trying to work out the chords on a Carole King song is maddeningly difficult for a guitar player, but her oft time collaborator, James Taylor wrote all his stuff on guitar and his songs are quite easy to suss.

 

I think keyboard players maybe have a better ear for this sort of thing. I had an uncle who couldn't read music but could play almost anything if he knew the tune well enough. I've often wondered if this is a by product of learning the piano, or whether natural keyboard players have some sort of innate ability.

 

I have seen chord sheets and tablature in guitar magazines that are obviously wrong and these have been done by professionals. I have heard many well known tunes such as "Brown Sugar" or "All Right Now" played wrong because the band haven't bothered to work it out correctly.

 

Another real challenge is Joni Mitchell who used a plethora of open tunings, so the first step is to try and work out what tuning she used to write the song. Open tunings are a guitarists worst nightmare. I once nearly had someone fall at my feet because I showed him how to play the famous riff from "Nutbush City Limits" which is impossible to do unless you know that Ike Turner wrote the song in open G, (like Brown Sugar and Honky Tonk Women, BTW)

 

The holy grail in rock music is the classic instrumental "Sylvia" by the Dutch band Focus. It sounds so simple on the face of it but there are so many chord changes behind the guitar solo I don't know that anyone has ever been able to do it accurately.

So there's a real project for you Fortunata - if you can nail those chords you could be a Youtube hero.

"So there's a real project for you Fortunata - if you can nail those chords you could be a Youtube hero."

Hard to say if exercise will develop "ear" to be able to do amazing things. Sometimes I think if you really love hearing a song and you relate to the song, you will be able to work it out.

I have found that a very under-rated songwriter/singer I admire a lot if the Irish Gilbert O Sullivan. I took time to read up on a lot of advice from Gilbert as I was always impressed by the way he strings his music together. He now lives in Jersey I think but tours Europe a lot. I did a track of his from the eighties that I think went to number 2 in the charts called What's In A kIss. I was really flattered to find my attempt went down really well and they actually played my recorded version at the supermarket. So, all the shoppers were buying their stuff and I was being played on the loudspeaker. Really cool!

One woman told me the song sounds like Russ Tambolyn doing Tom Thumb.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV5eBWWon6g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irdW5olhuAM

 

 

 

[Ark Right]

This topic is going to have more posts than Pillings

 

Mainly by Fortunata

 

[Zayna]

I sing. I used to sing in pubs and clubs week in, week out. I've had lessons for years and for me it's like going to a gym, but for my voice. I love my lessons and still go every week.

 

I only really do gigs now if I'm invited, I don't look for work any more. I never really liked the stuff I had to sing as a pub singer. If I never have to sing Simply The Best ever again, I'll be a happy woman.

 

Now I prefer to sing jazz and swing songs, I'm following in my mum's footsteps really, she sang with the big bands in the 1950s.

 

The way I see it, you don't have to have a perfect voice to be any good. The delivery of the song, singing it with feeling, telling a story, is much more important than being absolutely note perfect. I cringe at shouty singers who are trying to imitate whatever is playing on Radio 1 these days. For some reason, if you go on X Factor and you can belt out a great big long note with a face like you've been constipated for a month, you're heralded as World Class.

 

Just sing from the heart, and sing every day. Warm up before you start, and enjoy yourself.

[FORTUNATA]

I sing. I used to sing in pubs and clubs week in, week out. I've had lessons for years and for me it's like going to a gym, but for my voice. I love my lessons and still go every week.

 

I only really do gigs now if I'm invited, I don't look for work any more. I never really liked the stuff I had to sing as a pub singer. If I never have to sing Simply The Best ever again, I'll be a happy woman.

 

Now I prefer to sing jazz and swing songs, I'm following in my mum's footsteps really, she sang with the big bands in the 1950s.

 

The way I see it, you don't have to have a perfect voice to be any good. The delivery of the song, singing it with feeling, telling a story, is much more important than being absolutely note perfect. I cringe at shouty singers who are trying to imitate whatever is playing on Radio 1 these days. For some reason, if you go on X Factor and you can belt out a great big long note with a face like you've been constipated for a month, you're heralded as World Class.

 

Just sing from the heart, and sing every day. Warm up before you start, and enjoy yourself.

Something very different yesterday. I did a version of Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite. I used drawbar organ sound with synthesised padding and reverb. My impression is it sounded radical and good. I threw in some slight chord transitions to give it an angle as well. Quite simple to work it out really and ,yes, I was singing it.

Also did a piano arrangement of Chiquitita by Abba. I never quite know how these songs come about but sometimes I play and a song will just evolve.

Weird thing is you play something like Mr Kite to a girl you know and they have never heard of it. Or you get, "I don't like The Beatles".