Calling All Musicians

[Vicki]

Calling All Musician

Just wondered if any of you would be interested in colaborating on a song or a CD or something along those lines?

A compilation might be interesting and if we could earn something from it that would be pretty awesome. Any body interested in something like that?

I wrote lyrics to a song tonight but have no idea of what music I'd put to that. I don't know if it's even a full song yet. Sometimes I just throw lyrics in a notebook and let a melody come to me first. Then I can go through some of my lryics and see if anything works. Sometimes I have riffs with no songs, sometimes lyrics. I would think most musicians are the same. I'll post the lyrics I wrote tonight here. This can be considered copyrighted and published right here right now. This is my evidence. Anyway here goes the song with no name as of yet.

I make just enough
to have it taxed from me
What to do
I think I see
No more productivity
Sign up for my charity
This new way
you get just enough
Not enough?
Oh that's tuff
There's millions more
just like me
signing up
for their charity
I wish I could do
what I was born to do
but I'm a slave
and so are you


Btw.. I don't get charity but if things keep going south, we may all be begging for something. The lyrics are not literal. They are metamorphical.

 

[Vicki]

My guess is that would be a rock song.

 

[Mark Armstrong]

I realize you didn't ask for a critique. But a few suggestions, if I may.

1. Break your lyrics down into syllables. Do you have the same number of syllables in each verse? If you are to have music with repeated sections, you will need sections with the same number of syllables so that they can match. (And these aren't necessarily dictionary syllabications, but rather spoken or sung syllables.) Let's look at what you have:

I MAKE JUST E-NOUGH (5)
TO HAVE IT TAXED FROM ME (6)
WHAT DO I SEE (4)
I THINK I SEE (4)
NO MORE PRO-DUC-TI-VI-TY (7)
SIGN UP FOR MY CHA-RI-TY (7)
THIS NEW WAY (3)
YOU GET JUST E-NOUGH (5)
NOT E-NOUGH? (3)
OH THAT'S TUFF! (3)
THERE'S MIL-LIONS MORE (4)
JUST LIKE ME (3)
SIG-NING UP (3)
FOR THEIR CHA-RI-TY (5)
I WISH I COULD DO MORE (5)
WHAT I WAS BORN TO DO (6)
BUT I'M A SLAVE (4)
AND SO ARE YOU (4)

SO: 5...6...3...4...7...7...3...5...3...3...4...3...3...5...5...6...4...4

Hard to match a melody to that, or even a rap beat. You need rhythm, cadence, poetic metre. It needs to be something you could chant to the beat of a drum.

For instance:

NOT E-NOUGH (3)
OF A WAGE FOR ME (5)
TAX-ES ARE (3)
DEAD-LY AS CAN BE (5)
KIL-LING OFF (3)
PRO-DUC-TI-VI-TY (5)
SIGN UP FOR (3)
MY NEW CHA-RI-TY (5)
THIS NEW WAY (3)
YOU GET JUST E-NOUGH (5)
NOT E-NOUGH (3)
OH MY, THAT IS TOUGH! (5)
MIL-LIONS MORE (3)
LIKE ME SIG-NING UP (5)
CHA-RI-TY (3)
THAT IS WHAT IS UP (5)

2. You also need some structure, such as:

Verse -- Chorus -- Verse -- Chorus

or

Verse -- Chorus -- Verse -- Chorus -- Bridge -- Chorus

or

Verse -- Chorus -- Verse -- Chorus -- Verse -- Chorus

or

Verse -- Verse -- Bridge -- Verse

For instance:

(verse 1)

NOT E-NOUGH OF A WAGE FOR ME,
TAX-ES ARE DEAD-LY AS CAN BE,
KIL-LING OFF PRO-DUC-TI-VI-TY.
SIGN UP FOR MY NEW CHA-RI-TY.

(chorus)

WISH I COULD DO AS RICH MEN DO.
BUT I'M A SLAVE, AND SO ARE YOU.

(verse 2)

THIS NEW WAY YOU GET JUST E-NOUGH.
NOT E-NOUGH? OH MY, THAT IS TOUGH!
MIL-LIONS MORE LIKE ME SIG-NING UP.
CHA-RI-TY, THAT IS WHAT IS UP.

(chorus)

WISH I COULD DO AS RICH MEN DO.
BUT I'M A SLAVE, AND SO ARE YOU.

3. Setting it to music.

I like using the natural inflection of the opening lyrics to create the melody. Unless one speaks in a monotone, a spoken line will have a subtle melody to it you can use.

Another trick is to come up with some chord progressions, perhaps using the three principle chords of a key, and the three principal chords of the relative minor. Then, create your melody out of the notes that make up those chords.

And of course, for a musical bridge, you might change keys, and chords.

Just a few suggestions, offered with good intentions. Just trying to be helpful.

 

[Vicki]

You're too cool Mark. You spent alot of time with that and I thank you. I agree pretty much with everything you wrote. I also have been writing songs for quite sometime and have enough for a CD already finished but have yet to release it. When I write like I did in the OP I don't format too much till I have some idea of what I want the music to sound like but your phrasing is well taken. Let's just say I give myself lots of wiggle room. lol

What do you play? Do you have a CD?

I belonged to a songwriters group online for quite a few years. We used to get together and record each others music in a weekend somewhere around the country. We pretty much butchered everyone's songs.. lol.. but it was SO MUCH FUN and I met some great musicians that way. Unfortunately I left music for awhile and our great leader passed away so I don't know if the group is still together or not. I was thinking if there was enough interest and talent on TB that maybe we could do something as a small group. That would be fun and musical styles wouldn't matter much in a compilation works. Think I'm crazy?

I seriously plan on getting a CD out this year and hope to do some youtube stuff to accompany it. My youngest son is already doing a bit of that and having some success and some interest. His style is greatly different than mine but we do want to do something together one of these days.

Would you mind sharing some info on your musical abilities with us? Love to hear it. Wish some others would pop in here too.

Thanks for working on those lyrics and if you have an idea for them, feel free.

I'll check back with you.

Vicki

 

[Mark Armstrong]

I was playing a guitar for a while, but I'm out of practice. Mostly just use an electric ukulele as of late.

Music and songwriting is just a hobby for me. I have played and sung at church, office parties, at a state test-examiners' conference. The only time I recorded anything was when I recorded a love song I wrote. I won't say what the outcome of that escapade was. All I can say is it didn't work out as anticipated.

If I ever get back to doing comic book stories, I hope to include original songs in some of the stories.

 

[Vicki]

What's keeping you? I had to get away from music for awhile as I was very frustrated with it and what it represented really. Sad when that happens but I was going through a ruff patch. The stars had something to do with that I think. Neptune actually and it stays in a certain area of your chart for I think it's 12 years. It stiffled me for the last 12 years and it left that part of my chart this last February. NOW I'm feeling the need to get back where I was and then some. It feels good.

Hang in there if you're going through a creative block. It happens to us artists and it too shall pass.

If you ever need some help with music for your comics, let me know. It might be a good challenge for me. Who is your character and what do they do in your comics? I used to love "UnderDog".. lol He was my hero.

Do you still have your love song? I've often thought of doing a blog but honestly I don't care for building and maintaining websites. Wish we had someone to do that for us. Hint hint.. anyone out there?

Well looks like we need to get to work eh? I know i do. Life keeps getting in the way!

Vicki