[X4StringDrive]

The poem before the song...

Staring at the flickering screen
my eyes begin to numb
I go and grab some more caffeine
what have I now done
an office chair at home so plush
tucked in a corner space
just sitting here when came a rush
brought a smile right to my face
its 1 AM this days been long
its time I go to bed
I'll close this out with a new song
that just popped in my head


Our University song
By X4 Kenny

Vs1
Finger picking killer slide
hybrid playing too
gear reviews and improv help
all stuff you never knew

Vs2
Guitar techs and guru mods
featured members radio
backing tracks all kind of facts
even on home studios

Chorus
G F B&B
the only place you need to be
you'll be the best with your degree
from Lorange & Mullins University

Vs3
Guitar news and polling booths
great troubleshooting threads
get feedback on your playing
and showcase your best shreds

Vs4
Collaborations archive files
a music lounge to rest
Teachers, Idols, Specialist
this forum is the best

Chorus
G F B&B
the only place you need to be
you'll be the best with your degree
from Lorange & Mullins University

[eddiez152]

Actually,
I think it came out quite well.

[starsailor]

Originally Posted by carol m

Thanks for the track Chris
My own is not ready-
Still some tweaks, and then bliss
Then the vocals, oh my
Don't know how I'll sound
But I'll give it a try.

Hi Knight
Your rep
Is still intact
Thought that
I'd just have a crack
At doing something
To a hip hop track
Knock down the wall
And please come back

Pleasure Carol
Glad you liked it
Done some more
But sing as well
Not quite finished
Needs to gel
If you want to hear it
Give me a yell

Good luck with your song Carol, I've recently started just pressing the record button and letting it run, Eddiez told me a few months ago that a good way of recording is to break the track up a bit, so I press record and sing a verse, if the first takes good I stop record if not I do a few until I get near the vocal I want then I keep that verse, cut the rubbish and paste it into the song, I did that with this short demo and I've done the same with the full song, it means you don't have the pressure of having to get the whole thing right first time, I used to get stressed when I pressed the red button but the record can stay on as long as you want to, all the bad stuff can be cut. It's a much better way of recording and you have as much time as you want to build the song, bit like putting a jigsaw together really, that's one of the best bits of advice I've had.
Also if you're worried about your vocal just do the same press record and sing away until your hearts content mess around with different pitches until you find your range, I struggled a bit going low on the little track here and doubt if I could get any serious volume level at a low pitch without a lot of practice but when I go higher I'm perfectly comfortable.
Here's a little outake from the Is there a sadness here demo, it was right at the start, I got going again and managed to get it down ok with a couple of gaps which can be heard in the recording,( I couldn't get rid of these so I left them in ), but I cut this false start out, I have a few bloopers from my recording efforts one of the early ones is unpostable, I think I used every swear word in the English language, it's good fun keeping them, the Family have a good laugh at them and so do I

All the Best to everyone

Chris

[carol m]

I've been quite busy, and not much time
For playing guitar or making rhyme
The tweaking the track is still under way
I hope it'll be done in a couple of days.

[eddiez152]

starsailor,
Yep, trying to remember a number of verses is much easier when
each track has separate lyric done. When you got a good one, its a keeper then move on and then assemble the final mix in the end.
But you still need to be familiar with the timing of the music that you created.

[starsailor]

Originally Posted by eddiez152

starsailor,
Yep, trying to remember a number of verses is much easier when
each track has separate lyric done. When you got a good one, its a keeper then move on and then assemble the final mix in the end.
But you still need to be familiar with the timing of the music that you created.

That tip has helped me quite a lot Eddiez, I see what you mean about the timing though, it does take a while to get a hang of that I'm still a bit hit and miss on that, my biggest problem with doing seperate tracks is getting the vocal spot on that is taking a bit of practice

[eddiez152]

The best way for the timing issue is to lay down a few words at the correct point, start another track below, and when you see the other track start begin the one you want to sing. Think of them as timing marks. Or write down the time at each point of entry in your track.
What ever you do, you must be familiar with the tune you are gonna sing to.

[Nutty]

Hi Chris,

Does your DAW have "punch in" recording? I just discovered this and it really helps in these situations. I used to rerecord the whole track because I wasn't confident I could line everything up correctly. The "punch in" lets you identify the section you want to replace. You can start the recording before that spot (so you get into the swing of it) and it will only record over the section you have marked. It's really cool.

Nutty

[starsailor]

Originally Posted by eddiez152

The best way for the timing issue is to lay down a few words at the correct point, start another track below, and when you see the other track start begin the one you want to sing. Think of them as timing marks. Or write down the time at each point of entry in your track.
What ever you do, you must be familiar with the tune you are gonna sing to.

Thanks Eddiez, great idea, I've become a lot more relaxed about recording but laying down a vocal is still a slight problem, that's a better way of doing it I just wait for the music to start but miss the take off slightly, I think a band would kick me out after a while, I'm lucky with the tunes as I tend to write my own and it's alright when I'm playing usually but when I record it's hit and miss there's still a bit of pressure there, I have struggled with other peoples songs though that might be why I stick to my own more so I'm kind of avoiding the issue there a bit rather than meeting the problem head on, I do play other peoples songs but I rarely record them, the timing on the Runaway Girl clip is slightly out as I wasn't familiar with the BT that highlights your point about getting to know the tune it's very important, I still get lost in my own tunes sometimes, I just go blank for some reason, so I play the songs through a lot before I even attempt recording to try and avoid this happening, doesn't always work but it narrows the margin for error down, thanks for helping me out Eddiez

Originally Posted by Nutty

Hi Chris,

Does your DAW have "punch in" recording? I just discovered this and it really helps in these situations. I used to rerecord the whole track because I wasn't confident I could line everything up correctly. The "punch in" lets you identify the section you want to replace. You can start the recording before that spot (so you get into the swing of it) and it will only record over the section you have marked. It's really cool.

Nutty

Hi Nutty I have got that but I haven't used it before so thanks for pointing it out, I did and still do the same as you and rerecord which is quite time consuming and a tiredness factor creeps in, I'm trying to make recording as much fun as possible so I don't want to put pressure on if possible I'm still learning all the terminology, recording's a lot more fun than it used to be, when I let record run and lay down a few verses I get some interesting out takes the family find them very amusing so making mistakes doesn't bother me like it used to but I'd prefer to get things right, thanks for your advice Nutty

Thanks for the help Guys, hope you're both well

Chris

[starsailor]

Originally Posted by carol m

I've been quite busy, and not much time
For playing guitar or making rhyme
The tweaking the track is still under way
I hope it'll be done in a couple of days.

Hello Carol how you doing
Not much going on
Good to hear it's going well
With the runaway song
Look forward to hearing you
With a tale to tell
It's going to be a good one
I'm sure it will be swell

[eddiez152]

starsailor,
Yes punching in and out is a great feature many are aware of. But what I am talking about is listening to your vocals and verses on head phones in one track while playing through the arrangement and recording in another track for the final improved product, then removing the so called help track. Think of it as a singing coach reminding you of timing, volume, and adjustments to the vocals.
You can then punch the new vocals in for correct placement into track.
As a matter of fact, you can also stretch or shorten the vocals for music placement on current track if they are out of time and use it as an aid for your new track. Sometimes it is easier to sing along with someone than to do it alone. I think we have all been there at one time or another.
So sing it to the music and possibly forget the lyrics, or use all the help aid.
Now of course you don't get this in a live performance...................... or do they? Often wondered why performers headphones while singing. Of course I know there are other reasons included. Almost like Karaoke except you are the real thing in the final take.

[carol m]

OK guys, its all done and dusted
My puter half groaned, and I thought it was busted
Its my first multi-tracker, with voices as well
Hope you don't think that it's listening hell.

I tweaked and I pasted, until early morn
But no need to stay up till the start of the dawn
Some of the edits, might come thru to your ears
Perhaps you'll be kind, and put it down to the years
Of one aging hip-hopper, who is new to the game
The cat survived it, without too much pain
There's much that I learned, it was really quite tricky
To get all the words out, and my rhythm was sticky
In a couple of places that I didn't quite fix
And I'm not really happy with the final re-mix.

One thing to amuse you, and give you some laughter
Is the phoney yank accent, I couldn't sound dafter!
But, to get into character, I found essential
When dealing with rapping, it was quite existential
The other hard thing was to get out the words
The breath control needed was really absurd
So the flubs and the slurs I've had to leave in
I hope they're drowned out by the rest of the din.

The very last line was a bit of a gamble
With reference made to the land of the sandal
You'll see what I mean, and the rhyme seemed to fit
I hope that your sides don't suddenly split
If you get to the end, that will be a big feat
I have tried really hard, your expectations to meet.


I'm going to Members Recordings to upload it now.

[eddiez152]

Carol m,
Nice to see that you have done it. I don't think you will be judged by anyone's expectations. No one ever set any, certainly not me.
Go for it.

[X4StringDrive]

Carol....
Flabbergasted what else can I say
your tune and vox blew me away
to come out with that as your first
has led me now to a new thirst
to hear some more from you, oh my yes
I can't hardly wait I do confess
this is short but you need to know
that sure made you look like a pro
to score it as if it were a test
you aced it dear I am impressed

[carol m]

Thankyou, dear friends, it really was fun
To rhyme with abandon couldn't bring me undone
The rhyming of couplets was never more handy
But I found that I had to steer clear of the brandy
To get all the words out, I needed my air
And to finish each line, I had none left to spare.

You'd think it was easy to speak on the beat
But the words and the breathing can sometimes compete
With the need to survive (and not to expire)
Now its your turn Aunt Doty, I hope I inspire
You to give it a go with your real southern drawl,
You can use my words too, so there is no need to trawl
On the net to catch lyrics to put to a beat
If anyone wants to, that would be sweet.

PS Useful site = The Freesound Project :: Index

[carol m]

Where have all our students gone?
Long time passing......
Where have all our students gone?
Long time ago....

Where have all our students gone?
Girls/guys have picked them every one
When will they ever return?
When will they ever return?