Arranger/Composer challenge

TVvoodoo

TVvoodoo

Ambassador of The Comfortably Slung
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Did this a few years ago on another forum where I posted some original lyrics, then threw down the gauntlet to see if anyone could compose a song/melody around it.
Anyway, I'm throwing the gauntlet down here on TTR, if anyone figures they want to have a go at working out a song in semi-collaborative mode.

My experience on guitar forums has shown me there are many powerful musical minds out there who have some trouble with lyric ideas, the poetic side. I'm kind of the opposite myself.
Participants are completely welcome to adapt the lyrics/form below, move things around, I don't care. Consider this but a shell, a half, or fully completed idea for any of you folks who struggle with putting words together but have loads of musical idea energy output looking for a song conduit. These lyrics are not Bruce Springsteen or anything, just a basic simple set of verses and chori w/ a bridge, 100% ready for your own chords and melodic treatment if you care to have a stab. No better way to work on your songcraft than to actually bear down and do it. Every time you drive through one, it gets easier and easier, and you'll get better and better at it.

Give it a go!

Lost Without My Blues Bharrison2020

V1
Things seem different these days
Not like it used to be
Something in my brain has changed
Kinda hope it’s here to stay

Chorus
But, I can hardly find my head
Livin’ without my blues
Can’t shuffle ‘round no more
In them worn out shoes
Since you came around
It’s like livin’ in a diff’rent town
I’m just lost without my blues

V2
Is this really who I am?
Can help wonderin’
Crawl’d outta my ol' snake skin
Baby, I been born again

Chorus
Hangin’ with my same old friends,
Don’t seem so cool no more
Can’t even try to pretend,
Or darken those same old doors
How can your smile, make me...
High as a mile
I’m so lost without my blues

Bridge
Bright clear eyes and sunny skies above
Forecast is low risk of pain
And your laugh is just like dopamine
Can’t stand the thought you might ever leave

V3
Must be I’m livin’ the dream
Heavy heart in quarantine
Troubled times are miles away
Waking up on holiday

Chorus
But I can hardly find my head
Livin’ without my blues
Can’t shuffle ‘round no more
In them worn out shoes
Since you came around
It’s like livin’ in a diff’rent town
I’m so lost without my blues
I'm just lost without my blues

I have composed my own little ditty around this, (still fine-tuning) and will post sometime, but if anyone dares to have a go, it's a powerful mental and musical exercise.
 
TVvoodoo said:
Did this a few years ago on another forum where I posted some original lyrics, then threw down the gauntlet to see if anyone could compose a song/melody around it.
Anyway, I'm throwing the gauntlet down here on TTR, if anyone figures they want to have a go at working out a song in semi-collaborative mode.

My experience on guitar forums has shown me there are many powerful musical minds out there who have some trouble with lyric ideas, the poetic side. I'm kind of the opposite myself.
Participants are completely welcome to adapt the lyrics/form below, move things around, I don't care. Consider this but a shell, a half, or fully completed idea for any of you folks who struggle with putting words together but have loads of musical idea energy output looking for a song conduit. These lyrics are not Bruce Springsteen or anything, just a basic simple set of verses and chori w/ a bridge, 100% ready for your own chords and melodic treatment if you care to have a stab. No better way to work on your songcraft than to actually bear down and do it. Every time you drive through one, it gets easier and easier, and you'll get better and better at it.

Give it a go!

Lost Without My Blues Bharrison2020

V1
Things seem different these days
Not like it used to be
Something in my brain has changed
Kinda hope it’s here to stay

Chorus
But, I can hardly find my head
Livin’ without my blues
Can’t shuffle ‘round no more
In them worn out shoes
Since you came around
It’s like livin’ in a diff’rent town
I’m just lost without my blues

V2
Is this really who I am?
Can help wonderin’
Crawl’d outta my ol' snake skin
Baby, I been born again

Chorus
Hangin’ with my same old friends,
Don’t seem so cool no more
Can’t even try to pretend,
Or darken those same old doors
How can your smile, make me...
High as a mile
I’m so lost without my blues

Bridge
Bright clear eyes and sunny skies above
Forecast is low risk of pain
And your laugh is just like dopamine
Can’t stand the thought you might ever leave

V3
Must be I’m livin’ the dream
Heavy heart in quarantine
Troubled times are miles away
Waking up on holiday

Chorus
But I can hardly find my head
Livin’ without my blues
Can’t shuffle ‘round no more
In them worn out shoes
Since you came around
It’s like livin’ in a diff’rent town
I’m so lost without my blues
I'm just lost without my blues

I have composed my own little ditty around this, (still fine-tuning) and will post sometime, but if anyone dares to have a go, it's a powerful mental and musical exercise.
Click to expand...
Nice! I'm working on it.
 
Me and LRT have a handful of instrumentals nearly ready to go. Would just be a matter of arranging the lyrics into the songs, or arranging the riffs around the lyrics.

Subject matter, it seems, might not quite mesh well with our (mostly) angry and more aggressive music...

I attempted to get the forum to write some lyrics for "the bear song" (which we never quite finished, btw) and it fell flat on it's face lol

We did, however, manage to be lucky enough that an esteemed member here volunteered to lay down a killer bass track on it for us (and it sounded awesome!....maybe he'll post it lol...I still haven't actually heard the full length version myself!) But I never finished my lyrics, they sucked anyway, and the coronamadness hit everybody and jammin hasn't been the same since.

The 'rona really harshed our mellow, man. Haven't really been jammin, haven't even been drinking much!




On another occasion, the entire forum came together to write song lyrics one word at a time, per person, per post. It's whimsical, but I'm proud to say it's an all original TTR masterpiece!!

Say, we should do another one like that!
 
I was rehearsing my version this afternoon ran through it several times. My 20 yr. old daughter caught herself humming it as she was getting the dog ready for walkies. We got us an earworm here in the making! :2Thumbs:

I was just thinking about what @mcblink was alluding to a "not in his genre" kind for thing.... You know, I suggest it wouldn't hurt for ANYONE to break out of your own set limitations box. I mean, I'm firmly an old hard rock guy, priest, sabbath, AC/DC sort of thing, but I enjoy all music, it'll only as aggressive as you choose to make, or not make it. Now I love to write songs, it's the producing/recording/mixing labour what drives me batshit crazy. I'd rather crank it out singer-songwriter style, move on the next one. Lazy for darn sure, but it's how I'm doing it. Some might argue if you can't do a simple acoustic arrangement of a song, might not be much of a song to begin with. I don't know if I would go that far 100% ... but in many cases, yes.

So, genre-bending case in point...

Wrote this one here a couple years ago in response to the "Me Too" movement... , put it out there just like I did this time here, (no chords, just lyrics)...

TlNL67yV_o.jpg


Excellent dude named RockYoWorld over on AGF abides, then composes, arranges then hammers out this pretty aggressive version, put way more effort into it than I expected, but says he had tons of fun doing it, develop skills, flex those muscles.

https://soundcloud.com/id%3Dstephen-avery-3%252Fme-too-demo-mixdown-2020-06-01_2324%3Btrack_id%3D832629469

There was a stark difference to my own bossa/jazz version which I revealed later....

 
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TVvoodoo said:
I was rehearsing my version this afternoon ran through it several times. My 20 yr. old daughter caught herself humming it as she was getting the dog ready for walkies. We got us an earworm here in the making! :2Thumbs:

I was just thinking about what @mcblink was alluding to a "not in his genre" kind for thing.... You know, I suggest it wouldn't hurt for ANYONE to break out of your own set limitations box. I mean, I'm firmly an old hard rock guy, priest, sabbath, AC/DC sort of thing, but I enjoy all music, it'll only as aggressive as you choose to make, or not make it. Now I love to write songs, it's the producing/recording/mixing labour what drives me bat:poo: crazy. I'd rather crank it out singer-songwriter style, move on the next one. Lazy for darn sure, but it's how I'm doing it. Some might argue if you can't do a simple acoustic arrangement of a song, might not be much of a song to begin with. I don't know if I would go that far 100% ... but in many cases, yes.

So, genre-bending case in point...

Wrote this one here a couple years ago in response to the "Me Too" movement... , put it out there just like I did this time here, (no chords, just lyrics)...

TlNL67yV_o.jpg


Excellent dude named RockYoWorld over on AGF abides, then composes, arranges then hammers out this pretty aggressive version, put way more effort into it than I expected, but says he had tons of fun doing it, develop skills, flex those muscles.

https://soundcloud.com/id%3Dstephen-avery-3%252Fme-too-demo-mixdown-2020-06-01_2324%3Btrack_id%3D832629469

There was a stark difference to my own bossa/jazz version which I revealed later....

Click to expand...
Both versions are excellent, I play more aggressively like the first version.
And I am going to check the lyrics again and see what I can do
 
mcblink said:
We did, however, manage to be lucky enough that an esteemed member here volunteered to lay down a killer bass track on it for us (and it sounded awesome!....maybe he'll post it lol...I still haven't actually heard the full length version myself!) But I never finished my lyrics, they sucked anyway, and the coronamadness hit everybody and jammin hasn't been the same since.
Click to expand...
I’ve been weird with the COVID thing. Been gear acquisition/maintenance focused, hoping it will make me want to play more. I still have the project on an active tab in Reaper, but have some new bass sound stuff in the pipeline...I want to see if it will do well with stuff like that. I hope that’s ok...maybe...can I post it as a demo of the new bass related stuff?
 
TVvoodoo said:
I was rehearsing my version this afternoon ran through it several times. My 20 yr. old daughter caught herself humming it as she was getting the dog ready for walkies. We got us an earworm here in the making! :2Thumbs:

I was just thinking about what @mcblink was alluding to a "not in his genre" kind for thing.... You know, I suggest it wouldn't hurt for ANYONE to break out of your own set limitations box. I mean, I'm firmly an old hard rock guy, priest, sabbath, AC/DC sort of thing, but I enjoy all music, it'll only as aggressive as you choose to make, or not make it. Now I love to write songs, it's the producing/recording/mixing labour what drives me bat:poo: crazy. I'd rather crank it out singer-songwriter style, move on the next one. Lazy for darn sure, but it's how I'm doing it. Some might argue if you can't do a simple acoustic arrangement of a song, might not be much of a song to begin with. I don't know if I would go that far 100% ... but in many cases, yes.

So, genre-bending case in point...

Wrote this one here a couple years ago in response to the "Me Too" movement... , put it out there just like I did this time here, (no chords, just lyrics)...

TlNL67yV_o.jpg


Excellent dude named RockYoWorld over on AGF abides, then composes, arranges then hammers out this pretty aggressive version, put way more effort into it than I expected, but says he had tons of fun doing it, develop skills, flex those muscles.

https://soundcloud.com/id%3Dstephen-avery-3%252Fme-too-demo-mixdown-2020-06-01_2324%3Btrack_id%3D832629469

There was a stark difference to my own bossa/jazz version which I revealed later....

Click to expand...
My genres are quite broad...most of the stuff that's already kinda done is for the most part, different types of metal.
Think I might try to come up with something tomorrow and over the weekend, possibly.

Thatbastarddon said:
I’ve been weird with the COVID thing. Been gear acquisition/maintenance focused, hoping it will make me want to play more. I still have the project on an active tab in Reaper, but have some new bass sound stuff in the pipeline...I want to see if it will do well with stuff like that. I hope that’s ok...maybe...can I post it as a demo of the new bass related stuff?
Click to expand...
Hell yeah, go ahead and post whatever you are comfortable with, or don't! Lol
Not intending to put you on the spot or anything...no pressure at all!
 
mcblink said:
Hell yeah, go ahead and post whatever you are comfortable with, or don't! Lol
Not intending to put you on the spot or anything...no pressure at all!
Click to expand...
Thanks! Not feeling put on the spot...been tutoring some recording stuff this week with two new mic’s. When I open Reaper to make a demo project, it’s there...making me feel like a bastard for not finishing it.
 
Thatbastarddon said:
Thanks! Not feeling put on the spot...been tutoring some recording stuff this week with two new mic’s. When I open Reaper to make a demo project, it’s there...making me feel like a bastard for not finishing it.
Click to expand...
No worries...the whole world's been turned on it's side and things are strange. We haven't even been playing much at all over here. I try to....but stuff just hasn't been awesome lately. The creative juices sorta dried up a bit I guess
 
Thatbastarddon said:
I’ve been weird with the COVID thing. Been gear acquisition/maintenance focused, hoping it will make me want to play more. I still have the project on an active tab in Reaper, but have some new bass sound stuff in the pipeline...I want to see if it will do well with stuff like that. I hope that’s ok...maybe...can I post it as a demo of the new bass related stuff?
Click to expand...
You have got to put it up.
I would like to do the same, and everybody here would like to hear it as well.
No pressure
I just love to hear my brother’s input / collaboration / and all the great music we will hear !!
Cheers
Mitch
 
Kb - MUCH RESPECT! - :electric::jammer:
I love, LOVE LOVE that main greasy nasty riff and tones, man! I can feel you groovin' on it from here! I also really love the tempo you picked.
Bridge needs some work I think, I do hope you decide to finish it proper! I think maybe you could use a bar or two of space in a couple of sections give yourself
a breath, and let the music breath a bit - including maybe a bit of an intro, rather than just hard in?
That is something I myself have had to work on, had several people tell me, so I listen for it now remember all the time too.

BUT... Completely listenable, and Winner of the FIRST IN bragging rights, even before me!

One thing everyone should note... when I throw words up to use, you don't have to use them all, sometimes if it works better for your form, you can throw out a line, change a line or repeat a line twice, even add a new line
if you wish. Don't take the form or lyrics as carved in stone.

I actually changed a couple chords in my own version yesterday, was reminding me a little too much of a Tracy Chapman riff, still kind of bugs me how close it I came to it, without me realizing until it was pointed out to me.
 
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