'Good Lord', with my friend b singing. New Original Song

**Wruff_ajax** · 10.06.18, 08:16 PM

My friend's an awesome singer and loves singing the psalms and gospel while I'm playing original stuff on guitar. We just jam out and improvise stuff and over the past couple of years have written a few pretty solid tunes.
So I'm "producing" a few of our songs and will soon hopefully have 5 or 6 of these tunes finished (well, as finished as I'm gonna get them).

Here's the first one, we recorded at my place last night, and I did some very sparse mixing today, added a solo.

She wrote the words for this one. This song's really new, written in recent weeks. I think the rest of our songs are taken from texts of the psalms though.

b- singer
me - guitars
track - drums

Enjoy

**Get The Show On The Road** · 10.13.18, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by Wruff_ajax

My friend's an awesome singer and loves singing the psalms and gospel while I'm playing original stuff on guitar. We just jam out and improvise stuff and over the past couple of years have written a few pretty solid tunes.
So I'm "producing" a few of our songs and will soon hopefully have 5 or 6 of these tunes finished (well, as finished as I'm gonna get them).

Here's the first one, we recorded at my place last night, and I did some very sparse mixing today, added a solo.

She wrote the words for this one. This song's really new, written in recent weeks. I think the rest of our songs are taken from texts of the psalms though.

b- singer
me - guitars
track - drums

Enjoy

That was cool Wruff.

How do you come up with your music? Do you hear it in your head first or do you grab a guitar and just let your fingers go where they want to go?

**RRvh1** · 10.14.18, 12:07 AM

That was neat stuff!
I liked the guitar playing and the note choices you made. Cool riffs, and your friend does have a good voice. I enjoyed that. Thanks.

**RRvh1** · 10.14.18, 12:10 AM

Originally Posted by Get The Show On The Road

That was cool Wruff.

How do you come up with your music? Do you hear it in your head first or do you grab a guitar and just let your fingers go where they want to go?

He doesn't claim to have come up with anything, and all his ideas are received whilst sitting on the pot...

**Wruff_ajax** · 10.14.18, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by Get The Show On The Road

That was cool Wruff.

Thanks, Show.

How do you come up with your music? Do you hear it in your head first or do you grab a guitar and just let your fingers go where they want to go?

Both, I suppose. I'm always hearing it in my head, and then however that gets translated from my mind to my fingers to the instrument is just how it comes out. I don't know. Usually writes itself, I guess.
This one I remember waking up and picking up the guitar with nothing particular in mind and just hitting those first two simple 1/2 beat chordal down strokes and then just taking it where it wanted to go from there, maybe emphasizing this or accenting that along the way for progressions, themes, a little decor here or there, exploring and fleshing it out. And in this acoustic style with a singer my being mindful of simply serving the song, hopefully.

**Wruff_ajax** · 10.14.18, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by RRvh1

That was neat stuff!
I liked the guitar playing and the note choices you made. Cool riffs, and your friend does have a good voice. I enjoyed that. Thanks.

Thanks RR. I'm working on producing several of these songs. Hopefully one every couple of weeks.

**RRvh1** · 10.14.18, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by Wruff_ajax

Thanks RR. I'm working on producing several of these songs. Hopefully one every couple of weeks.

Nice!
That's a good goal, and looking forward to hearing them.

**Get The Show On The Road** · 10.14.18, 08:37 PM

Originally Posted by Wruff_ajax

Thanks, Show.

Both, I suppose. I'm always hearing it in my head, and then however that gets translated from my mind to my fingers to the instrument is just how it comes out. I don't know. Usually writes itself, I guess.
This one I remember waking up and picking up the guitar with nothing particular in mind and just hitting those first two simple 1/2 beat chordal down strokes and then just taking it where it wanted to go from there, maybe emphasizing this or accenting that along the way for progressions, themes, a little decor here or there, exploring and fleshing it out. And in this acoustic style with a singer my being mindful of simply serving the song, hopefully.

Cool.

The reason I asked is because I was goofing off last night and my fingers came up with a riff that I thought was pretty cool. I wasnt thinking about it, it just kind of came out.

As soon as I started thinking about a verse or "B" part it just sounded like shit. Really weird how something can come out organically and then when you think about something to go with it it goes in the crapper.

**Wruff_ajax** · 10.15.18, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by Get The Show On The Road

Cool.

The reason I asked is because I was goofing off last night and my fingers came up with a riff that I thought was pretty cool. I wasnt thinking about it, it just kind of came out.

As soon as I started thinking about a verse or "B" part it just sounded like shit. Really weird how something can come out organically and then when you think about something to go with it it goes in the crapper.

Visualize the music, like a pathway or journey with all sorts of things that could potentially happen along the way. For example, if that first verse you mentioned is building towards a crescendo and peaks at its conclusion then a deep breath may be in order to follow after. That may be a good time to release all that tension you've built, or maybe to build more, or towards something else, some open space and a variation of the first theme as a bridge to lead you back into the next verse, possibly. Maybe something else in a relative key with a different cadence that provides some relief and carries the listener back into the next verse.
Bridges. Again, visualize. Is this a bridge over a babbling brook? Or is this a bridge over troubled water? Or something else? Depends on where you came from in the intro and early verse and where you want to take the listener from there, where it feels like it should go from there. Then into the 2nd verse, and build that verse then to conclude possibly with a launch into your solo, etc., and transition that into a 3rd verse and conclusion, for example.
Treat it like a screenplay. Tell a story with your sound. Some movies open with an action sequence before settling in and building drama only to blow up in your face again towards its conclusion. Other stories call for something completely different. Let what your music is doing be your guide for what's coming next. Quiet your mind and just listen, and then I bet that song you were struggling with last night writes itself.

**RRvh1** · 10.15.18, 05:58 PM

That reminds me of an old Sambora interview... I've long since gotten rid of the magazine, but recall him answering a question about playing technique as it pertains to songwriting.

He replied something like "Guitar solos should build up and be almost like an orgasm. We all spent years learning how to play, via our heroes, and it's a great release... When I write, it's good to have the skills, yet just as important to forget the so called 'rules' and let the song dictate where it needs to be..."

I've gotten a lot of wisdom and lessons from Richie over the years. I know he's not a hot commodity on this site, yet I consider him a major influence and a damned fine musician -writer, singer, player, producer.

**Harpospoke** · 10.27.18, 02:46 PM

Wow I love that guitar riff!

It is kind of aggressive but mellow at the same time. And you play it well. I can hear your fingers working that riff.

You going to "finish it more"? I wouldn't mind hearing the drums eventually come in with a bass. Maybe even a piano part.

**Wruff_ajax** · 10.27.18, 10:38 PM

Originally Posted by Harpospoke

Wow I love that guitar riff!

It is kind of aggressive but mellow at the same time. And you play it well. I can hear your fingers working that riff.

You going to "finish it more"? I wouldn't mind hearing the drums eventually come in with a bass. Maybe even a piano part.

Thank you, Harpo!

Yeah, this little demo's just the half of it really. There's another verse / chorus, solo, outro.
She just left my place a few mins ago and we were playing through it tonight, along with a cool new one that sprung out of last weeks jam sessions, and three or four of our other songs. Things are coming along. Should be producing some more stuff this week.

Yeah, I'm looking to pick up an inexpensive little bass rig to add on some of these tunes, would do well on this one. I am deliberately keeping most of these songs really stripped down though.

Thanks again. I appreciate the feedback.