First song I’ve written, thanks to a workshop

flyingace

flyingace

Active member
Well, I’ve been playing since 1984 and I’ve written music, helped with lyrics but never could claim I wrote an entire song by myself until August this year (2023)! We have an awesome place here in our town called The Writer’s Colony. They usually focus on fiction writers but in August, they had a fella from Nashville, named Tim Easton, come and teach a workshop. It was fantastic, he was not only a great teacher but a fantastic songwriter and musician. He really focused on us and not himself, though, helping each of us bring out what was inside of us.
This is my song, called Swear I‘ll Never. I also entered it into the American Songwriter contest.
I originally wrote it on the guitar with a 5th fret capo, but I’d always intended for it to be a ukulele song. Tim said he wanted us to write a song with no more than 3 chords that was like a campfire song, something anyone would like to sing along with. Others in the group didn’t really do that very well but I really embraced this idea.
I recorded this on my Tascam M-520 using a Neumann TLM 103 for my Kala USA Koa Super Tenor uke with low G tuning and a Shure SM7B for vocals all live to Tascam 32B before bringing it into Logic via my MOTU 16A interface and uploading it to soundcloud.
Here it is, Swear I’ll Never by Patrick Burnett:
on.soundcloud.com

Swear I'll Never - 2trk Demo - Live

This is a live to 2 track demo I have made to enter the American Songwriter Song Contest 2023 of a song I wrote in 2023 as part of a songwriter workshop. Originally written on the guitar with a 5th f
on.soundcloud.com on.soundcloud.com
 
Thank you guys! I respect so many of you here and have been very sheepish about sharing this with anyone other than family and friends. This is my first public post about it. I have a few more in the works but I wouldn’t say the seal is broken just yet. Songwriting is odd. It’s hard and easy at the same time. I honestly don’t remember writing most of this song originally, like you go into a trance of some sort, weird! ha ha
I have since multi tracked this on my Tascam MS-16 and plan to add some more parts like a little harmony in the 2nd or 3rd verses, maybe percussion? Harmonica? don’t quite know yet. I am also planning to move it up to a higher key that will work better with my voice. Stay tuned and I’ll post another.
Thanks!
 
flyingace said:
Songwriting is odd. It’s hard and easy at the same time. I honestly don’t remember writing most of this song originally, like you go into a trance of some sort, weird! ha ha
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RIGHT??? I can't remember writing hardly any of my lyrics!

Even better... quick story, though I promise I'm not trying to hijack the thread!
I wrote a classical piano piece a few years ago. Simple piece, impressionist style (think Clair de Lune). I thought it was a finished project, but somehow late one night -- I was dead tired -- I somehow wrote an entire middle section. Next morning, I wake up, flip open the MacBook, and I was blown away! That addition effectively doubled the length of the piece and made it my best composition even to date. I don't even hope to ever write anything better.
 
Serendipity Records said:
For a first song, this is really, really well done!
Click to expand...
I quote this because it’s pertinent to what I’m going to say......

I wrote and recorded my first song at the age of 30. A producer buddy had a listen and said “pretty good”. Then he hit me with something quite profound.

“Your first song was 30 years in the making. Now, if you want a record deal, you got 6 to 12 months to write at least 9 more”

“Get to work”


Take it as you will :D
 
RFR said:
I quote this because it’s pertinent to what I’m going to say......

I wrote and recorded my first song at the age of 30. A producer buddy had a listen and said “pretty good”. Then he hit me with something quite profound.

“Your first song was 30 years in the making. Now, if you want a record deal, you got 6 to 12 months to write at least 9 more”

“Get to work”


Take it as you will :D
Click to expand...
I appreciate that. I’m 52, I have no misconceptions about what I’m really doing other than enjoying myself. That said, if a bunch falls out of me and I can produce them for my family and friends to hear, something to leave behind, then I will. If not, I’m going to keep enjoying playing, writing, recording and just a true love of music… and try to share that with as many as I can. Thank you for that though, taken to heart!
 
For the record...... I never did get that record deal. Came close with this one band I was in, but no golden ring. :LOL:

But stayed busy writing, playing, recording.

The wife was once bitching about all my gear. She said “what do you ‘need’ all this stuff for? “

I told her “it keeps me sane”

Haven’t heard a peep of criticism since. :D


Do what your heart and soul compels you. :-)
 
Gave it a listen, flyingace.
Nice handmade feel to it.
It is hard to make your own songs, when all we hear are highly polished professional records.
It needs a bit of confidence, to produce something.
 
Slouching Raymond said:
Gave it a listen, flyingace.
Nice handmade feel to it.
It is hard to make your own songs, when all we hear are highly polished professional records.
It needs a bit of confidence, to produce something.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I look forward to working on it. I think I’ve already identified one issue is that I wrote it in the wrong key to really utilize my voice and I’ve already transposed it to another key. Plus I want to record to a click or rhythm track to keep on tempo better. Plus the bridge needs work.
I love this process, though, solution finding. this is something I know a lot about after a 27 year career as an art director in advertising. The creative part is just 2%, the 98% is work. :)
 
flyingace said:
I have since multi tracked this on my Tascam MS-16 and plan to add some more parts like a little harmony in the 2nd or 3rd verses, maybe percussion? Harmonica? don’t quite know yet.
Click to expand...
Ha ha, welcome to my world !
Or rather, welcome to the world of the multitracker.
flyingace said:
I have a few more in the works
Click to expand...
I think you'll find that songwriting is like the malaria virus. It never truly leaves you and can strike just when you least expect it.....I had it in '77, '78......and '90 !
 
flyingace said:
Well, I’ve been playing since 1984 and I’ve written music, helped with lyrics but never could claim I wrote an entire song by myself until August this year (2023)! We have an awesome place here in our town called The Writer’s Colony. They usually focus on fiction writers but in August, they had a fella from Nashville, named Tim Easton, come and teach a workshop. It was fantastic, he was not only a great teacher but a fantastic songwriter and musician. He really focused on us and not himself, though, helping each of us bring out what was inside of us.
This is my song, called Swear I‘ll Never. I also entered it into the American Songwriter contest.
I originally wrote it on the guitar with a 5th fret capo, but I’d always intended for it to be a ukulele song. Tim said he wanted us to write a song with no more than 3 chords that was like a campfire song, something anyone would like to sing along with. Others in the group didn’t really do that very well but I really embraced this idea.
I recorded this on my Tascam M-520 using a Neumann TLM 103 for my Kala USA Koa Super Tenor uke with low G tuning and a Shure SM7B for vocals all live to Tascam 32B before bringing it into Logic via my MOTU 16A interface and uploading it to soundcloud.
Here it is, Swear I’ll Never by Patrick Burnett:
on.soundcloud.com

Swear I'll Never - 2trk Demo - Live

This is a live to 2 track demo I have made to enter the American Songwriter Song Contest 2023 of a song I wrote in 2023 as part of a songwriter workshop. Originally written on the guitar with a 5th f
on.soundcloud.com on.soundcloud.com
Click to expand...
The Ukulele sound pretty good for the most part - some peakiness on certain parts - and while the vocals sound good - you have too much bass coming through.
 
Sweet. This is my favorite kind of music now.
Oh how many times have I swore I'll never do that again, but I never felt like whistling about it LOL.
Sweet recording - don't you just love the TLM 103?
 
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