Holy Cow I've Been Overthinking This Crap

[Bristol Posse]

Just spent a few days in Dublin and checking out a lot of live music from very good to meh! but what I did notice that all you need is G,D,C and an occaisional E minor. Also when you run out of lyrics Li Di Diddly Di seems to work pretty well. And I've be spending all this tome thinking about unusual chord progressions and clever lyrics too!

Great music city though, lots of good stuff and gave me some stuff to think about

 

[Armistice]

I always (try to) explain to people that it's perfectly possible for musicians with basic musicianship to pull off a great song or two based around standard chord progressions... or even a great album or two.. but that sooner or later they get stuck and produce nothing new or of interest because (assuming they haven't developed musically in this time - obviously many do) they don't know how...

I"ll admit to being annoyed when I see new young bands / singersongwriter types who clearly have an extremely limited musical vocabulary strutting round at some of the open mic nights I attend, full of confidence and self belief, like they invented the chord sequences they're using... and producing extremely average tunes.

Amd then when they get rapturous applause on a fairly standard pop song I wonder why I bother...

Let me know when you work it out!

 

[grimtraveller]

A couple of weeks back, I went to see a friend of mine sing live. She's done lots of vocals for me over the years and I've been telling her what an amazing voice she has since 1991 ! Anyway, she decided to join this singing class and as part of their course of improvement, they had to do a live performance. For the record my friend was brilliant, but there was this other member of the class who performed her own song, playing guitar and singing. She did two good songs but the second one was spellbinding. She did tell the audience that the song was a response to her parents' advice over the years and she was quite positive about that and their input. But I never heard any of that ! She sang well and she used all kinds of weird chords and chord voicings and she was rather unconventional in her playing and the things she did on the guitar. It was unusual as well as fantastic and it was so refreshing to hear someone not tow the standard lines. I wish I'd had the presence of mind to sneakilly record it but I can't predict the future......yet.

 

[Whatmysay]

G, C, D and the occasional Em can last a life time – particularly with a capo. But for others weird inversions and alternative tunings are their stock and trade.
I’ve worked with limited musicians who make amazing music and outstanding musician who can’t get past theory to an original thought!
There is predominance in our culture towards ‘immediate perfection’ and that there is some sort of pre-ordained right way – I think Plato started it all with ‘looking out of a cave into the twilight or something like that’.
Do what gets the job done, when you know what the job is you are doing.
I believe in evolution – adapt or die – if 4 chords can last a whole career then why change there is nothing to get annoyed about; there is a beautiful efficiency (Crocs are the 4 chord rock stars of evolution) – if the day comes that a 5th chord is needed and the artist cannot play it the I guess they wither and die or they get a session muso?
I agree; don’t over think it. The more you get bound up in judgements about process or other people’s practice the more crippled you will become. Look at everyone, steal everything and keep what works for you – you are only doing what happy and successful artists have done for millennia