cover of "The Parting Glass"

[Xaaron1377]

Here is a cover of the traditional song "The Parting Glass" as done by my girlfriend and I. This is just a demo that we recorded earlier; we will hopefully be taking it to the studio soon as part of our next album. Let me know what you think. Again, this is only a demo.

https://soundcloud.com/xaaron1377/the-parting-glass

 

[gecko zzed]

The recording is pretty good. Some minor pops on the 'b's and 'p's, but if it is a demo, that's probably not worth worrying about too much.

There are some difficulties that I have, and here are some things you might like to consider:

Your girlfriend has a pleasant voice and good pitching, but it loses power on the lower notes, and it becomes virtually just air. Maybe playing it up a couple of frets instead of in C might give her a chance to put some strength into the bottom notes.

I would like you to try some different chords. There's nothing wrong with doing your own version, but the chords you are using, to my ear, are robbing the melody of its life and movement. For example, in the second line where she sings "what e'er I done", the melody note on 'done' is D, where you are playing a C. Playing G works better here. If you do want to be adventurous, you could try a D or even a Bb instead of the G. There are many places throughout the track where there seems to be a mismatch between chords and melody.

Here is an example, but there are many variations from which to choose.

The Parting Glass Chords by The High Kings @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com

 

[Xaaron1377]

Thanks for the feedback. We will probably bring up the key to a C#. And I'll have to try out some different chords; I was pretty much just playing along with her without having practiced much! We'll both work on it some more. Thanks again for the tips.

 

[jonny deep]

Hey. Sounds nice to me - great voice. Agree with the above that the lower notes lose all power. Otherwise sounds great.

 

[Manslick]

It's a sweet tune. I recommend a lot of practice between now and when. Nothing wrong that can't be fixed with practice.
Post #2 has some good pointers about the accompaniment. I'd even try something in the style of Blackbird.

 

[Xaaron1377]

Yeah we will definitely need more practice! This was pretty much a first attempt at the song, me only having heard it once or twice. I'll definitely work out the arrangement more on the guitar, maybe even trying something similar to Blackbird. That would be interesting. . . Thanks again everyone for the advice I really appreciate it.