In need of some SERIOUS advice Re: collaboration.

[WATYF]

I need some advice regarding a song I wrote for an album my youth band is doing. I'm having a dilemma regarding how to make it work with my vocalist(s)... (actually,.. a couple dilemmas) here's the deal.

I wrote a song this past week and I posted it in This Thread Now,... The guitar lick (that the whole song is based on) was the very first thing written... so the melody was basically written around an existing key. (the key of the guitar lick, "E") The problem is,.. this is just at the very edge of my range, so I can't sing it like I want to. The way I want it to go is like this. After the "daaaays" part, the "you alone..." part is supposed to be an entire octave higher than I sing it on the recording... that part is supposed to be even more driving than the first part of the chorus, but I can't hit those notes an octave higher, so I have to sing them "low". Now,... If I drop the key of the song a step or so, I can sing it like I want, but... then the guitar lick doesn't sound nearly as good (cause it's in an E based formation)... that's problem number one... Whether to choose in favor of the "lick", or the "melody".

Problem number two is,.. for the CD we're making... we only have two vocalists to work with... a male, and a female.

The male vocalist would have to sing it just like you hear it now, (with that melody "dip" in the middle of the chorus right after "daaaaays") OR we'd have to change it to another key so he can sing the whole chorus up high. (Like I want it to go.) but once again, then the lick gets sacrificed and we'd have to think of some other way the chord it.

The female vocalist is the primary vocalist... and she wants to be able to sing the song... BUT... it was written in a "guy's" key.. so when she sings it, she has to sing the verse high and the chorus low.. (the exact opposite of the original recording, which has a low verse and high chorus) This detracts from the dynamic of the song... (i.e. you hit a high point of the song where all the instruments build up and then crescendo, and yet the vocals go "lower".. it just doesn't fit). So.. in order to fix this, she's wanting to maybe change the melody of the chorus to a harmony line that isn't so high,.. that way she can sing it somewhat high (instead of a low version of the original melody)... but that way,.. it doesn't sound like a melody anymore... it's obviously a harmony.. and you feel like something's missing.

So... in summation... here are my choices.

1) Leave it the way it is and make the male vox sing it.

2) Lower the key so the male vox can sing the chorus like you want to (at the expense of the guitar lick)

3) Let the female vox sing it with a high verse and a low chorus

4) Let the female vox alter the original melody of the chorus to a harmony so she can sing it somewhat high.

5) Sign-off on the song and just let them change it however they need to.

6) Put it back on the shelf until I have the resources to do it right.

Sorry if this is confusing, but we're having a pretty tough time coming to an agreement on what to do aboot this. Please vote and let me know what you think I should do... Thanks.

 

[Fed]

don't forget the capo!!!

I would say, you should try to make the song sound the way you want it first. Try male, female, capo combinations and see if any of them work. Also if you do this with a band electric guitar will add a lot so you might be able to change the key down to D or C.
(C would probably be better. you could do Fmaj7 and G/A that would fit the original mood IMHO)

Anyway just some thoughts. I didn't vote becuase nothing fit my approach .
cheers

 

[WATYF]

Actually.. I tried it in various keys and the one best suited to my voice is C...

WATYF

 

[theron]

First, a question. If the git lick is transcribed accurately, does it really lose its flavor? I'm not strong in this aspect but, shouldn't the lick survive a proper trancription of keys?
Second, another question. Who do YOU think should sing the song, the female or the male? If your choice is you, then make it work. If you choose her, then make it work.
Thirdly, you guessed it. Can't you sing the song as in duet fashion and let the female hit the octave you can't, thus preserving the melody? Your low note could serve as backup to her octave in just this spot. She could serve backup to the rest.
And on the chorus, make sure the high male part is dominant. I think your woes could be fixed with each vocalist cutting thier best track in thier most comfortable way and mix to fit the dynamic of the song.
Reinforcing the melody with a git going high where you want is a solid tip as well(as mentioned before)

How's that? Have I helped at all?

Theron.

 

[WATYF]

Yeah... I think we talked aboot having the chick do a harmony on the chorus and the male doin' the melody and just mixin' it up to sound good...

As for the git lick... the lowest note in the lick is the low E... if you lower it to, say, D, you have to play the high D to be able to even come close to mimicing the lick.. and it just loses it's "feel". If we needed it higher, we'd be set.. we'd just slap on a capo and go...

WATYF

 

[theron]

can't you start the lick higher and end on a low D, useing the bass end of the mix(the bass git) to emphisise the fact?

So, the duet thing doesn't work.

Well, I gave you my best thoughts and solutions. Let us know how it is resolved and please don't compromise the melody. I like it to and have a gut feeling that you should stick to your guns and find a way to make the song sound like it does in your head. It sound very very close as it is.

Sorry I couldn't help more,

Theron.

 

[WATYF]

It's OK.. I appreciate the help..

We may still try the female/male thing.. like I said, we're working it out now.

But I didn't do too good of a job explaining the lick problem. Basically the lick only involves two fingers... all the rest of the notes are open strings.. so when you change it to something other than E, the notes become, basically, impossible to hit. I have pretty long fingers, but not that/b] long...

I agree with you.. I think I should try to find some way to keep the melody, no matter what.

I will let you know how it turns out... when the project is completed, I'll post some samples of it for everybody.

WATYF