General Music Chat

Thanks Klugmo, you are right dont pick a fight with me and expect to win, I am as competitive as anyone youve ever met, I try to be as good as i can be at whatever it is. I have busted more than one beer bottle on someones head, and also dont mind breaking a guitar if I feel threatened.

Thanks Paul, and Paul you are one cool dude yourself, anyone that by themself can construct a song on the spot like you is amazing to me, If anyone ever gets a chance to see Paul, I would highly recomend it. My daughter and I went and saw him once, and I have to say I am jealous of what he does. I did mess around with a sampler at one time, and my thought was to play rythyms and then play lead over them live with my band, however my band doesnt play consistently enough to really make it work so I quit worrying about it, plus I just didnt want to have to think that hard while I was playing live. So Paul my hat is off to you!

I also like all genres of music, if the music is done well and can hold my interest. I like to mix and match genres, even in a single song whenever possible.

I once told my daughter that they don't write music like they used to.

Then I pointed out some of those great songs with intense lyrical content, like "Little fishies" or some of those great roaring 20's songs. Then some early rock, like Match Box, and "Tutti frutti", and others. Ever read Carl Perkins "Matchbox" lyrics? If they make sense to you I would advise immediate medical treatment.
As I went back into music history, I found tons of number one hits that were simply lyrical nonsense at best, from every generation. A great many songs with really stupid lyrics, making no sense whatsoever, and they made a lot of people a lot of money and furthered their musical careers.

So go figure. Don't even throw away a bad song. It might catch on some day and put a few coins in your pocket. It has happened many times before.

I don't know how many interviews I have heard from artists that said they were going to toss a song, but used it for filler material on an album and had it turn into a hit.

I tend to go easier on the young ones because I know they want help and they want to learn, but if you're over the age of 35 then you should frickin' know if your guitar is out of tune, if you have a crappy ass recording or if you have a whack ass song.

Chaeya

IMO, a real musician should know this at any age... What gets me are the ones who 'sing' out of tune... There is a reasonable margin in pitch and a professional voice is really no different than,. say a professional model caught without make-up. (Meaning it can be fixed) , But then, there are some folks that are certifiably tone deaf...How does one fix that?
I remember this one guy: Biz Markie, "You Got What I need" Sounded like a dog in need of euthanasia. They way they fixed that.. they just made it a comedy gag song.

lol KLUGMO is the sentiment only good singers need to apply? There are times for vocalists especially where you may hear them hit extraordinary ranges and have an excellent voice, with no control. Flat areas and searching for the key etc. In that case I would assume it’s just a matter of practice and not that they are not capable. So yeah, I would encourage that. They may have a bad ear and never improve, on the other hand they could just be unskilled.

I usually try to do the compliment sandwich thing. The good, the bad, ugly, then some good. If a critique is done politely and in a professional manner than it should (in most cases) remove the personal element and the tendency towards someone being defensive. No matter how it’s said though, of course you know you cant remove the personal nature of music from the artists.

But it’s always offset by some objectivity. Bob Dylan is always my prime example for that. I realize he is an excellent song writer, but that man has no business singing. Although I’m glad he never became discouraged, because we would have never heard a lot of fantastic tunes. Actually, I doubt Bob Dylan would care much anyway. Still if we are talking about vocal quality, then who could actually say it’s “good”, never mind super star material?

There has to be more to it than just the sound. Glen and I had a discussion about editing and pitch correction. a few months ago. At some point the search for perfection loses all of it’s sincerity. A while ago someone posted (I think it was Bob) “how to become a pop star”. They took a girl who had a horrible voice, did a make over and added huge amounts of pitch correction and it sounded just fine. Hearing her sing previously would actually make you cringe. It’s safe to say even the worse vocalists can eventually sound great, depending on blind ambition, the depth of their wallet and the size of their toolbox. Perfection achieved.

As musicians we all have a very limited life span. When the venues for live original music dry up, DAW composers will mangle any sample of garbage into the next big hit. No musical experience required. After all if it just sounds great, what else matters? The future stars won’t be shredding on axes, but clicking on mice. And to the point KLUGMO, there won’t be a single flawed vocal to be found. It will all be perfectly quantized, pitched corrected, auto-tuned and synthed to death. When you add that much artificial ingredients, the worse most nasty vocalists you could imagine, will be on even footing with any natural prodigy. I can’t see what’s behind the curtain from my headphones, so why should I care?

I tend to go easier on the young ones because I know they want help and they want to learn, but if you're over the age of 35 then you should frickin' know if your guitar is out of tune, if you have a crappy ass recording or if you have a whack ass song.

Chaeya

IMO, a real musician should know this at any age... What gets me are the ones who 'sing' out of tune... There is a reasonable margin in pitch and a professional voice is really no different than,. say a professional model caught without make-up. (Meaning it can be fixed) , But then, there are some folks that are certifiably tone deaf...How does one fix that?
I remember this one guy: Biz Markie, "You Got What I need" Sounded like a dog in need of euthanasia. They way they fixed that.. they just made it a comedy gag song.

Well, Biz Markie was never a singer, he had always been a rapper. And I loved that song, it was funny as heck!

The problem with the out of key thing is I notice it happens to a lot of pop singers. They train themselves by singing to records and then they try to do the Beyonce/Christian Aguilera sliding scale yodels and then they go all out of tune. When you're singing to the record you don't notice it or you use the recorded vocal as a guide to keep you locked in, but when you get with a live band or acapella it's all you, you have no lead vocal to lock in with.

This can be fixed by taking some music theory classes or working with a choral group, or a producer.

Chaeya

Cheaya mentioned Hee Haw. I grew up with it also. Not by choice. Their jokes were things to the tune of "Doc It hurts when I do this- doc says Well don't do that. I Did love Roy Clark. He is a true master. Glenn Campbell as well. but he was not a regular on the show, making it worth a watch. The show was imposed on us as kids for two reasons 1) that's what the adults were watching, and 2) it was better than Voyage to the bottom of the sea. If we as adults watch TV and just about any adolescent comes in to watch, we can be sure to get a complete critique on everything from the jokes to every commercial. Most adults hold their peace unless it is so stirring and shocking it begs a reaction. Howard Stern is known for his shock value, but after a time shock becomes - expected. It is what's funny about the show @ 1/2 Men. It is hard to believe they just said that on syndicated TV. Would the same be funny if what was funny was said in your home in conversation? Rarely. Good songs can put you in the mood they want you in their catch. No mood, no context.

I've been around enough to know "shocking" and TV ain't.

Most is just low brow amoral garbage, and I ain't got time for garbage.

OK ... back to work ... DANG IT'S HOT IN TEXAS TODAY.