Music notes
Jan. 16th, 2007 12:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jwghWhen I play at events with a bunch of other songwriters, I get to compare myself to them, for better or worse.
I would say that my guitar playing is generally stylistically pretty different from most other singer-songwriter types. I don't use a pick, and I would describe my guitar playing (for the most part) as being pretty crude; I've learned a couple of pieces which have some complexity, but for the most part this hasn't translated to my original pieces (with the exception of the guitar version of 'Hybrid Car Blues', which is mostly ripped off from Robert Johnson's 'Kind Hearted Woman Blues').
The other thing I noticed last night is that I think I sang louder than anyone else on the stage, although it's a little hard to judge. (Is anyone in a position to verify this?) [I should note that the 'Songwriters in the Round' series is completely acoustic, with no PA or other amplification.]
As far as my lyrics go, my songs tend to be more upbeat than most, in attitude if not in actual content. Reading that, maybe I'm just trying to avoid saying that pretty much all of my songs are, on some level, funny, while other songwriters tend to write by and large serious or even sad songs.
This isn't really intentional on my part; I mean, I guess I like writing songs like that, and other people like hearing them, so it's worked out that way, but, well, I don't know. I guess I will just continue writing the songs that I want to write and will see what happens (which I imagine will be that most of them will be, or will aspire to be, funny).
I would say that my guitar playing is generally stylistically pretty different from most other singer-songwriter types. I don't use a pick, and I would describe my guitar playing (for the most part) as being pretty crude; I've learned a couple of pieces which have some complexity, but for the most part this hasn't translated to my original pieces (with the exception of the guitar version of 'Hybrid Car Blues', which is mostly ripped off from Robert Johnson's 'Kind Hearted Woman Blues').
The other thing I noticed last night is that I think I sang louder than anyone else on the stage, although it's a little hard to judge. (Is anyone in a position to verify this?) [I should note that the 'Songwriters in the Round' series is completely acoustic, with no PA or other amplification.]
As far as my lyrics go, my songs tend to be more upbeat than most, in attitude if not in actual content. Reading that, maybe I'm just trying to avoid saying that pretty much all of my songs are, on some level, funny, while other songwriters tend to write by and large serious or even sad songs.
This isn't really intentional on my part; I mean, I guess I like writing songs like that, and other people like hearing them, so it's worked out that way, but, well, I don't know. I guess I will just continue writing the songs that I want to write and will see what happens (which I imagine will be that most of them will be, or will aspire to be, funny).
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Date: 2007-01-16 05:29 am (UTC)the fact that i can't remember if you're loud or not when you're singing leads me to believe that you don't sing at an abnormal volume, i'm pretty sure it's just right. although i haven't heard you play acoustic in awhile, but i will let you know after next time.
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Date: 2007-01-16 06:18 am (UTC)Yeah you don't have super technically complicated guitar action but I see that as part of your style and a good thing. And yeah for the singer songwriter crowd you do sing loudly, but that in my mind shows a confidence in what you are doing and trying to accomplish and say with your music.
So your lyrics are funny, but they do touch on many of the same issues that most songwriters write about, you however choose not to dwell on the sadness of these themes and look at them in a humorous 'that’s life and you can cry or laugh but that is just how it is' kind of a way you just choose to take it on the lighter side of things.
I guess what I am saying is that you do stand out but I think that it is very positive thing, it's harder to be different than it is to blend into the crowd.
Of course I like old skool punk, which only has three cords, someone is always yelling, and often times makes fun of the things that happen in this world.
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Date: 2007-01-16 01:51 pm (UTC)I guess if you follow the implications there I am kind of calling you a hack, but rest assured I do it only in the most positive way!
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Date: 2007-01-16 03:00 pm (UTC)