To me, composing and performing your own "original" song is the ultimate. It's kind of the final frontier to playing an instrument when you can call it your own.

I love playing songs by other artists (Jim Brickman, David Nevue) and others, but ultimately, I would like to not only play, but perform my own.

Many of us have dreams of "someday".

"Someday" I'd like to do this, Someday, I'd like to do that, or , I;ll get it done someday.

In reality, "someday" may never come; but it can if you start doing something about it....TODAY!

I bet there is a lot of you who have been tinkering around with some of your own "original" songs that you have come up with.

These songs are probably not long, polished, or even finished, but yet they are something that you play (possibly often) and are proud of as YOU have created them on your own.

Well, I want to hear them!! (finished or not).

You may be amazed at how nice your own songs can sound to others if you just clean them up a bit.

If you have any of your own creations, please post them up as I really want to hear what you are working on.

Who knows, maybe "Someday" will actually come and you can perform them for others to enjoy.

This may be your first step.!

Hers are 3 quick snip-its of some original songs I am working on. They are not finished and thus have no name yet.

Lets hear yours too!!.......PLEASE!

www.pinnaclepeakllamaranch.com/originalsong1.mp3

www.pinnaclepeakllamaranch.com/originalsong2.mp3

www.pinnaclepeakllamaranch.com/originalsong3.mp3

Hi Mr. S-H,

Edited a lot:

Just want you to know - I don't compose my own songs, nor do I have the imagination to do so. So you're compositions are kewl, ok? These are "snip-it" - so they can be grown.

Title: The Traveler - Parts I,II, & III

It would go good with a movie soundtrack (background)

Part I - first by car over a bridge, then by railroad, then by steamship....the traveler must get to his/her destination.

Part II - Pieces of life, scenes, it's all happy - where's he's been, where he's going.

Part III - Almost there - unfinished (as is life, when we are still alive).

Great effort! Nice topic to pursue.

Sharon

Hi, superhunky

Here are some comments

(1)The first 40 seconds sounds like intro to me,
dont stay in the intro too long or u will get ur listeners bored. About half a min is ok (or less than that). Just like a intro paragraph for essays in school, u dont want it too long. As s54mo827 said, you (the traveller) must get to his destination

(2)Remind that the main theme (melody) can only be REPEATED exactly the same TWO TIMES. More than that will have negative effects(as s54mo827 said, Where is he going).I hear them 3 times exactly the same 3 times in part2. You might make some variations on the ur theme for the 3rd time such as making rhythmic changes, adding ornaments, playing at a higher octave (which I usually do).

(3)This is a 2nd theme (chorus) to me. Your 2nd theme has the same rhythm as the 1st which is not a good thing (not sure what am I saying, some pls restate tat sentence). The 2nd should sound a lot different than the 1st but not too far away.

I think these three parts can be combined as a song since they sound united; however, you need some patterns like AABBABA, connections between parts, intro, and ending phrase (as s54mo827 said, he arrived at his destination but it's unfinished "without an ending".

In overall, this work sounds good, all you need to do is to make them into a song

I will post my original in the coming recital

Mr S-H - this is me writing after a night on the razz / ming-mong / toon etc. Rather too many vodkas and beers together. Doing a sort of 'hunt and peck' at the keyboard.

Song #1 - Really good - there was a point around 1min 29 - 1min 31 that I re-played a couple of times - it really grabbed me then.

Song #2 - The pick of the bunch for me - loved it from start to finish! I'm not sure what key it was played it, but that piece really sang to me.

Song #3 - Again, another great effort - just as I was thinking to myself 'Hmm, I think I prefer the second one', you pulled out a section of notes that again, really sang to me.

First comment is: what were you thinking of with each piece? (that sounds dodgy: i mean, was there a particular theme, or idea - if you had to re-name each piece, what would you call them?)

I really am in no position to criticise or offer advice - I certainly can't do what you are doing there. All I will say to you is that I would love to see you hit some high notes - you certainly have the potential - I feel it would add an extra dimension to your work. (Again, this is coming from a drunken listener, so take from it what you want)

As a last comment (and maybe the most important) - Mr S-H - over the last week or week + 1/2, you have posted pieces to the (new) bar, some sight-reading pieces, and now some original works. You are truely an inspiration to us all, and we appreciate your every post.

(My next pieces for the bar are due in a week's time)

Congratulations, and keep up the awesome work!

Euan.

Do you all realize that one day we're going to be able to say "I knew mr_super-hunky back when he was hobnobbing with us common folk on the Adult Beginners Forum and we even heard his very first compositions!" Better yet, if we save these mp3s on our computers we can bootleg them like crazy after he makes it big.

Beautiful work, super-hunky! Reminds me of Michael Jones (new age pianist). I liked the second piece the best; seemed to have a melody that stood out more. On number 1 I really liked the part around 1:34 when you suddenly hit some deep bass notes for the first time.

Great feedback!

I really enjoy hearing some feedback from others as I will try to incorporate your suugestions into working on these songs.

Remember, I really want to hear YOUR SONGS!, even if its just some practice pieces or warm up stuff, as long as its your own.

Sharon, I think "the traveler" is a great song name. I may be able to somehow combine these three snip-its into one real song (with a whole lot of polishing up of course).

Kam, thanks very much for the advice on proper song structure. These are not songs yet, but rather just little sample sections I would like to work into a complete song "Someday" !! your advice on not repeating sections and moving the tune around more are well taken, again thank you.

P.S. (I'm looking forward to hearing a piece from you)

Euan;

You ask "what am I thinking about when I play"

My answer:.. As little as I possibly can!!

I really like to "enjoy" the nice sounds that come out of the piano. It REALLY relaxes me. Most of my playing is done very late at night when I am very tired.

The more tired I am, the more I enjoy playing and listening to the smooth soothing sounds of some nice relaxing soft music.

I actually "react" to music, many people do. If I'm working out, I play hard rock very loud and really get into it.

If I were at a nightclub, I could really get into the beat of the song and enjoy dancing (if I still could)!

To me, my piano is my escape. While I know it can be played many different ways (rock, bop, honkey tonk, classical) etc, I enjoy its peacfull sounds the best. New age type stuff.

Monica:

I think that we all have some "snip-its" of our own that we play on the piano, I don't think I am unique with this.

I actually got this idea from hearing Seaside Lee's practice session a few days ago. Lee's got lots of real good sections he plays for fun which could easily be turned into a real nice song.

I consider myself to be a very novice beginer (at best) compared to several other members which I have heard.

Unfortunately, in this world, its not always about how good you are that gets you ahead in your pursuits.

I start thinking of super popular singers like Sade- who can only hit one note!, or even Willie Nelson who talks more in a song than he sings, but still, very nice to listen to.

Even one of my favorites, (Jim Brickman), is not a super-fantastic piano player, but his songs are very nice and relaxing.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that we ALL can do it!

Imagine what Mike White, Balladeer, Roger Ransom (just to name a few) can come up with!, as these guys REALLY have some talent!

I recorded a melody for one of my original songs
It's a demo only

http://www3.telus.net/public/tommy17/g_major_melody.mp3

Hi, Mr S-H

.... wooaahh, there Hunkster! I am extremely flattered, and do thank you for the compliment, but Mike and Roger are in quite a different league! I hope to join them one day, but I'm just feeling my way around this piano thing.

Speaking of what some folks could do, what you[/b] have done with the three 'tunes' you posted is remarkable.

You seem to be quite interested in the music of Nevue and a few other similar composers, and it also seems play that type of music quite often. Logically, you spend a fair amount of time listening to this sound and it appears that your "right brain" is turning you into a composer already!

I think you should score some of this stuff. I'm a computer klutz, but I know there are programs available.

Perhaps this summer I'll take a shot at writing something.

Very inspiring S-H!

Balladeer

Hi, Kam

Yours also is a very lovely sound. Have you completed the piece? Where can we hear the entire piece?

So much talent in these forums!

Balladeer

Odd that this thread should come up the day after I finally forced myself to sit down and write something... :p

It actually sounds like music *shock*

Okay, just need to clarify that is NOT ME playing. I have a 90 year old upright and no recording equipment. I improvised the melody on piano and then did everything else via a program called Noteworthy Composer. (In case anyone thought I was actually capable of demi-semi-quaver double octave jumps )

Oh, BTW mr_super-hunky, I'd love to comment on yours but my internet is being screwy at the moment I'll try again later...

I havent completed the song for tat melody yet, but i have another song done.

I dont post it coz i want to save it for the upcoming recital

Wow, Kam; you have certainly left me wanting more. I'm looking forward to hearing the entire piece at the recital.

Hi Kam.

Nice introduction to something...it reminded me of a song...

(I'm not a lyric person...I'm tunes and melody.......we drank a toast to life...another ole lang syne (something like that).

Sharon

Kam;

How can you leave us hanging like that???


....MORE PLEASE!!

I have combined the 1st and 2nd melody together

It might sound a little repetitive,consider it a demo only
http://www3.telus.net/public/tommy17/g_major_1and2.mp3

Cool stuff S-H! Although I'm hardly the person to give suggestions I think the only thing that's really keeping this songs from breaking out is the rhythm: you keep the rhythmic structure pretty much constant on each song. The problem with that is that any melodic variations get snowed under a bit because of the rhythmic predictability. Have a bit more up-tempo part in the middle would break it up into multiple parts which gives it a slightly better structure. But that's nitpicking, very interested in how these pieces or going to be in the end!

And as for my own songs, give me a week or maybe two weeks and I'll make my first album availlable. I have literally spend moe then thousand hours on it (mostly because I'm an inexperienced beginner) and I don't really want to rush things now I'm almost done. But will post it if people care.

You intrigued me with this title, Amaiakuyume, so I had to listen. I thought this was terrific! The bass riff has a contagious beat; I found myself bobbing to the rhythm. And I really liked the section with the runs that kicked in at about :55, which presented a nice change of melody. Very catchy!

My only suggestion would be to make it longer (say, 3-4 minutes) so it would be in the range of a typical song length.

I have the same suggestion for you, Kam: make it longer! I want to hear more! You compose in exactly the style of new age music that I like best, so I could listen to you play for hours. (I still play your recital version of "The Gift" almost every day, in fact.)

It takes time to make a song

I have to sit down and think how to make it sound not boring like repeat in different ways by fooling around on the keyboard to get inspirations/ideas.