Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I'm working on a rendition of "To Zanarkand" on guitar... very slowly because I'm not very good. I also continually try to write music but since my basics are lacking (I refused to pay attention in music theory as a child and chose to play by ear instead) I always get stuck and don't know how to move on. Oh well. I wrote 5 bars to start off a song today, and I at least know enough theory to write my progress down haha. My problem is I constantly lose my papers.

I am also trying to learn music theory so that I hopefully get less stuck in the future but almost everything these youtube videos has gone through I already know - but it's still a good refresher.

We (my a cappella group) have decided to switch out the (in my personal opinion) significantly-less-than-awesome arrangement of "Toxic". In its place, we are going to do a mashup of Adele's "Someone Like You" and Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know". I AM EXCITED EEEEEEEEE!!!!!

I started learning ukulele a recently and I'm learning build me up buttercup right now, but there are a few really annoying chord changes! like fm to em and playing bflat is hard for me.

I am not a musician, but my husband is. He plays violin and viola. He is practicing Tchiakovsky's sixth symphony named Pathetique, Beethoven's s six symphony Pastoral, Dvorak's symphony number seven, Beethoven's tripple concerto for violin, piano, and cello, and Schubert's string quintet.

Anyway, sounds cool to me, and I wanted to brag! He will be going to Spain to play in The World Orchestra!

That's impressive Kimba! I hope he has a great time :)

We're trying to write lyrics for a fast punk/psycho number, but I have a brooding 'Diane' style song brewing and really want to work on that instead.
Finding inspiration is hard at the moment. I'm fascinated by Jane Doe murder victims (Who were they? Why did they end up in that situation? Surely someone is missing them?) but feel like I covered that in part by the last song I wrote, which was inspired by Eklutna Annie. I feel I should do something connected to BC Highway 16 and the Missing Womens Commission.

something a little different (done as part of a contest).

Jazzy Chillout

Are you playing from an online version? Is that on the hey hey heys? I think you can get away with not doing all those changes, personally, and just go straight from G to Em (although that may be me missing the point if you're trying to learn how to make quick changes from Fm to Em!).

I'm learning Kirsty MacColl's 'Don't come the cowboy' on the uke at the moment (transposed to D because I hate doing E chords). I wish there was more of her stuff on Ultimate Guitar Tab, but I think I'm not far off being able to pick out the chords of songs I want to learn myself.

Oooh thank you! I am going to try that! I am getting better at that chord change, but the rest of the song is basically easy and that part is slowing me down. the site I got the chords from had a wrong chord in it anyway, so it might not be the most reliable anyway.

And yes, e chords suck! I have a tenor uke and its really hard for me to play.

I upload my music here:

http://soundcloud.com/runouthearts

So far there is only one track and it is from a previous band of myself & my boyfriend. It is instrumental post-rock .... I hope to upload some more music soon when I start seriously working on some new stuff! If you have soundcloud, please feel free to "friend" me on there!

My band is working on some boring (for me) songs, 'cause I play piano in a rock band.
The bassist and I (who are in our own band) are working on other, awesome things, but I'm getting stuck on finishing lyrics for one of them.

I've been singing more in the first band, and I sing almost exclusively with my bassist. But I'm a purely sings-on-her-own person. No training, been told my entire life up until a year and a half ago I had a horrible voice. I'm considering taking lessons from this amazing teacher at my workplace. It's just super forking terrifying to me because I went nineteen years with people (quite vocally) telling me I suck at singing, only to have everyone musically around me beg me to sing more for various projects. So I'm nervous, twitchy, and completely unsure of myself.
So, anyway. I want to work on my singing. But I have no idea where to start.

a track that I worked on over a year ago finally sees the light of day!

"Noir" -- http://kompoz.com/t/217338

You should! Those are awesome pieces and that's an awesome opportunity!

Right now, I've mostly been improvising. And I've slowly been writing a song.

Eek! We just released our most recent EP that includes the song I mentioned up the page. I'm on tracks 3 and 4 on http://trioxincherry.bandcamp.com/album/chainsaw-ballads

I've dusted my bass off and been playing more again. Jammed tonight with a friend who played piano. Definitely going to do that again, so much fun!

Uh, I feel you. I learnt playing the piano for 5 years but never payed attention to the theory. And now when I sit on my mac and record things and it drives me crazy. Singing? Okay. Piano? Okay. Guitar? Okay. Figuring out how to get everything recorded so it actually fits together? ahhhhhhh

There's an AWESOME book called "Music Theory for Practical People" that you may find interesting. It's some basic stuff, some more complicated stuff, but it outlines all the reasons it's really important and how you can use it.

As for recording...I really, really recommend reading a lot about the software you're using. There are so many guide books out there. It helps a lot to thoroughly understand what you're working with to get the best sound out of recording.
Also, recording acoustic piano is a total bisque. Just...for general reference :)

We just hired a new piano teacher who does improvisational blues and boogie woogie. I'm horrid at improv piano, and I really want to learn Americana style, so I'm psyched to take some lessons.

Thanks. I got to see if I can find the book.

Do you have a reccomendation for a program to record on a mac?

It depends on how much you're willing to spend- and what's available in Germany! Logic is my personal favorite. I think it's user-friendly and quite fantastic for anything. Audacity is free (just Google! and bam!) and I've heard people like that, too, but since I've always known/lived with/worked with musicians who record, I've ended up getting used to Logic and have it on my Mac. My bassist (I just texted and asked) uses Audacity and his recordings sound really good for the equipment he's got. Garageband, while simple, doesn't really cut it for the kind of stuff I do (or any of my music-friends do), but plenty of people use it and are happy with it.

Honestly, anything good will work with a Mac. PCs are a different story with recording, and they're a lot trickier, though getting better.
And make sure you're using appropriate microphones! I know it seems silly to spend a bunch of money on different types of microphones, but it really does make a difference. There are so many things that go into recording something that's studio quality.

eta: I came here to say...I'm working on vocal stuff for my band. And while I'm getting better and hitting the right notes, I need to sing faster.

Thanks! I have been using garageband just because it was on my mac when I got it but I wondered what I got get instead.

I had audacity for a while but it confused me. Maybe I got get used to it again, though.

Ah, yes, microphones. That's what I thought yesterday. Its fine when I just want "messy guitar and faded vocals" but other kinds of music... eh, will look for something!

Most really good recording softwares are pretty confusing, which is why I fully endorse getting a guidebook! They lay it out and make everything so much better. Then you revel in your awesomeness.

My side project stoner/metal/thrash thingy just recorded. I play drums and share vocal duty and singing in the studio sorta had me freaked out since I didnt know what I'd sound like. I was cringing at first but I'm growing on myself

https://soundcloud.com/adamcrisis/self-polarization

I'm the vocals in the middle

Nice!! I like it! Can you tell us the lyrics?

i'm learning Movin' Right Along on the ukulele. It's making me super happy!

I got to play with one of those a couple summers back and they are super fun. I still want one of those and a tenori-on.

I am in the same place. I took piano lessons when I was little and classical guitar for a bit in high school although I can barely play guitar anymore. I've been signing up for coursera classes on sound production and theory and my drummer threatened today that I'm going to take six months of private theory lessons from another musician we know. I like not knowing the theory. It makes things more interesting to leave some mystery of the mechanics undiscovered.

I hate the recording process. I like the live flow of music, not something that's been deconstructed, reassembled in tiny pieces and buffed to perfection. Like editing out breathing gets to me.