Adventures in Songwriting

I started fooling around with this program. I forget what it's called. It's a music recording program type thing. So far I have a chord progression for the verses set up, with a nice little guitar lick that I think I'm going to make the bassline. I realized today I didn't have a bassline and that would make a really good one. The chords are played on an acoustic guitar, for two reasons: a) my electric guitar has an awful tone, and b) the computer microphone works a lot better inside the acoustic than dangling in front of my crappy amp. I also have a little piano part that I'm going to throw into a later verse. It's a nice complement. It would be better if I could record the piano without it sounding like it's underwater. I like the lyrics I have so far. They could be better, but they have some nice clever rhymes in them. I tried working out a chorus in music class today, but I got a line from "American Idiot" stuck in my head and my concentration was broken. I also forgot the original last line of the verse I wrote, so I made up a new one that I like. Once I listen to the original version again, I'll decide which I like better/recycle one of them for another verse if it works.

I've written tons and tons of lyrics in the past couple months. Some I really like a lot. But this whole music/recording thing is a pain the freaking ass. The lyrics come almost naturally to me, but the music end is a lot harder. I keep thinking, "How do these musicians do it?" But I guess when writing/recording/playing music is your only job, it might be easier to find the time to come up with stuff. I do recognize how tough it is to consistently put out fresh music though, and this just gives me even more respect for songwriters than I already had.

I keep thinking of how McCartney and Lennon always had each other to go to for help. I'm pretty much doing this by myself, and I'm nowhere near as talented as either of those guys. Then again, they got better as they went along. Maybe if I stick with this as a serious hobby, I could make some nice demos. I already have a couple of covers under my belt since I figured out how to play real chords on the guitar instead of just power chords. I'm very self-conscious about my voice, though. The stuff that was easy to sing along to on albums is a lot harder to sing by yourself, especially while you play a fairly new (and more difficult than I'm accustomed to) instrument. If I get good enough, I might do some open mic nights at Penn State in the spring. Stay tuned.

By the way, if any of you want to help out...you know, let me know. Anyone who can play the guitar better than me (most people who own a guitar) and has songwriting chops...and a drummer would help too.

I'm not trying to get a band together, per se, but I need some help if I want to be the next Elvis Costello.