Repurposing some material

[RustyP]

Hey folks, I've spent the last couple of years writing and recording custom gift songs for lots of birthdays, anniversaries ETC. The vast majority of these will have been played a few times and then put away like a treasured photograph.
So, now I have a pile of songs that I still own which could possibly be repurposed.
One idea I have is to turn some of them in to instrumental cueues.
What are your thoughts?

Most are mid paced guitar based songs. The genres go from singer/songwriter to Americana, acoustic pop, and hawaiian style swing. Instrumentation goes from solo guitar to ensembles including ukulele, mandolin, piano, some percussion, some bass or keys, and, even viola da gamba on one or two.

Thoughts and suggestions are welcome.


Rusty

[Casey H]

Hey Rusty
We've talked a bit offline about this.

I think re-writing the lyrics, re-doing production/mix, and pitching as songs has more chance of success. As Graham said, stripped of vocals, they might not make the best instrumental cues. I'm also finding (personally) that the market for instrumental cues is as saturated as ever so you have to bring something to the table that's top notch and not the same old thing the libraries already have thousands of.

If you have a song with a good musical hook, writing more universal lyrics to the melody would be the way to go IMHO. That's not to say the bar isn't ultra high for vocal songs as well. But my thinking always is it starts with a great song and then you can either up the game on production/performance if needed or collab to bring it across the high bar finish line.

Talk more offline. Looking forward to seeing you at the rally.

Casey

[cosmicdolphin]

I would just write new ones

[Casey H]

I would just write new ones

I'm shocked to hear you say that!!

[cosmicdolphin]

I would just write new ones

I'm shocked to hear you say that!!

Do The Work...isn't that a reccommended book from around these parts ? I've not read it but the sentiment holds.

[Casey H]

I would just write new ones

I'm shocked to hear you say that!!

Do The Work...isn't that a reccommended book from around these parts ? I've not read it but the sentiment holds.

I do think it's good to write new ones. But I never rule out re-working older ones as they can be a treasure cove. I wouldn't say the latter is not "doing the work". For example, as I think is in Rusty's case, he's got some good songs that have non-universal lyrics. I see nothing wrong with a lyric re-write to be able to pitch for Film/TV. Yes, the style has to still be contemporary in most cases but some styles are more ageless/timeless and/or adaptable than others. A good singer-songwriter song with a good hook (melody) has lots of potential and some production tweaks can give it the new life it needs. I have placements that prove this.

It's still "the work" no matter how you get there.

[myk247365]

use the melody, harmony, arrangement, lyrics that work and create a track that fits the listing. You don't have to rework the old stuff, just use what's usable to save yourself time and effort.