"Take You Home" - ROUGH, NOT A PRODUCTION

[Casey H]

This is just a song I'm working on, not for any listing. This is not a production/mix, it's a songwriter rough for future production by someone and I only have the first verse so far. I often just write singer-songwriter songs to get into the catalogs of libraries and not related to a listing.

You rarely hear me singing, so this is either a treat or a horror . It's me on acoustic guitar, and to the delight of my friend cosmicdolphin, no Band In A Box.

https://s.disco.ac/zwqifgtvpizc UPDATED 12/2/23

Casey

[feaker66]

I hear Tom Petty and the Eagles especially the last line of the chorus. I don't comment on vocals anymore. I lost too many friends. Only way i can tell is how I heard them sing before and now. I used to only use melodyne occasionally, now it's every fifth note. Just a nudge really helps. I take the snap feature right off.
Enough about singing. The song is sweet. It kept me wanting to hear the story in it's entirety.. IMHO ...great promise..good luck Casey

[Casey H]

Thanks Feaker
Appreciate the listen. I'm trying to write verse 2 today.

I get that "Tom Petty" thing a lot. It must be that nasal thing. I do use Melodyne and because I only do roughs, I do snap to the notes of the scale a lot. Both my singing and my ears for pitch are weak enough that snap to scale is still WAAAAY better than anything else I can do!

Best,
Casey

[CTWF]

I like it. The word "chemical" caught me a little off guard. To me, "chemical" is when the fish in the Rhine swim belly-up once more. But not sure what could replace it.

Tom

[Casey H]

I like it. The word "chemical" caught me a little off guard. To me, "chemical" is when the fish in the Rhine swim belly-up once more. But not sure what could replace it.

Tom

Thanks! Post Malone has a song called "Chemical" and had I not heard that, the word probably wouldn't have even popped in my head. I "borrowed" a little (for better or worse).
https://youtu.be/Sk9rrM3DoFU?si=73nAdLqxm4lVLxgB

Best,
Casey

[cosmicdolphin]

Much better without Bland in a Box, I think this is perfectly fine to present to a co-writer in this format.

The song seems quite sweet, I imagine it as an Indie Folk type production

[cosmicdolphin]

I get that "Tom Petty" thing a lot. It must be that nasal thing. I do use Melodyne and because I only do roughs, I do snap to the notes of the scale a lot. Both my singing and my ears for pitch are weak enough that snap to scale is still WAAAAY better than anything else I can do!

Singing is hard but being on pitch is only a small part of what makes a good souding vocal ( and one we can correct for ) there's lots of other things needed like good breath support , vocal chord connection , different parts of your voice like chest and head.

I had vocal tuiton for several years, and although I was never able to sing what I would think of as a licesensable vocal it also really helped my musical ear, pitch reconition etc, taught me the language used by proper singers so I could give feedback when producing their tracks , and taught me to 'read' Melodyne much better than I could when looking at a vocal track in it.

If you ever get the chance you should go and get some voice lessons - it will improve your songwriting and musicality plus it's kinda fun. You will probably even meet some singers you can use in the future. I dare you.

[Casey H]

Thanks Mark
I've always wanted to take voice lessons. The cost has been prohibitive given that I spend a lot on production. (No need to try to convince me to do otherwise ). It's just priorities as to where to spend the $$. Even if I got better at singing, my vocals still wouldn't cut it for pitching/placements. In retirement (not all that far away), if the funds were available, I would really enjoy it though.

Regarding BIAB, a few things. I do often go back after the song is written with BIAB and replace the BIAB backing with my own strummed guitar. That way I present a song to a producer or co-writer in "raw" form with no bias as to production. However, during the writing process, it's a fantastic tool since I can make changes with a few clicks and not have to re-record my guitar-- BPM, key, change chords, insert/delete measures & sections, etc. Sometimes, the BIAB track does a good job of presenting what I hear for style/production, and it's better left that way. The one played on Taxi TV was like that for me. With others, I stripped out the BIAB tracks in favor of just my guitar, or my guitar with the drums. What's humorous is my timing when playing with drums is often bad and I can't even leave in the drums.

It's easy to take for granted that everyone has or wants to have good DAW/recording skills. Or even plays an instrument. There are a lot of pure songwriters who aren't in that category. For the pure songwriter who doesn't play an instrument well or has/wants a virtual instrument setup, BIAB is great and I highly recommend it. For a reasonable set of styles and instruments to choose from, one needs to upgrade a few levels from their base package.

And hearing you say the song is sweet meant a lot. Compliments from the dolphin can be tough to come by.

Best,
Casey

[irthlingz]

My favorite lyric is "You hold me without touching me at all"

On the chorus, just looking at the words, I thought it was kind of bland, but with the melody it works for me. The melody in the last line is perhaps too reminiscent of the last line of the chorus of the Eagles' "Lyin' Eyes"?

"Moth to a flame" is cliché. Don't know if there might be some way to twist it slightly to make it more interesting?

===
Michael

[Casey H]

Michael
Thanks for the feedback! Good points. I agree the moth to a flame line is cliche. I was trying to avoid it, put it in as filler and it it stuck (for now). I do a zillion re-writes so we'll see.

Best,
Casey