Cant Sing You A Song
Episode #179: Can\u2019t Sing You A Song\xa0 \xa0(Song starts at 3:38) \n I had a bit of fun with the demo on this episode. Earlier today, I was supposed to be recording some piano for a song. The session got cancelled at the last minute.\nTurns out I was really in the mood to record, so what started out as a piano/vocal take ended up having the kitchen sink thrown in ( strings, guitars, bass, Rhodes - all done on the keyboards. Good fun.\nCan\u2019t Sing You A Song is a different style for me. Every now and then I write something left of field. I never block \u2018the voice\u2019. \nSongs do come along that I can\u2019t ever see myself singing - perhaps this is one of them (on the other hand, now the demo has been completed, maybe it could end up on a solo album of mine).\nIt was fun to compose in this sort of groove based song. It did write it on the piano, but after just a few bars,I realised the sort of song it was going to be.\nSo I kept the beat firmly in mind and I phrased the vocals accordingly, emphasising certain syllables. Also, I didn\u2019t introduce any unusual chord changes, in fact I did some repetition 2 chords, three times in a row, this would generally suit a guitar/ band more than just the piano.\nSo I wrote this song with a certain intention - that was suggested very early on. I didn\u2019t fight it.\nI wrote the words first, then the music just flowed easily, around the feel and the chords that came through.\nThe gist of the lyrics is: I can\u2019t sing you a song or paint a picture without the feeling being there in the first place.\nAnd the song is saying: I can show you I\u2019m having fun - and I hope you do, too - but it\u2019s not my place to tell you how: \nCan\u2019t make you laugh, it\u2019s not up to me\nBut I\u2019ll show you a path where there\u2019s loving free\nEveryone\u2019s on their own journey, so it\u2019d be wrong of the lyricist to try and twist the listeners arm.\nThis song is about love, first and foremost - the idea that we\u2019ve really just started on this next phase of humanity: connectedness as a species, to proceed.\nWe\u2019ve analysed things so much over the centuries and as a result, we\u2019ve dis - integrated.\nSo I think art and music are the key\u2026laughter, connectedness and healing and that\u2019s what this song is about. It\u2019s a happy song.\nAs a songwriter There\u2019s a real joy when the full circle happens and an audience responds positively .\nOn the episode, I didn\u2019t end up talking about how I produced the demo too much. To create an arrangement like the demo (full band sort of sound), I started with a basic piano track and guide vocal, recorded to the drum beat. Then I added bass on the keys, muted the original piano and replayed a more precise simplified piano part, leaving room for the other instruments (recorded in this order):\nRhodes piano, guitar pad L, guitar pad R , nylon string guitar, lead vocal, 2 backing vocals and then the strings, which I added afterwards to bring it all together. I thought the strings would suit the song.\nSo this is the very first demo. Eventually, the parts would be recorded on real instruments, dropping elements in to give the arrangement some space. \nPerhaps the tempo is a bit quick. If it were just a bit slower, there\u2019d be more groove and that would also make it easier to get a few of those lyrics out.\nI describe how I came to play the blues in a piano bar. Then it occurs to me this song might work in that sort of style , so I demonstrate that, on the spur of the moment.\nPicking a style and arranging a song..it\u2019s actually a big part of the process. But most often I think it helps to have the song finished in it\u2019s own right. If you\u2019re recording it, you\u2019re going to be listening to it a lot.\xa0\nAlso, as this song says, there has to be feeling and message in my art and music. Our days are few, when also said and done - and we need to have fun along the way.\nHere we go\u2026let\u2019s find out where and how can\u2019t sing you a song came from\u2026