Good gracious, Rhiannon!  Such a complex state of affairs . . . I'm glad that I am a shallow individual and largely untroubles by such conflicted emotions.  There is no guy worth so much complicated trauma.

Sometimes I'm tired.  Sometimes I'm hungry.  Sometimes I am both tired and hungry - and that is about as complicated as my emotions ever get . . . maybe that's because I am a male?

Very nice song - would love to hear a recording of it on Friends of Chordie or somewhere.

Hi ardstech & welcome to chordie's forum!  Just dive right in and write your own lyrics.  So what if your first few are not as good as think they should be - just write some more, and you will get better with practice.

Start a songwriting notebook where you can keep ideas and phrases and lines to work on.  We are immersed in a sea of potential song ideas - it's just a matter of recognizing them.  Songwriting takes effort and patience.

You hear sometimes about how a certain great song took 'just a few minutes' to write.  Well, that only happens when people spend many many hours writing other songs that maybe weren't so good.  The moral to the story is that you need to get into the habit of writing songs before those rare gems will finally emerge.

Dive in - dare to create.

Hi all - I've just posted a recording of "Famine or Feast" to my MySpace Music page.
See the website link to the left under my forum avatar to get there and give it a listen.

Can't really say I'm getting any better at recording - but I am getting better at not worrying about trying to make it perfect!

Like Southpaw41L, I'll cast my vote for "Whipping Post" by the Allman Brother's Band - that track on 'Live at the Filmore East' is sheer genius.  The band was at a creative peak then - after Duane Allman and Barry Oakley (bassist) died in separate motorcycle accidents, they never recaptured the raw energy and creative flair.  Dickie Bett's guitar playing has always been great, but something about that original line-up with 2 drummers and all that talent just made for powerful music.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird" would have to be a close second.  Here is an article in today's Jackson Mississippi paper about the plane crash 30 years ago:
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs. … 40334/1023

Wow - 5 years - - - certainly worthy of some celebration.  I shall ponder this and offer ideas later.

Hi alvee33 - it works both ways for me.  Usually, I start with the words and the general rhythmic meter of the lines.  Then, the chords and melody will fall into place.

Sometimes, I start with a general chord sequence or melody and then come up with the words.

There is no set formula - it is mostly just bold trial and error . . . don't be afraid to try anything and keep on trying until you come up with something that pleases you.  But, don't be too picky.

Keep in mind that songwriters write many many songs . . . most of them are gravel, with maybe just a few gems every now and then.  The first song is the hardest - it gets easier with practice and patience.

Hi DavidGrant - Yes, I have some experience with this general system.  Solfa is a one version of a system generally known as Solfege (soal-fej) or Solfeggio (soal-fej-eeyo). 

It is a very useful tool to help understand musical notation and sharpen your listening ability.  I first was exposed to it as a kid when playing baritone and learning how to read music.  Our teacher would have us sing our parts using the syllables.

To this day, I can still 'hear' and identify certain intervals very clearly because of this form of training.  It works.  I think this system is great.

Hi deaken316 - I have also seen this odd notation.
I believe that 'h' is used by Scandinavians and Germans to symbolize 'b'.
Why?  I don't know, but I'm sure there are fascinating historical reasons . . .

So, basically you are looking at a standard tuning for your guitar: EADgbe
The upper-case letters denote a lower octave and the upper-case letters indicate a higher octave.

Does anyone know why the 'h' is used to symbolize 'b'?

Thank you Roger and jasonhague321!  As far as rich tapestry of life goes - I'm glad I eventually learned that love should be based on mutual respect and simple joys rather than constant emotional drama.

I just played it through and realized I had left out a chord in the second verse - oops - I've now corrected that mistake.

I do intend to record this one soon, but would really like it if Emmylou Harris would just drop by and help me on the chorus . . . but that probably won't happen.

And now for something completely different:
Rasputina - cellos, drums, vocals, and attitude.
Plus, a 'look' that is somewhere between Elizabethan England and well, I don't quite know what . . .
http://www.rasputina.com/index.html
http://www.myspace.com/rasputina

How about it Ken - does this qualify as original?

Roger, thanks for your encouragement all along the way - you and Ken (Upyerkilt) have been major inspirations in helping me have so much fun writing and recording songs.

There was a posting here yesterday (can't remember from whom,  and I don't see it here now?) suggesting that I learn some harmonica to further accompany my songs - it is an excellent suggestion and I shall give it a go!  Thanks for the great idea!

First, I need to find somebody here locally who can give me some practical tips.  Have already found several websites that offer suggestions - but I want to find a mentor who can ease the initial learning process.

Another nifty idea and a dandy song, last_rebel - somebody needs to make you sit down in front of a microphone and record these gems.

Maybe we can arrange a Songwriter's Intervention like they do for alcoholics and drug addicts?  We could get a bunch of fellow songwriters sitting in a circle, put you in the middle, and then proceed to one-by-one tell you how much you have hurt us by depriving us of hearing your songs.  Then, we could quickly bundle you off to a quiet room with your guitar and a microphone where you would spend at least 30 days recovering from your lack of recording. 

Seriously though, pick a song, record it, and send it Roger Guppy to put of the Friends of Chordie page!