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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Posts by James McCormick
Good idea - I like the chord sets & would love to hear your melody. I was goofing around and found that the chords & melody for "Against the Wind" by Bob Seger works quite well - with a couple of very minor adaptations.
I'm going to keep fooling around with this since I find it quite amusing. I have also discovered that the text to Dr Seuss's "The Cat In The Hat" can be sung to the tune of "The Star Bangled Banner" . . . try it . . . it really really works!
Hello quikchevelle - What you are seeing is the chordpro format with the chords embedded within the lyrics. These brackets & chords are a good thing.
If you move a song into your songbook and then open it using the 'edit' button, you will see two view panes. The top pane will show the chordpro format (or whatever the original file looks like) and the bottom pane will show the song after it has been put through Chordie's chordpro filter. Use the 'save' and 'update view' buttons to see the effects of any editing changes.
Why bother saving a song in Word? If you want a printed copy, just print it from the screen. If you want to edit the song, use the editing pane. If you want to save the song, just save it in your Chordie songbook. The only reason I could see for saving the song in Word would be if you wanted to do some very extensive editing - but then you would eventually just copy & paste the altered file back into the editing pane in your Songbook . . .
Does this help?
Hello Shannon - what sort of advice do you want or need? Seems you've got yourself some lyrics & chords & I assume you've got a melody and rhythm up your sleeve also . . . Congratulations! It's a song! Sing it - play it - enjoy it - change it if you want (or leave it alone) - share it with friends - have fun with it!
So . . . Now, start another song - a new song, a song that is the next song. Keep the creative juices flowing and keep scribbling ideas and keep your ears pricked up for phrases & words & sounds that are intriguing.
Challenge yourself to write a new song every week or every day. One of the most well-loved and well-known songs of all time was written by a couple of guys who had challenged themselves to write a new song every day. "Amazing Grace" is the product of such an effort . . . not bad for one day's work.
Perhaps you should start a piano topic under the 'other stringed instruments' section of the forum. I'm sure there are other pianists who visit Chordie to get lyrics & chords.
Another good source for songs is this site:
<a href="http://www.guntheranderson.com/" target="_blank">http://www.guntheranderson.com/</a>
Plenty of songs from musicals as well as other great stuff to be found. Site doesn't have all the neato-keano functions as Chordie, but worth looking at.
Is a Spanish Harp cross-strung with the C-major strings (= piano white keys) on one course, and the diatonics (=piano black keys) on the other course? Heard one of these at a recital once years ago and was fascinated with the sound and versatility of the instrument.
The one I saw wasn't very large maybe just 3 octaves. A 5-octave harp must be pretty substantial.
What sort of stuff have you been finding on Chordie for your harp?
I started playing autoharp a couple of years ago - mainly I like to sing and the autoharp is a great thing to sing with. I have a nice 21-chord Oscar-Schmidt with fine tuning.
I played electric bass years ago (but my left thumb got crunched, so had to give it up).
What is a Spanish Harp? I am familiar with Irish harps and other 'traditional' harps, but have not heard of Spanish Harp.
Hello zipporah - here is a link to the Wikipedia article on autoharps:
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoharp" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoharp</a>
Hope this helps - when you say you play harp, do you mean harmonica/harp? Or do you mean a classical harp (like Harpo Marx)?
Hello Songwriting Forum folks - I was reminded of the Jabberwocky poem today. It's the glorious little nonsense ditty from the Alice in Wonderland stories.
It struck me that it would be fun to set the poem to music - I'm sure it's been done before - but I'm going to try it myself. Seems to me to be worthy exercise in inventing a melodic line and chord set to accompany the vividly strange words of Lewis Carroll.
First, I'll probably do a word-for-word setting of the original poem. I would also like to then play around with the words and come up with a freer adaptation of the poem - something decidedly Jabberwockyish.
Anyway - if you are so inclined, the poem is posted below (it is way way way out of copyright, so no problem posting it in it's entirety). Take a crack at it - have a go - give it a twirl . . .
JABBERWOCKY
by: Lewis Carroll
(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Ken - here is another link where you can download a very nice chordpro software version:
<a href="http://www.tenbyten.com/software/songsgen/" target="_blank">http://www.tenbyten.com/software/songsgen/</a>
It's called Songsheet Generator. I use it at home and it works just dandy. The programmer asks for $15 from registered users. In Scottish currency, I think that's 19.327 pieces of peat?
Ken - Just realized something important - that link I sent a moment ago is fine BUT (there's always a big but somewhere) you must save your file as a text .txt file for the utility to work properly.
Ken - here is a link to a site where you can view & print files written in chordpro format.
<a href="http://www.bythechord.com/resource.html" target="_blank">http://www.bythechord.com/resource.html</a>
I'm not at home now, but latere today I'll send a link to a site where you can download a pretty good version that allows you to transpose & view & print.
Good to hear that you are spewing forth great gobs of songs . . . I've got a couple gestating but have no due date yet.
Congrats to anotheremptyhead! Good choice upyerkilt . . . would like to hear the lyric set to some chords with a melody - hoping that Pere's rollout of the new song-sharing site is soon.
Sanguine has suggested some chords in the "ummm please help" topic here in the songwriting forum. I'm going to play around with them and see what I can up with for lyrics & melody . . . anybody else up for another challenge?
sanguine - Got your chords, will let then simmer a bit while stirring slowly. Maybe something edible will emerge. The chord set has a sort feel that I'll work with -but maybe my feeling is completely different from yours.
Anybody else want to take on the challenge? This can be kind of a inkblot test for songwriters . . . "Tell me what you see in these chords - - - now, tell me about your childhood . . ."
Hello Smileymike216 - Chordie merely re-formats and displays songs hosted on other sites (see FAQs at Chordie Resources) - you can't "post" a song to Chordie.
However, it is possible to share a song (well, at least the lyrics & chords) you have written here in the Songwriting Forum by doing this:
Start a new topic, or reply to an existing topic.
Here is a song (in ChordPro format):
{t:Tra-La-La}
{st:by, Scooby Doo}
[C]Tra la [Am]la
[F]Dum dee [G]doo
Tra la [C]la
As long as the chords are properly placed and in brackets, they will appear above the words. The title and subtitle must be in curly brackets with the proper command. You can 'paste-in' your song off your word processor program.
Now; put a "SONG" at the start, and a "/SONG" at the end (WITH BRACKETS INSTEAD OF QUOTES) and it will look like this:
<div class="song"><link rel="StyleSheet" href="../css/chordie.css" type="text/css" media="screen" title="Chordie style"><div id="singlesong"><div id="singlesongc"><div class="header"><h1 class="finaltitle"> Tra-La-La</h1><h2 class="finalartist" style="text-decoration: none">by, Scooby Doo</h2></div><div class="song"><div id="firstcol"><div class="chordline"><span class="bracket">[</span><span class="relc"><span class="absc">C</span></span><span class="bracket">]</span>Tra la <span class="bracket">[</span><span class="relc"><span class="absc">Am</span></span><span class="bracket">]</span>la
</div><div class="chordline"><span class="bracket">[</span><span class="relc"><span class="absc">F</span></span><span class="bracket">]</span>Dum dee <span class="bracket">[</span><span class="relc"><span class="absc">G</span></span><span class="bracket">]</span>doo
</div><div class="chordline">Tra la <span class="bracket">[</span><span class="relc"><span class="absc">C</span></span><span class="bracket">]</span>la
</div></div><div id="secondcol">
</div></div><div class="grids"><img class="chord" alt="Am" src="../ramimages/Amchord_N02210_1.png" /> <img class="chord" alt="C" src="../ramimages/Cchord_N32010_1.png" /> <img class="chord" alt="F" src="../ramimages/Fchord_133211_1.png" /> <img class="chord" alt="G" src="../ramimages/Gchord_320003_1.png" /> </div></div></div><div style="display:none">
{t:Tra-La-La}
{st:by, Scooby Doo}
[C]Tra la [Am]la
[F]Dum dee [G]doo
Tra la [C]la
</div>
This format is called ChordPro . . . it is easy to use once you play with it a bit. If you go to your Chordie Songbook and open a song with the 'edit' button, there are some easy to follow tips available in the edit pane.
Since there are Chordie Forum upload file size limits, it is not possible (yet) to post mp3's of your songs (I've tried).
Pere (the wizard who invented Chordie as a hobby) is working on a new project aimed at making a site where songwriters can post stuff (with mp3s) that should make collaboration and cross-pollination possible. I can't wait . . . it will be more great internet!
Hope this helps, Smileymike216 . . .
If you have your own melodies and chords - that is wonderful! Don't worry about the words too much. Save those tunes and chord changes on tape somehow . . . you will want them later.
Although song writing can be a very frustrating process, I am finding that my songs typically have a very simple lyrical starting point - - - it might be just a phrase or a couple of words, or it might be a line ot two that feels good to say.
For me, songs don't just spew forth fully formed - but once I have found that lyrical starting point, suddenly the song has direction and purpose.
Hello Baba30 - to start a new thread within the Forum, do this:
Go to Forum Home (click tab for Forum at Chordie's home page).
Look at the list of broad topic headings withing the Forum - pick the relevant topic.
Within each topic there are several sub-topics . . . check to see if there is already an open thread that might be your subject of interest. If not, then towards the top of the forum screen is a button that says "New Topic" (or something like that).
Label your new topic with a brief name or description. Write your message in the message window & post.
Not hard - just look all over each screen in the process - scroll up and down to see everything that is there.
Just wrote this song for my daughter's 18th birthday:
Hello JBridges - a metronome can help you keep a steady pace (tempo) to your timing. A setting of 60 would be sixty beats per minute.
4/4 time refers to time signature for a piece . . . 4 beats per measure, and a quarter note is one beat (it is sometimes refered to as march tempo). 2/4 time (quick march) means 2 beats per measure, and a quarter note is one beat. 3/4 time (waltz tempo) means 3 beats per measure and a quarter note is one beat. 6/8 time (another type of waltz tempo) means 6 beats per measure and an eighth note is one beat. There are other time sigs, but these are the most common.
Most rock&roll and blues and folk music is in 4/4 time. The metronome can help you keep a steady pulse, but it won't differentiate between 4/4 or 3/4 other time sigs. You playing and singing will help set the time signature or the 'feel' of the pulse of the tempo with the emphasized beats.
Try this - set your metronome at 80 or so. Now, along with ticking count out 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4 and put the emphasis on the 1s (this is 4/4 time at 80 beats per minute). Keep doing this for while until the 'feel' gets ingrained in your gut.
Now, leave the tempo at 80 but count out 1,2,3,1,2,3 and put the emphasis on the 1s (this is 3/4 waltz time at 80 beats per minute). Keep doing this for a while until the 'feel' gets in your gut.
You will notice a definate difference between the rhythmic 'feel' of 4/4 and 3/4 times even though they are at the same tempo. Use your metronome to help maintain a steady tempo - use your playing and singing to emphasize the appropriate beats to convey the rhythmic pulse of the music.
Hello sanguine - playing should be fun, but it is hard to find good/new/fun songs to play if you only listen to commercial pop radio - way too many stupid commercials, stupid tunes, and stupid deejays on 'regular' radio stations.
Chances are, you just haven't heard anything lately that really inspires you like you were when you first started to play - - but there is a cure for that!
If you live near a university, there is probably a campus radio station where they play 'better' music. They may also broadcast some excellent syndicated music programs that focus on music of merit.
One of the best syndicated music programs is "World Cafe with David Dye". The show spotlights new and emerging artists as well as some musicians that are more well known. The show is also syndicated on some Public Radio stations. Here is a link:
<a href="http://www.xpn.org/worldcafe.php" target="_blank">http://www.xpn.org/worldcafe.php</a>
Most college radio stations are also available via web-casts. I often hear great stuff that inspires me to want to learn a song on our local college station (WMSV Mississippi State University).
I also have some thick binders full of great old songs - much of it vintage stuff from the years of my youth. But there is some wonderful stuff that is more current . . . it's just stuff that you probably won't hear on 'regular' radio.
Hope this helps - another idea . . . meet some other folks who play and get together for fun. If you are a musical masturbator (only play with yourself), find some collaborators and have fun playing with each other.
Hello dhouston - I couldn't find any chords or tabs for this song. "Horseback In My Dreams" is by Joe Tomeselli. Another song ("Amelia") on the same Corinne West album is also by Tomeselli.
Perhaps your best bet is to contact the artist directly and request chords & tabs. Here is her link:
<a href="http://www.corinnesmusic.com/" target="_blank">http://www.corinnesmusic.com/</a>
Hello barboy - I've tried some creative web surfing to get a line on the song you describe. But alas - nothing has popped up yet. Perhaps if you found a forum specializing in Country Music, somebody could point you in the right direction?
I often view these song requests as puzzle or a challenge to solve - but this one has me frustrated . . . hope you can find it somewhere. Please post a reply back to this forum if you solve the puzzle.
Just did a Google News search and here are links to recent articles regarding the legal dispute. Apparently, things are moving along very slowly,
Seems that if the Music Publisher's Association can just keep their targets pinned down under the threat of litigation they feel that they are 'winning'. Of course, this also keeps them from offering a reasonable solution that embraces the potenital of the internet.
<a href="http://www.excal.on.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2018&Itemid=2" target="_blank"> http://www.excal.on.ca/index.php?option … t&task =view&id=2018&Itemid=2</a>
<a href="http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2006/09/15/features/lifestyles/1db22988055d020e862571ea003d8fcb.txt" target="_blank"> http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2006 … ures/lifes tyles/1db22988055d020e862571ea003d8fcb.txt</a>
<a href="http://www.eastbayexpress.com/Issues/2006-10-11/music/pressplay.html" target="_blank"> http://www.eastbayexpress.com/Issues/20 … sic/pressp lay.html</a>
<a href="http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20061004005635&newsLang=en" target="_blank"> http://home.businesswire.com/portal/sit … dex.jsp?nd mViewId=news_view&newsId=20061004005635&newsLang=en</a>
Has anybody heard any updates on the copyright infringement lawsuit that was threatening to shut down all of the lyrics & tabs websites? The litigation was instigated several months ago by the Music Publishers Association and some other music industry interest groups. They contended that the lyrics & tabs websites were profiting improperly from copyrighted materials.
I (along with many others) signed petitions in favor of letting the lyrics & chords websites continue to operate. What is the current status of this legal dispute? Is it in some kind of procedural holding pattern - - - any news would be welcome.
Ken - Just sent it to you via e-mail. Have fun with it. James
Ken - Glad you like it . . . I will getting some friends together soon to record it. It is a fun song to sing no matter what your nationality.
I'm sure there are a few sanctimonious, profiteering, fear-mongers over in your neck of the woods . . . so feel free to belt it out. Maybe you could alter the lyric a bit to make it more relevant to your polititicians.
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Posts by James McCormick
