It has been a couple of months now since I posted my last fingerstyle blues study piece. I had the next study piece ready to record but I never got around to recording it. I then found myself going down another rabbit hole and writing a couple of songs.
The first song that I am going to share with you the now the lyrics came before the music. I found myself a bit limited in getting the music from my head to my fingers for the song. So I decided to use it as an opportunity to learn and practice E and Am shaped barre chords.
I have played the song on acoustic on this take as I was not planning on sharing at this stage as still working on getting my singing and playing up to scratch. I have also been toying with the idea that @DavidP put into my head of producing a full band version (e.g. bass and drums) of any songs that I write. In which case I would definitely record this one on electric If I go down that path.
As always feedback is welcome.
For some reason this feels actually more nerve racking than when I shared my first AVOYP.
Click Me:
Lyrics
Living Your Life In Your Head by James aka Socio
Verse 1:
When the night is over and youāre lying in bed
With all the leftover thoughts running through your head
Chained to all the memories
and visions of how life could be
Chorus:
And you know
God only knows what it means
Nothings quite what it seems
Realities ripped to the seams
Youāre living your life in your dreams
Verse 2:
When the day is dawning and youāre wide awake
Drifting away with every breath you take
Down the river and over the hills
Above the clouds as the world stands still
Chorus:
And you know
God only knows what it means
Nothings quite what it seems
Realities ripped to the seams
Youāre living your life in your dreams
Bridge:
Wake up Luna
Rise and shine
This worlds for living
Itās yours and mine
You only got one shot
To make it or not
One last chance
To take a stance
Verse 3:
So as the day unfolds and your storyās told
The cards played and the dice rolled
Itās time for you to move ahead and
Stop living your life in your head
Hi James,
very nice ā¦ cheerful ā¦and a recognizable chord progression ā¦ the sound is just not that good (distorted) so I canāt really hear what you singā¦ and yet it makes me happy ā¦(and now I can only hope that the text is not about death and destruction )
Very nice and I hope you give me a good sound version soon
Thanks and greetingsā¦
Edit:I think there is something here with me wrong with the sound because now I can hear your voice much better a 2nd time ā¦ the guitar is still in distortion ā¦ or is that supposed to be?
@roger_holland
Thanks Rogier for the listen. I think I may have had a bit too much acoustic guitar compression applied happy to post the unplugged first take before messing about with the effects just for you the final polished version will be electric and Iāll definitely seek guidance from our more experienced mixing members of the community.
I found myself rocking along on my chair after few seconds, having a smile on my face and just enjoyed listening to you. Also, I can soooooooooo much relate to the lyrics (should have left a few more ooos there ), as I tend to be exactly like that.
I liked the unexpected distorted sound of the acoustic, it was surprising and catching. And Iām glad you decided to share this First Take instead of a fully produced version. I find a lot of charm in this āimperfectā things, it just feels more relatable to me. You did a great job and I still hear the catching chord progression in my head. Very well done!
Edit: I actually pressed āsendā more than an hour ago. I just noticed it was still loading when coming back after dinnerā¦ Probably every pixel was send on its own through the interweb.
Thanks for the listen and feedback, Lisa. Iām soooooooooo happy that you enjoyed my first original song (should have left a few more ooos there ). I felt that it needed a bit more of an edge when playing it on acoustic so without knowing what I was doing applied acoustic guitar compression without making any adjustments Reading your comment makes me feel that I made the right decision to share a first take before polishing it up and doing a fully produce version as it shows where I am on the learning path and those interested can follow this thread to see where it ends up.
Thanks for taking the time to listen to my first original, Michael. It means a lot to me, especially to know that you really enjoyed it. It gives me greater confidence going forward.
Such a fantastic first original - spreading great vibes . I love the chord progression .
That was a super decision!. Maybe I should focus on barre chords a bit more as well - wonderful oppotunities opening up .
Also thanks for adding the lyrics. Like @roger_holland, I struggeled a bit with understanding them through to sound irritations. They very much correspond with my life motto: āToday is the first day of the rest of your life. Seize it!ā (I hope, I got the translation right .)
I also enjoyed the acoustic unplugged version .
Thanks so much for sharing . Absolutely great !
I think youāre on to a winner there James. A really enjoyable listen, and to my ears it had a sort of āoasisā feel to it. I actually quite enjoyed the compression effect. Looking forward to seeing how this grows, and maybe listening to a version with drums and a bass line. Well done
@NicoleKKB
Hi Nicole, thank you for taking the time to listen and comment on my first original. Iām glad that you enjoyed it and loved the chord progression. Barre chords certainly open up some great sounding opportunities.
@Tim_Wilson
HI Tim, thank you for taking the time to listen and comment on my first original. Iām pleased to hear that you enjoyed it and think the song has potential. Oasis was a band that I loved growing up. I guess that the music that we really listened to as we grew up still has a major influence on our musicality.
Hi James,
Great to hear you doing your first original! I like the chord sequences in this. Nice job on that! To me your singing was better on this than the Beatles post. Good mix between the vox and guitar levels. All around goodness!
@LBro
Hi LB, thanks for checking out my first original. Itās great to hear that you liked the chord sequence and that you thought the mix between vox and guitar levels was good. That gives me some confidence that I am going in the right direction for when I come to recording the song on the electric guitar and adding drums and bass to the production.
Hey James, been a while but this is great to see this, your vocals and confidence are through the roof, and obviously I love the inspiration!! Your barres are in very fine shape
Well done mate,
Brilliant stuff James and congratulations on writing such a great song. Really cool vibe to the song and a wonderful chord progression. You should be very proud of this production!
Sometimes, when itās clear that a tortorously boring summer time work day and itās hard to find motivation to start the day, then a song comes alongā¦ and life starts to look a little better.
James, thank you so much for sharing. I love your cheerful sounding song, which is still playing in my head while Iām writing this. You are really on to something there
James, congrats on your songwriting! This one really stands out to me. A beautiful chord progression! And you immediately catched me with the lyrics! A touching piece of music!
@Notter
Hey Mark, hope you are well mate. Thanks for giving this one a spin. I figured it would be right up your street. Your remark on the barres made my day as thatās the first song that Iāve played with so many barres chords.
@Eddie_09
Thanks for such positive feedback, Eddie. Iām glad you enjoyed the vibe of the song and the chord progression. Yes, Iām very proud to have finally hit that milestone of recording an original thanks to Justinās teachings.
@JokuMuu
Hi Nicole, thank you so much for giving this one a listen. Iām glad it could bring a bit of cheer to a boring summer work day. Itās good to hear that you think there is something there with this song, it will be interesting to see how it develops as my guitar and music skills develop.
@Helen0609
Thank you for giving this song a listen and providing such positive feedback, Andrea. It is really nice to hear that the song stood out to you and the lyrics caught your attention. With all these positive comments it feels like Iām living my life in my head.
Wow James! Wellā¦Hello, first of all
This was really good in so many respects, I loved the lyrics, the chord progression and those individual fingerpicked notes added that certain something that uplifted it all! In due time, as you get more confident with the dynamics in the playing, which are good already btw, you might think to add some loud/quiet dynamics in the singing. You did an amazing job and worked really well on the different aspects that are making it a very enjoyable song to listen to! BRAVO!
@SILVIA
Hello Silvia, thank you very much for checking out my first original song. Thank you for such positive feedback. Iām really happy that you loved the lyrics, chord progressions and picked notes. The lyrics for this song came first and it took me a while to come up with some music at my playing level to pull it all together. Yes, I will certainly be looking to add some dynamics to it as I progress with the development of it and try to put it into more of a band production.
Thanks for checking this out, JK. Iām happy to hear that you thought it sounded good. The distortion came from experimenting with the presets in the software package EZ Mix2 plug-in for reaper. I just went through the acoustic guitar presets until I found one that I liked but never thought about making adjustments at the time. It is all still a learning curve especially when it comes to tones and effects etc.
ā¦(and now I can only hope that the text is not about death and destruction 
)
happy to post the unplugged first take before messing about with the effects just for you 
the final polished version will be electric and Iāll definitely seek guidance from our more experienced mixing members of the community.
), as I tend to be exactly like that. 
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. Absolutely great 
