So I’ve been working on this song for what seems like a real long time.
For sure I’ve not worked on any other song in recent times.
This is a continuing effort that I’ve posted up before. Here’s the link to my first efforts and comments on my efforts.
Any comments are welcome. I’m especially trying to work on my finger picking so if anyone has any comments on what to do better, please chime in.
My first efforts were on acoustic so I thought I’d change it up a bit and do this version electric. My first versions were also done in pieces, different parts recorded at different times. None were done in one sitting.
Doing it in one sitting (singing and playing at the same time) is all new to me too.
This is my newest electric version.
Doing this as a movie made me crazy. I don’t know how to manipulate the program. grrrrr.
After much trail and error I think I finally got it together.
I swear I spend more time trying to put this together in a video than I do playing the song. Well, perhaps not, but it did take me near a week of on off trying before I was able to get it to the youtube.
Anyways.
All comments welcome. Including lighting comments
Hi Jim. I don’t know much about finger picking, but that sounded good to me, especially combined with your voice.
I have a similar problem with sound recording/video editing - it just takes forever with limited knowledge (trial/error) to get something done.
Nice one there Jim!
You’ve got a cruisy, relaxed fingerstyle goin there, and it shows in your playing.
And some good vocals on top, which is not that easy when fingerpickin.
@Boris1565
Thanks for the listen Boris. As you can see, I don’t know to much about finger picken either. Since I don’t, I thought I should try and see if I can get me a bit of knowledge on how to do this. I have seen only one of Justin’s videos on this, I think there’s more. But first thing I found out was I ‘think’ I needed to anchor my little finger, which I tried to do. I was playing it using my index finger on the D string. I had to change the whole way I played that song when I did it Justin’s way, thumb doing the D string.
Sorry to hear you get bummed about this recording/video editing thing too. Appreciate the comment as it helps me feel less lonely that I’m not the only one fighting ‘the machine’. Thanks for the listen and kind words Boris.
@DavidP Thanks for the listen and comments David. I agree, it was generally pretty smooth and clean. however, I think I still need work on this. I know there are mistakes in there but I posted it anyways as I was hoping for some insight from others to see if I can refine this tune a bit more.
I surely do hope this making video thing gets easier and that I wonder why I struggled in the first place. I ain’t there yet… heck I don’t even know the move you made for this embed thing. Thanks for doing that for me. I’ve really got to figure out how to do that. Appreciate the edit for me. Thanks.
And I am gonna just keep on with it on the assumption that practice makes perfect. Thanks for the listen and kind words + help with my video.
@Rosshkerr Thanks for the listen and kind words Ross. For sure this finger picking thing is new to me too. I feel I’ve got a long ways to go but I just gotta try. I’ve got several songs that I like and want to do. All likely finger pickin songs, so if I want to do them I just figured I needed to start working on it. This is some of my first tries. Granted. I did have one video I deleted that started off with me saying, take 125! In my mind, it wasn’t untrue… I’m still thinking, practice makes perfect. Thanks for the listen Ross.
@sclay Thanks for the listen Shane. Thanks for the comment regarding cruisy and relaxed. I think this observation is good as this song does just kinda cruise along. It’s basically doing the same pattern over and over with minor variations. So feeling that perhaps I’m starting to get it since that’s the way you observed it. Thanks for the kind words. As for singing and fingerpickin at the same time. Heck, fingerpickin or strumming, I find singing and playing quite challenging. I’m really trying hard to do them together. Cool your thinking I’m maybe succeeding.
A couple other comments on this.
I don’t know if folks are thinking this song is in time. I hope it is. I think it is. I was also using a metronome while recording this. If you listen close at the very end, you can hear the click track (coming from the daw) I think from the headphones being picked up by the vocal mic. That was unintentional but it proves that you can use a metronome and have it be helpful in your playing. Throughout this song, I think, you can hear me starting to get out of time, but then getting back with it. The metronome was helping me do this I think.
Well played Jim, enjoyed listening to your recording.
I wouldn’t “fret” over the technology too much. I did for a while until I concluded it is not that important: time’s better spent on the performance, and you did that rather well.
Your observation that I’m fretting (no pun intended) is correct. I try not to fret over it, but man, sometimes I feel I’m just beating my head against the wall trying to figure out the next computer move that I need to make. Being self taught on how to manipulate a computer surely has it’s drawbacks, that’s for sure.
Glad you enjoyed my take on this song. I still think it needs work, so I just keep trying to get it better with less mistakes. This finger picking thing is pretty fun, hard to do, but fun once some of it starts to come together musically. I’m thinking for me, it’s only just starting to come together. I think I’ll continue trying…
Hey Jim,
Nice fingers work there. I would be one happy cat if I could do that!
I listened to the original by CSNY and hear they are much higher on their backing vox it seems. To me your strong suit is in playing. The vox to me seems to blend in a bit too much with the chords. I would be tempted to mess around with the backing vocals and try to bring them up if possible, somehow. Maybe sing them a fifth higher or something if you can get there.
Video - @DavidP is right. Like anything, it just takes some grinding at the start and a bit of practice. What are you using to do your video editing?
I like this song. I think you did it justice. Vocals maybe could have been a little louder, but still you did great. Inspiring to me. I don’t guess I’ve ever heard it. I wish I could do what you did. I’m hoping to eventually.
Nice fingerpicking, Jim. I would have liked to hear a bit more strength in your voice. I think there’s a really great voice hiding in there!
About the only advice I can give on the fingerpicking is to minimize movement of the fingers for better efficiency. That’s what they always tell you for classical guitar playing, anyway When you play higher-tempo pieces it becomes more important.
Thanks LBro, the way you wrote that strikes me as funny (the one happy cat part).
Cool you even think I have a strong suit imho. Thanks. I agree, I’d like to sing it in a higher register, but your part about '‘if you can get there’ is very relevant. I’m not comfortable singing to start with, but if I do, I sing bass. I really can’t even get to tenor w/o resorting to falsetto, which I can only barely do.
Davinci resolve. It seems to do way more than I want, but I will continue working with what I’ve got. I really wanted a simple program, but there didn’t seem to be one.
Thanks for the comment and insight.
Thanks Pamela for the listen and kind words.
I think I have a problem here. I don’t want anyone to hear me sing. To compensate, I seem to not turn up the vol. on the vocal part. I will take this into consideration for anything I do in the future.
Thanks for the insight Kevin. I kinda wondered about this actually. My finger picking don’t look quite right when I look back at this video. My right hand seems to be kinda flopping around for lack of a better description. I will be
working on this I think. Very good observation.
Sounds like your with Pamela.
Interesting you use the word strength. I do sing quite. Ya near can’t hear me un mic’ed. I will continue working with my vocals, strength and vol. wise. I’m just not convinced there’s a ‘‘great voice hiding in there’’. In me doing music, I’m the most subconscious about my singing as any other aspect of what I do musically.
I will continue to work on this.
Thanks for the listen and kind words and comments on my rendition.
I think that is generally true for most of us who share recordings here, Jim. Most are making there way through the early years into the realm of an intermediate (to varying degrees) level. As such playing with more and more relaxed feel will come slowly over time. Being relaxed is so important and so hard, hard at any time but amps up when pressing the good old red record button. I don’t think there is anything specific for you to work on, just keep at it.
You did the right thing in pasting the URL to the video on its own line in the post. The only thing you need to do is use the Youtube.com URL, not the YouTu.be URL. And I have no idea where the latter comes from. If you edit the post you should be able to see the URL as I pasted it and you’ll see what I mean.
Thanks for listening to my rendition of this song.
I hear what your saying about when you press the record button. Seems I always play worse when recording. Weird how that is.
I will give this a try. It is very nice to have the preview of whoever is putting up the video.
So.
Here’s my attempt at the edit of that by removing the (.) from that same link. CAUTION CLICKING THIS LINK, IT SEEMS TO GO NOWHERE. https://youtube/bdcp8WfS13M
Weird how I originally highlighted the link on my orignal. When I paste it in it has that same address, but pastes it into this reply as same link, one in brackets followed by same link in parentheses.
I’ve edited both lines.
edit.
That didn’t work.
So now. I’ve clicked the 1st link, the un edited link above.
This is the video that came up, seems to be w/o the (.)
This is the 1st link that came up. then I highlighted that link when I was viewing the video, It’s w/o the (.). then pasted that. The embedded pick comes up w/o the video.
edit again.
I don’t get it. But I did get what I wanted. the embedded pic + the video.
I will continue to keep at this. And observe where that (.) is at. If it’s there.
Thanks for the comment regarding cruisy and relaxed. I think this observation is good as this song does just kinda cruise along. It’s basically doing the same pattern over and over with minor variations. So feeling that perhaps I’m starting to get it since that’s the way you observed it. Thanks for the kind words. As for singing and fingerpickin at the same time. Heck, fingerpickin or strumming, I find singing and playing quite challenging. I’m really trying hard to do them together. Cool your thinking I’m maybe succeeding.