This sounds lovely Brian! It seems like writing songs is something you can do quite easily (…yes I know…you’ve studied and practiced …)
It must feel very fulfilling to write a song.
I wish you well on the competion…let us know how it goes 
Mille grazie, Silvia 
Very fulfilling to write a song you’re happy with 
. this one was ‘ok’.
Just another one of those satisfying things on our guitar journey
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Well, it looks like I’m going to have to learn this baby after all for next month 
I might as well start with the dodgiest bits-
Which part are you talking about?
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Hi Brian,
A bit of a surprising question since you have good ears , but from 2:44 the sound almost goes out here because then it goes quite out of tune until about the end …
Butttttttt 
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Good luck Brian, this is an excellent production and performance from the three of you.
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Key change for the repeat chorus at the end 
Having said that, if it sounds off, that’s not good.
Sorry for tagging you @Richard_close2u, whaddya think? Leave, change (or just do it better)? 
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Oops, forgot to say Thanks, Mal
I have these progressions
Intro (key A minor)
| Am | Dm | Am | E |
Verse 1 (key A minor)
| Am | Dm | Am | E |
| Am | Dm | Am | E |
| F | F | C | E |
| Am | G | F | E | E |
Chorus (key D mixolydian)
| C | C | Bm | Bm |
| Am | Am | D | D |
Instrumental (key A minor)
| Am | Dm | Am | E |
| Am | Dm | Am | E |
Verse 2 (key A minor)
| Am | Dm | Am | E |
| Am | Dm | Am | E | E |
Chorus 2 (key D mixolydian)
| C | C | Bm | Bm |
| Am | Am | D | D |
Chorus 3 (key D mixolydian)
| C | ? | Am | D |
| G | C | Am | D |
Chorus 3 changes the progression - the harmony and melody is altered from the previous two. I can’t quite figure the underlying chord for bar 2. The bass note shifts, suggesting either a new chord or a slash chord or walking to the next chord. The vocal melody (on the word Licht) hits a half note, not quite on pitch. It makes the overall sound ambiguous. I’m sure @brianlarsen has the chords written down and can help here.
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Jakers, Richard, that’s a lot of work and plenty helpful
Huge apologies for not having posted the chord progressions when I asked the question, creating a lot of extra work for you 
You’re pretty much on the money with your conclusions
(The second F in the verses is minor. The As in Chorus 3 are major)
The ‘mystery chord’ is E.
I imagine I’m allowed to make minor changes but not major ones (no pun intended) for the performance but am curious as to if and where I went ‘wrong’.
More mixed-up-a-loadian than anything else
It’s also been really helpful, as my brother won’t be drumming and I had completely forgotten whether I should use the Trio backing track or just play with guitar/mandolin/fiddle…
I did a quick demo below with just guitar, which I think Is what I intended it to sound like
Intro
a d a E
Verse 1
a d a E
F f C E
Pre-chorus
a G F E E
Chorus 1 & 2
C C b b
a a D D
Instrumental
a d a E
a d a E
Verses 2
a d a E
F f C E E
Chorus 2
Chorus 3
C E A D
G C A D
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I thought this one was kind of brilliant, not just okay, especially for the requirements of the songwriting competition (‘Lyrics, composition, melody and concept’). Maybe writing with those requirements in mind though is why you find it just okay! In any event I liked the song and the production. The chord progression in particular I thought was very creative, definitely not a typical I-IV-V flavour. I hope we’ll get to see a 2-person live performance of the song!
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I could hear the bass note moving to E but couldn’t quite find the chord. I wondered if it was C/E but that didn’t sound right. Did I try E major? I don’t recall.
I thought something was going on but missed that. The bass note stays on F … it could have played around with major 3rd going to minor 3rd. The melody moves around the 5th
(the note C) and the 6th above then the 4th below. The vocal doesn’t reference or alter in a way that brings out the major to minor change either. Could you alter what you sing to move around the note A then Ab?
I missed that. Again, I don’t hear any instrument referencing the major 4rd (C#) and your vocal melody moves between root, 2nd and 4th - bypassing the 3rd.
It is clear when you do the stand alone.
I think if you want to, you could add one more instrument, very subtle, playing triad arpeggios that make constant visits to the root and 3rd (major or minor) of the ambiguous or changing chords).
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Intro (key A minor)
| Am | Dm | Am | E |
Verse 1 (key A minor)
| Am | Dm | Am | E |
| Am | Dm | Am | E |
| F | Fm | C | E |
| Am | G | F | E | E |
Chorus (key D mixolydian)
| C | C | Bm | Bm |
| Am | Am | D | D |
Instrumental (key A minor)
| Am | Dm | Am | E |
| Am | Dm | Am | E |
Verse 2 (key A minor)
| Am | Dm | Am | E |
| Am | Dm | Am | E | E |
Chorus 2 (key D mixolydian)
| C | C | Bm | Bm |
| Am | Am | D | D |
Chorus 3 (key ??? )
| C | E | A | D |
| G | C | A | D |
Chorus 3
FIVE major chords - lots of non-diatonic borrowed chords.
D still feels like resolution so some type of D major-type thing. Note - mixolydian is a major-type mode and its parent major scale is G major.
| bVII | II | V | I |
| IV | bVII | V | I |
You have a flat 7 (that is what converts something from general major key to mixolydian. You also have a major 2.
I would still say D mixolydian with a borrowed E major chord. But … does it have to be E major? You are not singing or playing the 3rd of the chord so it could just as easily be Em or even a generic E chord. If the latter it would not be a borrowed chord as it belongs in the D mixolydian group of chords.
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I missed this first go-round. So you’re a finalist! Way to go if I got that right. What date is the July performance?
Anyway, I’m always impressed. Well done, once more.
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As far as I know, the Trio (which provided the bass) can’t tell the difference between major and minor chords, so sticks to the root or adds 5ths if you set it to ‘fancy’.
I should have paid more attention to the melody as I was singing. I decided this morning to try to sing the A going to Ab (emphasizing the Fmaj-min shift).
That boat has sailed 
The next bit is live performance, so it’s subtracting instruments (which might make it clearer)
I know… I balked at that, thinking What wizardry is this?
I don’t know That happened accidentally as I was just repeating the chorus unchanged and played the E by accident; then thought that sounds interesting 
The vocals go from G (C chord) to G# (E chord). I tried several different chords but couldn’t find anything else that worked with the vocal G#.
I felt the choruses resolved to D as you suggest, but Tor feels they sound like the key of G to him (which fits in with what you said about G being the Major parent scale)
Once again thanks a million for the input and reminder to go back to the books and start learning a bit of theory again.
Much appreciated, my friend
Thanks so much for the listen and comments, Mari
Maybe even more than that
I had coffee with a good friend Dr. Nick Silver this morning who might play fiddle on the night. With Prof. Chris Goldring on mandolin, I haven’t decided whether we should perform as
Two Docs and a Prof.
or
Gold, Silver & Brians
Cheers, Pam
July 12th
In Germany they say “Even a blind hen finds the occasional corn”
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My bad for not picking up on that.
If you’re singing G# then it must be E major not E minor. Unless you go for a totally different option containing G# such as a C#m chord.
There is no G chord in them (apart from a fleeting one in chorus 3).
G is the parent but not the centre of attention.
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I did try that but minor just sounds all wrong in the chorus 
I had tried playing a G after the D and it did sound like it ‘resolved’ (again! ).
I suppose I was just hearing a V go to the I
That is the nature of parent major chords.
As soon as they are played, they pull everything towards themselves, they have a very strong musical gravity.
That D chord was happily existing as the tonic of its own little modal universe until the introduction of G major suddenly converted it to become a dominant instead, a platform used to reach a different tonic.
In chorus 3, G does make an appearance but it almost passes by without enough time to grab hold of things and take control. If you were to end on G after the last D then your ears would suddenly think it had been kingpin daddy chord all along.
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Haha, visions of mixolydian moons orbiting planet D(earth) believing that to be the centre, all the while being sucked into the big G-force of the sun
There’s a song in there somewhere…
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Happy St. Martin’s Day!
A shameless/appropriate bump for this song I wrote back in spring
I forgot to report back, Chris and I did perform the song at the finals. It was a sell-out affair with some superb entries. We had a bit of a disastrous performance, as it was just the two of us, we hadn’t put in enough practice, and I must have bumped my guitar on the way to the stage, as it was way out of tune when we started…
Nietzsche says it will make me stronger…
Who would have thought that six months later, the Gaza/Middle East disaster referred to in the last verse would be so much worse? 
If the weather holds up I might join the procession this evening (It’s actually held on the day rather than the eve here).
Let’s hope when I repost next year, we’ll find ourselves in a better place