This week has been great for all of us in our group. We have figured out some lyrics for the verse and chorus, and we have come up with a little melody for the verse lyrics. We have been working on the structure a lot so we could get it secured for next week, and begin working on the parts we still have to fill with ideas and melodies, as we have all the chord structures we need now. This is great for me as I can record the whole structure professionally using Reaper and then send it to the group so they can start to record their parts over it and send them to me.
Progressions And Strengths
I mentioned during last week’s evaluation that we wanted to transition from the chorus back to the verse in a way that would sound smooth and unforced. So, we decided to make a post-chorus. This is very simple; it adds a well needed rest to the song and almost slows everything down before going back into the verse. The post-chorus lasts for two bars and it is simply the A add9 chord played in the normal strumming pattern for the first bar, and then it is played as a semibreve and rings out for the bar before going back into the verse. Without this break in between the two sections, the transition sounds strange because the abrupt change from chord IV to V doesn’t sound quite right here because it is an imperfect cadence; it sounds like the chorus needs to carry on instead of it moving somewhere else. So, adding the post-chorus clearly splits these two chords up and gives it breathing time before changing the section.
Adding to the structure, on January 20th, we created a bridge! This adds a whole new dimension to the song by using a different chord sequence entirely. With the help of Ben during my guitar lesson, we made a chord progression that stays in the key of E major and uses even more open chords to stay with the dreamy and musing feel we were going for with the verse and chorus. The chords in the bridge are F#m7 sus4, G#m7 and A add9. These chords sound confusing but they are actually very simple and easy to learn, but they sound amazing. The chords go on to be used in different parts of the structure as the bridge goes on, like the solo and build-up. To conclude, this means we ultimately have a finalised structure, which goes: verse, chorus, post-chorus, verse, chorus, post-chorus, bridge, solo, build-up, chorus*2, post-chorus. You can see the whole structure in the video below.
As well as working lots on the structure in lesson, Lucy has been working on new lyrics for a verse and has also made some lyrical ideas for the chorus. These lyrics are brief and will most likely change slightly in the weeks to come, however just having them down on paper is a great start. The lyrics have a melancholic suggestion to them, using the theme of heartbreak as a focal point. This contrasts well with the overall feel of the song’s chords and melodies. Now that we have a chorus lyrical idea, we can start brainstorming ideas for a song title and even artwork that might represent the feel of the song. An idea we thought of for a song name was ‘Tuesday Night’ as it as a prominent phrase that gets repeated in the chorus twice, and it has a lot of meaning behind it. These are the lyrics (subject to change):
Verse
I don’t know myself anymore
I’m so lost in my mind
I’ve wasted away the days away
when I should’ve been asking you to stay
Chorus
did you press my name, or did you let the phone ring twice?
now I’m crying on my floor on a Tuesday night
we used to lay with each other letting time pass by
now I’m missing your face on this Tuesday night
Improvements
As we got the whole structure finished this week, I could have started to record it professionally, however, I felt like having a bit more practice playing it and getting used to the changes would be beneficial first. The video I did was just from my phone microphone and it sounds ok, and the rest of the group can use that for now until I start recording using Reaper and my audio interface next week. Then I can also start adding other things like polyrhythms on my guitar and then adding effects like EQ and reverb to make them sound even more refined.
Targets For Next Week
-Start recording professionally and begin putting things into Reaper.
-Keep working on the lyrics and make a vocal melody for the chorus.
-Create the piano part for the bridge/break and through the guitar solo.