I say when no words are needed 8)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJX3uTA-X2Asame goes with poetry - it's great when it sings by itself with words.
do people stll like santana ;)
I sang "Delilah," popularized by Tom Jones, at a Karaoke party, and women threw undergarments at me. To me, that is a good song.
And "Europa" was written in the mid 70's, so it's all good.
Blooby
Quote from: oldrottenhead on July 07, 2011, 05:03:45 PMdo people stll like santana ;)
oh please.. he's the best guitarist ever and one of the best musicians alive.
Quoteoh please.. he's the best guitarist ever and one of the best musicians alive.
lmao
... when someone hums it in the elevator .. ::)
...when someone covers it... :P
...when you hear your girlfriend / wife humming or singing it.
...when you get 2+ pages of comments on songcrafters, lol.
...when people request it at an open mic because they remember you doing it last time.
...when you don't skip it everytime it comes up on your pie-pod
Quote from: kc2ine on July 07, 2011, 05:06:15 PMQuote from: oldrottenhead on July 07, 2011, 05:03:45 PMdo people stll like santana ;)
oh please.. he's the best guitarist ever and one of the best musicians alive.
Well, I suppose he's
currently better than Hendrix and Rory Gallagher, lol
:D
I'm afraid Santana kinda leaves me cold. He's a class guitarist and all that, but he just doesn't make me feel anything. I was pretty much the same with Gary Moore... Watch him live, it was great, but a recording (even a live one) I just get bored.
By the way, if it hadn't said Santana on it, I would have guessed it actually was Gary Moore playing an instrumental a little bit like Parisienne Walkways! :D (And I would have said "er, has he run out of ideas then?!")
But, hey, different things float different people's boats :)
Anyway, you know your song is "good" when just one other person lets you know that they like it (even if you don't sometimes!).
When you've done it enough times, you'll probably know a new one is good when you've finished it, before anyone else hears it.
If your usual audience doesn't take to it, doesn't mean you were wrong either. They've got their own personal tastes. If you step outside that, they might not take to it, but usually someone else will. It's even possible you've written a good song that you can't do justice to - but someone else can.
Songs is funny things.
I was in on a discussion about how most of the time the last one you wrote is your favorite or your best... even if only for a little while. I was lucky to get a darn good one many years ago that will always be my best even if it isn't. So I don't really ever get the feeling.
I would say if you think the song is what it should be then it's good. It may not be popular. It may not even be accessible. But it is what it's suppose to be.
I almost said if the song was what you intended, but I find sometimes the song is something other than I intended. Rarely, but sometimes it's more than what I intended.
And this conversation could lead me to a lot of places, but I'll simply end with this: If the song speaks to you then it is a good song.
I agree with TC
I would also add that if you can listen to it a year or so later - either live or recorded - and it still speaks to you, then it is probably a good song. I listened to some old recordings of mine last night and was cringing a bit when some of the oldies came along. Not my best work!!
I like to see some kind of emotion from the person listening to it. Even if it is not the one you expected. As long as that emotion does not lead to violence upon the songwriter :D
Oh, unfortunately I know when I hear a good song - when I'm driving in my car and can't stand from crying for the beauty of it, or for the feeling of it, then It's a good song ... a bit dangerous for driving but quite sure a method ;-)
Quote from: Greeny on July 08, 2011, 02:53:01 AM...when you hear your girlfriend / wife humming or singing it.
...when you get 2+ pages of comments on songcrafters, lol.
...when people request it at an open mic because they remember you doing it last time.
Bloody hell - hell will be frozen over a million years before that happens in my house!!!
My 2p worth is that it is about the combo of lyrics and music evocing an emotional response - Hey Jude Refrain, won't get fooled again or Sunday Bloody Sunday live etc.....
Quote from: andycasson on October 18, 2011, 03:43:20 AMQuote from: Greeny on July 08, 2011, 02:53:01 AM...when you hear your girlfriend / wife humming or singing it.
...when you get 2+ pages of comments on songcrafters, lol.
...when people request it at an open mic because they remember you doing it last time.
Bloody hell - hell will be frozen over a million years before that happens in my house!!!
In mine I get paid to stop singing
My test for how good a song is (or was), it could be put on my record-playerand the "hold-down thingy" could be swng to one side and the record would play over and over, allowing you to zone out t the max. "Bits and Pieces", "Black is Black", "I Fought the Law", "Cathys Clown", "Hello Helllo" and "it Hurts to be in Love". And at 2:47 into the song in paticuar- you can crank up the stereo utill it rattles the doors
http://youtu.be/wccLRtQ3xuo
When I come out of the bedroom last night after writing the lyrics to the chorus of a very emotional song I have been working on, and read them to my wife (who usually gives a lukewarm.. that's good).. and she says OMG. I am am like "what..." (thinking there is prolly a spider on the wall).... and she says.... that is BEAUTIFUL.
when my song makes someone cry
wait a minute, maybe it's cos they are so bad ????????
Or possibly I know it's good when it makes ME cry.
I'm kind of rethinking my views on this... What I posted before hasn't really changed, but I've learnt some stuff recently...
I rarely actually know whether a song is "any good" until other people tell me it's good - and I often don't really believe them...
But I always think it's good if I continue working on it or finishing it.
I'm talking about the song itself here, NOT the recording or performance - that's something entirely separate in my head.
Unfortunately, for other people to hear a song, you either have to perform it ok or manage to capture a recording that sounds like it's being performed ok...
Now, I have to admit, that something weird happened to me recently. A few weeks back I went and listened to all my existing recordings with different ears. I don't know what put me there (well, I do, someone I was trying to impress, who I think is utterly amazing, suddenly stopped me and asked me if I actually realised what it was that I was creating). Anyway, I managed to listen to them all as if I wasn't the person who'd written the songs and made the recordings. I was a bit surprised (I was actually in tears)... they're all, even the naff ones, a LOT better than I personally thought they were...
... it seems that that's how much I don't know whether a song is any good.
And I suspect that we're all in the same boat about our own stuff.
I always hope it's good, that's why I'm prepared to make it public. But, so far, as I post them, and as I read people's comments, not a single one of these recordings/songs have ever been as good as they should have been. I always seem to find someone else's song that seems even better to me. And, for me, it's always slightly clouded by that... and that's what spurs me on to try harder again next time (even though I'm proud of achieving whatever it is I've just posted).
But what this strange experience has taught me personally, or rammed it home, anyway... is that you don't really know it's any good until someone else thinks it is - and you should be happy to listen to them if they tell you :)
I'd advise anyone to try this experience I went through, though:
Grab a bunch of your recordings, the ones you're proudest of, grab a glass of wine or whatever, and find a quiet corner to listen to them, just you. You're listening, not creating, nor critiquing. Try to turn off the "It should have been better" and the "I can't play as well as I should be able to", and the "I've run out of ideas"... Also turn off the person that can hear the bum notes and the digital clipping... Instead, just listen like a stranger would - look for the good bits, enjoy the things as they are, somebody did their best to create these things for you to listen to, for you to take them or leave them as you want.... Try to pretend you're me or anyone else who isn't you - DO NOT let "you" do the listening like you always do...
... and then give yourself a great big hug and get on with creating something else even better :)
andy,
i have always felt a bit of distance from your own songs, lets you see them as they really are. when writing and recording you can get too close to the wood to see the trees. fret over every nuance, hear only the faults etc. but then when a song of yours comes up on the on this day player, you can hear the song. my problem is my poor musical skills mean most of my songs will be like rough sketches or ideas. i can never recreate the sounds i have in my head (that's a plug in i would buy).
then there is the other side of the coin, you have just finished a song and you think to yourself "hey that's pretty cool" then a year later it comes up on the on this day player and you want to delete it. haha.
but every now and again i do something that moves another human being aside from myself. i think perhaps that is a major motivation for most of us.
Quote from: oldrottenhead on August 17, 2012, 08:38:52 AMwhen my song makes someone cry
You're the only Songcrafter that's made me cry to date Jim and we are talking uncontrollable sobbing!
I don't really think it matters whether someone else likes your songs, it's what you think that counts - there will always be people out there that like it and those that don't but once it's out there you've got to live with it (approximate quote from Annie Lennox). Whether it's popular/commercial or not, well that's a whole different ball game.
This site is rammed to the rafters with people who have no idea how seriously talented they are.
ive actually made a few people cry now. ;D ;D
i think this one might have made a few folk scream https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=7175.0 ;D ;D
Quote from: Hilary on August 20, 2012, 02:49:07 AMThis site is rammed to the rafters with people who have no idea how seriously talented they are.
A big +1 to that :)
Quote from: AndyR on August 20, 2012, 04:17:50 AMQuote from: Hilary on August 20, 2012, 02:49:07 AMThis site is rammed to the rafters with people who have no idea how seriously talented they are.
A big +1 to that :)
You're included in that one btw
8) :D
And you!! :)
Quote from: Geir on July 07, 2011, 10:18:13 PM... when someone hums it in the elevator .. ::)
GUILTY! :D
I'm a great believer in pleasing yourself first, and if anyone else likes its, then its a bonus. How do I know if a song is good? Well, if I think its good and I enjoying listening to it many times, and it make me smile and I'm proud of it - then that's a good song for me.
Sometime's you post something that you think is good, and get no reaction, zilcho. That doesn't mean it not a good song, just means your tastes don't align or people haven't given it a chance. Sometime great songs require many listens for you to realise that yo like them - sometime a song doesn't grab you immediately, On this site, with so many to listen it real hard to do that.
You can write to people's tastes, to produce instantly like-able songs - but I love the creative process, trying to produce something different or unique (now that is difficult).
So - to answer the question - how do YOU know that your song is good. The one phrase that spring to mind, was the singer in my old band - who said a good song is one that 'moved' people - not necessarily made them cry (which is included), but made them laugh, cry, be happy, be angry etc - and that is the best definition of a good song in my mind. If you think its good, then some else will also thinks it's good also - that may be one or many.
Will it be 'successful', now that is a different question :-)
B.
Quote from: bruno on September 22, 2012, 12:59:09 AMI'm a great believer in pleasing yourself first, and if anyone else likes its, then its a bonus. How do I know if a song is good? Well, if I think its good and I enjoying listening to it many times, and it make me smile and I'm proud of it - then that's a good song for me.
Sometime's you post something that you think is good, and get no reaction, zilcho. That doesn't mean it not a good song, just means your tastes don't align or people haven't given it a chance. Sometime great songs require many listens for you to realise that yo like them - sometime a song doesn't grab you immediately, On this site, with so many to listen it real hard to do that.
You can write to people's tastes, to produce instantly like-able songs - but I love the creative process, trying to produce something different or unique (now that is difficult).
So - to answer the question - how do YOU know that your song is good. The one phrase that spring to mind, was the singer in my old band - who said a good song is one that 'moved' people - not necessarily made them cry (which is included), but made them laugh, cry, be happy, be angry etc - and that is the best definition of a good song in my mind. If you think its good, then some else will also thinks it's good also - that may be one or many.
Will it be 'successful', now that is a different question :-)
B.
Yes... what he said.
Quote from: suburban behemoth on September 23, 2012, 03:29:16 PMQuote from: bruno on September 22, 2012, 12:59:09 AMI'm a great believer in pleasing yourself first, and if anyone else likes its, then its a bonus. How do I know if a song is good? Well, if I think its good and I enjoying listening to it many times, and it make me smile and I'm proud of it - then that's a good song for me.
Sometime's you post something that you think is good, and get no reaction, zilcho. That doesn't mean it not a good song, just means your tastes don't align or people haven't given it a chance. Sometime great songs require many listens for you to realise that yo like them - sometime a song doesn't grab you immediately, On this site, with so many to listen it real hard to do that.
You can write to people's tastes, to produce instantly like-able songs - but I love the creative process, trying to produce something different or unique (now that is difficult).
So - to answer the question - how do YOU know that your song is good. The one phrase that spring to mind, was the singer in my old band - who said a good song is one that 'moved' people - not necessarily made them cry (which is included), but made them laugh, cry, be happy, be angry etc - and that is the best definition of a good song in my mind. If you think its good, then some else will also thinks it's good also - that may be one or many.
Will it be 'successful', now that is a different question :-)
B.
Yes... what he said.
Yeah . . . what he said. (my holiday song Sex on the Beach actually made my friends pee their pants laughing and they are younger than me - sorry was that too much information!)
How do I know when a song is good?
People listen to it instead of putting my picture on a dartboard and aiming for the eyes.
It sucks b*lls when your wife doesn't like you music - as isn't her style of music... yet other do like your music. Especially troubling when you want to increase your studio footprint too! LOL
I often plug my phone into the car stereo and have it on random play. If one of my songs comes on, it is a boost to my ego. When my wife asks "who is that?" When I reply " oh that's one of mine" she always says " put something decent on" and she is not referring to my apparel.
Quote from: MikeHuntingford on October 22, 2016, 09:05:44 AMEspecially troubling when you want to increase your studio footprint!
Sex, sex, sex... Is that all you people ever talk about?