Which Song is the Single?

[Gentleman]

I have a few songs at various degrees of finish but which Song do you like the most? Any helpful comments or opinions are welcome, the genre is alternative pop. I aim to put out an EP soon with a Video from the best song? Thanks!

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[mikedboh]

I didn't have time to listen to full tracks, but I did my own little "radio test" where I only gave each song 30 seconds. If it didn't grab me by then, I wrote it off.

I liked #5 and #3 the best in this regard!

[Gentleman]

Originally Posted by mikedboh

I didn't have time to listen to full tracks, but I did my own little "radio test" where I only gave each song 30 seconds. If it didn't grab me by then, I wrote it off.

I liked #5 and #3 the best in this regard!

Thanks that's helpful!

[coryk0789]

#5 hands down! Very cool tune, and very easy on the ears. The guitars are very smooth and the vocal line is something I'd want to actually listen to. Great job, good mix! #1 has a great Police vibe... I dig

[Gentleman]

Originally Posted by coryk0789

#5 hands down! Very cool tune, and very easy on the ears. The guitars are very smooth and the vocal line is something I'd want to actually listen to. Great job, good mix! #1 has a great Police vibe... I dig

Thanks man!

[Gentleman]

Bump!

[Loon]

I gave this a listen a few days ago, but I figured you had your answer.

I Belong to You

• The drums should change from verse to chorus, not only because of the repetition, but also just to differentiate the different parts of the song. The listener should be able to tell when he is listening to the chorus and not. I know that a synth kicks in during the chorus, but the change should be even more obvious. You can tell when the chorus comes, but not when the verse comes back.
• The vocals sound very artificial. Like you tuned everything to a different note than it was sung.

Much More

• The intro grabs you more than the first song but the vocals should kick in a little earlier in my opinion. At 0:29 it feels like the vocal should be following that guitar.
• Again, pitch correction is obvious because of the incredibly fast pitch changes especially at 0:56.
• The vocals during the chorus might be sung a little more intensely. They are too layed back to be catchy.
• Separation between chorus and verse is a lot more defined.

Winning the Girl

• Intro feels great.
• Vocals lack air.
• Chorus vocal melody is hard to keep track of and is therefore isn't catchy.
• Drums really need to change in the bridge. They don't really fit. The loop is played loudly, and the bridge is calm.

All That Glitters

• Nice drums during the first parts. Still, drums should calm down when vocals kick in. I see you change them up later, but it should be more frequent. I know there's only so much you can do with loops, and it seems that's what you're working with.
• Honestly, nothing sounds like a chorus in this song. It feels like after "is all that really glitters, made of gold" the chorus would enter, but it never seems to.

A Promise

• Here we go, this song has nice potential.
• Vocals are pretty 'pitchy' at times.
• Chorus is very forgettable, again.
• The guit at 2:32, like at the beginning, is great.
• I liked the re-enter to chorus after the break

Alrighty. In total, I'd work on getting catchier vocal melodies because at this point, none of them sound like singles to me.

The drums are also an area that needs some work. Have your drums follow the feel of the song. During a calm part, push the drums back; and of course, during the chorus, make them more intense (ride rather than hihat is an easy solution). Also, you may want to change the beat up for the bridge to make it truly something new.

None seem to be 'there' yet, but "A Promise" is probably your best.

Good luck in your future works. Hope these comments help.

[Gentleman]

Thanks Loon, great insight & very helpful!

ps. Obviously, these are basically written of loops. All the drums are being re-recorded with a Drummer in a Studio along with Vocals and BV's.

[andrea19837]

i listen to all 5 tracks.

Sorry, No one is a single, IMHO.

miss the big payoff in chorus in alla tracks.

rewrite, write again, and start to loose your '80? melody world

Keep ON!

andrew.

[Gentleman]

Originally Posted by andrea19837

i listen to all 5 tracks.

Sorry, No one is a single, IMHO.

miss the big payoff in chorus in alla tracks.

rewrite, write again, and start to loose your '80? melody world

Keep ON!

andrew.

Yeah sorry man, I'm not Katy Perry!! Yawn!

When I say SINGLE, I'm not looking to compete with Maroon 5 etc, it's just an Independent Release and my genre is Alternative Pop, I'm not bending over backwards for ppl to like this, just listen to the chords I use, very few ppl would be able to even find them!!

The fact that you are basically complaining that its not mainstream enough, is actually reassuring because I'm not trying to be mainstream! Obviously I can improve and change what I have but I'm not looking to dumb it down for those teenage morons whose downloads make up todays pop charts! They wouldn't know what good music was if it bit them on the ar5e!!

[Yeah, right...]

Originally Posted by Loon

I gave this a listen a few days ago, but I figured you had your answer.

I Belong to You

• The drums should change from verse to chorus, not only because of the repetition, but also just to differentiate the different parts of the song. The listener should be able to tell when he is listening to the chorus and not. I know that a synth kicks in during the chorus, but the change should be even more obvious. You can tell when the chorus comes, but not when the verse comes back.
• The vocals sound very artificial. Like you tuned everything to a different note than it was sung.

Much More

• The intro grabs you more than the first song but the vocals should kick in a little earlier in my opinion. At 0:29 it feels like the vocal should be following that guitar.
• Again, pitch correction is obvious because of the incredibly fast pitch changes especially at 0:56.
• The vocals during the chorus might be sung a little more intensely. They are too layed back to be catchy.
• Separation between chorus and verse is a lot more defined.

Winning the Girl

• Intro feels great.
• Vocals lack air.
• Chorus vocal melody is hard to keep track of and is therefore isn't catchy.
• Drums really need to change in the bridge. They don't really fit. The loop is played loudly, and the bridge is calm.

All That Glitters

• Nice drums during the first parts. Still, drums should calm down when vocals kick in. I see you change them up later, but it should be more frequent. I know there's only so much you can do with loops, and it seems that's what you're working with.
• Honestly, nothing sounds like a chorus in this song. It feels like after "is all that really glitters, made of gold" the chorus would enter, but it never seems to.

A Promise

• Here we go, this song has nice potential.
• Vocals are pretty 'pitchy' at times.
• Chorus is very forgettable, again.
• The guit at 2:32, like at the beginning, is great.
• I liked the re-enter to chorus after the break

Alrighty. In total, I'd work on getting catchier vocal melodies because at this point, none of them sound like singles to me.

The drums are also an area that needs some work. Have your drums follow the feel of the song. During a calm part, push the drums back; and of course, during the chorus, make them more intense (ride rather than hihat is an easy solution). Also, you may want to change the beat up for the bridge to make it truly something new.

None seem to be 'there' yet, but "A Promise" is probably your best.

Good luck in your future works. Hope these comments help.

I agree totally! I feel the vocals on all songs do not sit well in the songs. This is a mix of singing style and mixing.

My 0.02

Good luck, Mike

[Sotsirc]

I like the first song, kinda has an Elbow vibe to it, which in my book is a good thing. I would like the arrangement (instruments) a little more organic/darker sounding. I think the chorus has a nice impact at first but the second half of it is a little bit sloppier, melodywise. The tonality of the voice sounds a bit strange, but not necessarily in bad way. I would watch the tuning of the vocals though, in the other tracks it really jumps out at times (ie sounds unnatural). Thanks for posting, I enjoyed listening.

C

[john caldwell]

Being honest, I can't find a hook or compelling melody here. That is not a crime, but you mentioned a single as though that's something you're hoping for. To my ears, your arrangements sound like intros, verses, occasionally bridges, and rarer yet, a pre-chorus. I apologize if I'm missing it, and if so help me by directing us to a hook within one of your pieces. Perhaps singing the tool phrase will allow it to come across differently - more like the single you asked about.

Truly this isn't a matter of mixing, reshaping sounds or having vocals sit better or worse in the track. None of that matters if the song isn't there, I am afraid.

John Caldwell

[Gentleman]

Originally Posted by john caldwell

Being honest, I can't find a hook or compelling melody here. That is not a crime, but you mentioned a single as though that's something you're hoping for. To my ears, your arrangements sound like intros, verses, occasionally bridges, and rarer yet, a pre-chorus. I apologize if I'm missing it, and if so help me by directing us to a hook within one of your pieces. Perhaps singing the tool phrase will allow it to come across differently - more like the single you asked about.

Truly this isn't a matter of mixing, reshaping sounds or having vocals sit better or worse in the track. None of that matters if the song isn't there, I am afraid.

John Caldwell

Don't apologize everyone has there own tastes. My teenage kids have the same complaints when I play Led Zep or Radiohead, its not hooky enough for them either and they say it has no melody! I get, that they don't get it! Each to there own, it's completely valid criticism.