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Bitter Wine
I am so long overdue a Play for Us post that I’m willing to give you a “Work in Progress”. I’ve said many times we shouldn’t be embarrased by mistakes because that is how we learn. I am currently trying to lock down the ‘alternating thumb’ finger picking style so this is my first attempt at writing a song in that style and I am certain I’m going to improve in the next few months because I love that pattern.
DISCLAIMER – I am no singer and never intend to be but it would be a bit weird to post a song without the lyrics so you will just have to imagine it being sung by someone you really like instead!
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14 Replies
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Hi @Moonhare very cool song and finger style guitar! Your WIP is very good! Thanks for sharing with us. 😃
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I really enjoyed listening to your WIP @Moonhare Wonderful picking and awesome lyrics. Looking forward to the finished product. You are journeying well my friend 😎
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Thanks Bill. Been working on it over the weekend and have got the lyric right now and some new finger patterns to supplement the chorus. I will need to do an update at some stage.
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Awesome! Looks to me like you’ve got that pattern pretty well locked down! Really enjoyed the melody and lyrics. As someone with no songwriting experience, I’m curious: given your background, do you start with composing for keyboards, then transpose to guitar, or do you have guitar in mind from the beginning? I’ve been reading that fingerstyle guitar patterns are fun to play on piano. Some of my favourite singer-songwriters are keyboard players or multi-instrumentalists like yourself, and I’d love to try learning that instrument someday if and when I ever get a decent handle on my guitar playing first!😄
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That is such an interesting question. I’ll be honest that since joining TAC last year I have made a conscious decision to only write for guitar on guitar. The trouble with piano players is we play lines that piano players would play even when playing a very realistic guitar sample. And there are literally things that cannot be played on guitar that you can play on a keyboard and vica versa. So the short answer is I noodle around on guitar to write my own material and then I know it is within my capabilities. If I get better on guitar I may well start writing chords sequences on keys then write guitar lines that fit the chords but I’m not there yet! 🤘😎🎸
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@Moonhare – I too wondered about how you incorporate your keyboard knowledge and skill with guitar. Regardless, Darren you are doing an awesome job as an improving guitarist. Play on my TAC friend!
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Thanks. In a happy guitar place at the moment and this weekend I have some UK TAC members coming over for a weekend of music, food and drink. Doesn’t get better than that.
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It certainly doesn’t. Cheers!
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Thanks for that perspective. Now, this might well be an unanswerable question, but here goes anyway: do you think having guitar experience is very helpful for someone trying to learn piano? I mean, obviously the musical theory knowledge has to be tremendously useful, and I’m hopeful that my much improved finger dexterity will help on keys. The layout of the notes on piano just seems so much easier to understand than the strings of a guitar. But of course the motions are entirely different. Just curious! And looking forward to hearing your finished version of the new song when you are there!
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Yes yes yes! Learning an instrument is like learning a language. Once youunderstand one, it makes it easier to learn the next. I find strumming guitar so much easier because of playing the Irish drum for instance. Not the fretting hand but the timing and picking hand. Everything helps in weird and subtle ways. Your piano journey will be easier for playing guitar.
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I thought it was an excellent song @Moonhare ! Thanks for sharing it with us! Great fingerpicking & personally I thought the vocals were awesome. No need to imagine someone else singing it; I always enjoy the songwriters performance, Don’t sell your abilities short either as a writer or performer. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
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That is a great WIP @ Moonhare! Nice finger picking and lyrics! 👏🎸😎
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Great job! Your playing was smooth and stayed in the pocket. Really enjoyed the lyrics, simple but very thought provoking
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Thanks – I finished it off and posted the new version a few days later. Amazing how quickly it came together.
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