colins
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Posts: 2,395 
|
Post by colins on Sept 10, 2014 10:17:37 GMT
We are holding a competition open to all UK registered members of the forum, the competition is for a new composition for solo guitar or solo guitar and voice. The prize for the winner will be a specially hand built guitar. The guitar, a 14 fret OM model will feature an English Yew back and sides, with a Lucky Strike Redwood top. This is a wood combination that hasn't been used before, so it will be a unique instrument. The Lucky Strike Redwood is probably the most famous, sought after top wood available at the moment, the tree was found by Craig and Alicia Carter back in the early 90s, and has since acquired legendary status, with a price to match. I bought this wood from Hank Mauel, a friend of the Carters, back in the late 90s. Matched with an English Yew B&S, we have wood from two of the longest lived trees on the planet! Here's a link to a profile of the Lucky Strike tree. www.guitarbench.com/2009/11/04/the-lucky-strike-redwood-tonewood-profile/This is the model guitar that will be built, obviously with different woods! The construction of this guitar will begin soon and you'll be able to follow this in the Guitar Builds/Project section of the forum.    The building of this guitar will take several months, so don't panic! Guitar competition rules
1. The competition is for a new* original composition and performance by the writer of a guitar piece and is open to all UK registered forum members. 2. The piece can be either a solo guitar composition or song accompanied by a guitar and can be a video or audio entry. 3. One entry per person. 4. The competition will be judged by Colin Symonds & Dave White, whose decision will be final. 5. The prize for the winner will be an LS Redwood/English Yew OM-14 fret guitar built by Colin Symonds. 6. A condition of entry is that the winner agrees to buy a specified Hiscox case. 7. The competition will run for the period of the build thread of the guitar and will close when the finished guitar is posted. 8. All entries to be posted in this thread. There will be a separate thread to post comments on the entries. * For the purpose of this competition 'new' means a piece specifically composed for this competition and not previously posted here or on any other site. When posting an entry, please tell us as much as you can about the piece, tuning, influence, if a song, any special meaning that the lyrics may have to you and anything else you want to say. Good luck. Colin |
|
colins
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Posts: 2,395
|
Post by colins on Sept 10, 2014 12:42:48 GMT
|
|
leoroberts
C.O.G. 
Posts: 26,114
My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
Member is Online
|
Post by leoroberts on Sept 19, 2014 9:29:23 GMT
Well, someone's got to go first! So, this choon, played in Open G on Sybil (DeFoite) is nothing too taxing. I wanted something uplifting and was reminded of this: "I wish I were a glow-worm, a glow-worm's never glum; Cos how can you be grumpy when the sun shines out yer bum?" https%3A//soundcloud.com/leoroberts/unlucky-bluestoneSo, now that the bar has been set nice and low ... off yuz all go with your smartarse compositions  |
|
|
|
Post by alexkirtley on Sept 19, 2014 20:33:36 GMT
I was originally going to do a blues song, but I put my guitar in DADGAD and set off and out came a folk song.
When I was looking for inspiration I looked towards New-Zealand, I have a soft spot for New-Zealand, I've been there twice, I have family living there and it is a place like no other, I happened upon a mining disaster that I was not previously aware of and seems to be a significant historical event that has slipped out of the history books.
This is a song about a mining disaster that happened on the west coast of the south island of New-Zealand 118 years ago.
On Thursday March 26th 1896 at 9:30am in the Brunner Mine there was a build up of firedamp deep inside the mine, it ignited, causing an explosion and resulting in the worst mining disaster that New-Zealand has ever seen, killing all 65 people, men and boys within the mine.
In the last verse there is a man mentioned by the name of John Roberts, he was one of the miners in the mine on that day, although what sets him apart from all others was that all 3 of his sons were in there with him, all of whom perished tragically.
As the song suggests the mine was located on the bank of the Grey River, near to the town of Brunner, it was accompanied along with several other mines which were put there after that area was found by Thomas Brunner to be very rich in high quality coal, which is why along with the fact that several mines were located there that the area gained the nickname 'Coal Gorge'
Despite the disaster the mine did not actually close until the 1930's, today the remains of the mine can still be seen although the mouth of the mine is very overgrown and cannot be accessed, the cemetery can also be seen where a lot of the miners were buried in a large mass grave.
As far as I know, there is no other song about this disaster, let's call this song a memorial to those people.
Here are the Lyrics:
On the banks of the Grey River, a coal mine did lay
the men would work their bodies raw to seek their weekly pay
the coal was rich and pure, or so the owners tell
but now it is the sight where 65 miners fell.
To the dearly loved husband, a loving wife did call
'Don't go down in the Brunner Mine, the black rocks will fall'
all it takes is a miners lamp to that day be lit
and the firedamp will explode and you'll be buried in the pits.
Now John, John Roberts, listen to what I say
save us from this grieving, save us from this dismay
don't go down in the Brunner Mine you're children's lives it will slay
don't go down in the Brunner Mine, there must be a better way.
The Song is called 'The Brunner Mine', it was recorded in one take on a single condenser mic, this recording is quite bad it can be quite hard to record on that microphone, especially since I'm still not quite used to it and I recorded it quite late at night so I may change the clip when I make a better recording of this song.
https%3A//soundcloud.com/alexkirtley/alex-kirtley-the-brunner-mine
|
|
|
|
Post by vikingblues on Sept 29, 2014 19:32:17 GMT
Well ..... I thought I'd better give this competition a go, and having avoided looking at or hearing what anyone else had done for fear of discouraging myself, I've spent the last fortnight on this.  It might not sound like a fortnight's work! But I can promise you it's got to the point of rattling continuously round in my head - I can't stand it any longer, so have decided it's time to throw it into the arena, and get back to playing real music.  It's 1 x acoustic guitar + vocal (and doubled vocal in the "chorus"). In DADGAD I'm afraid using the Tanglewood TW73. The lyrics have been edited by me from a poem by my wife written about 8 years ago. I've been meaning to try to set it to music for years, but have found it too difficult. The poem has been heavily edited due to the length of the original, and the need to double up some of the verses as a chorus idea, so I regret losing some moving ideas and meaningful strands of a very sad story for all that were involved involved. My wife, the daughter of a miner, met two miners who were grandsons of the two miners that were hanged, so she found the story resonated for her and inspired the poem. The song (and poem) is called "Rosebery Murders". A story of true events in 1883 a few days before Christmas on the land of Lord Rosebery near Gorebridge. Here is a link to the song on Soundclick - the lyrics can be found there:-  Rosebery Murders (mp3)If anyone is masochistic enough to want to hear it in better quality there is a wav file on Box/com Rosebery Murders (wav)Mark I'll now check out what else has been entered so far. EDIT - To Colin and Dave - Mark (vikingblues)has asked me to point out that he now realises that the portions of double-tracked vocal would contravene the rules, and as such he has uploaded a "street-legal" version of this song on 7-11-14 further down the thread. |
|
walkingdecay
C.O.G.
Posts: 1,676
My main instrument is: brownish and rather small.
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"","color":"000000"}
Mini-Profile Name Color: {"image":"","color":"ffffff"}
|
Post by walkingdecay on Oct 1, 2014 21:49:34 GMT
My effort is called Getaways. It's a bittersweet song about the people and things we somehow mislay down the years, drawing heavily on personal memories. GetawaysIt's played in standard tuning on an Ibanez AW1000ECE. I was originally intending to play to my strengths and flatpick it, but I kept hearing a banjo in my head on each playthrough. In the end I decided to try to create a fingerpicking part with something of the feel and momentum of bluegrass banjo against a Travis style bass. GETAWAYS Times a stripper and time’s a thief Tearing at sharers of passion and grief I let them get away Love tries to linger loss will last So much of what you know falls into the past I let them get away The last time I saw Margaret she’d left Colin And was happy cleaning cages in a zoo I ran into Maureen and couldn’t think what to say The pills they gave had locked away the shining girl I knew Boys that I still can’t imagine as men Girls who only live in “remember when…” I let them get away Some are still dressed in psychedelic gear When I find them in my mind and I wish they were here I let them get away Trevor’s selling songships in the sarflands Ian’s floating boating in the east I lost touch long ago with the man I used to be He’s buried everywhere. and him I miss the least A ruddy Guild and a D45 My Tele twanger and Bacon five I let them get away Two Fabs, four Dead and Doc and Earl That singer I liked just because she was a girl Time tore them away Roger’s somewhere out there in the country Still picking out The Crystal Chandeliers Tim is now a Canuck so he must have a canoe Riding the rapids on those fizzy foreign beers Nick went down the pit but he liked to be clean He joined the blue meanies but he couldn’t be mean Time tore him away Gary chose to marry, thought he faded away I learned too late that he had something to say And time tore him away Wish I could tear them from the shadows And stand them side by side out in the sun I know that some believe they’ve just packed and floated on I just feel their absence and that they’re completely gone I know it’s my own fault I always looked ahead Never thought to check the losses to the left and to the right Now my head’s on backwards My lips form words unsaid To noisy footsteps somewhere out of sight Sticks in streams, wind-whipped leaves, Brittle hearts cracked and split between sleeves I let them get away Falling out of inner space Leaving here with many a trace But I let them get away Maybe I should shout down all the traffic Hope the turning world will bring them round again Shine a hopeful torch down the gutters and the wells Post them all letters in the slipstream of a train |
|
|
|
Post by bobcarter on Oct 7, 2014 21:28:30 GMT
So, here’s my entry – thought I’d better get it in as the build seems to be proceeding rapidly and I'm off on holiday next week! Writing tunes is not something that comes easily – I manage one about every three years if I’m lucky, and there’s so much wonderful stuff out there by other people to play - but I’ve really enjoyed having a reason to sit down, get on with it and come up with something, so a big thank you to Colin and Dave. I’ve called it “D-iscovery”, and there are a couple of motivations behind the tune (apart from the obvious one of wanting a crack at what looks like being a beautiful guitar): D-iscoveryThe choice of tuning: It’s in open D (DADF#AD). When I first started getting into instrumental fingerstyle, the first tune I learned (“The Irish Girl” by Adrian Legg) was in D, but despite learning lots of pieces in various tunings since, The Irish Girl was still the only tune I knew in D. So now I’ve got another one! Plus as I wasn’t very familiar with the tuning and chord shapes, I thought I might come up with something rather different from what I normally play, which is pretty much what happened, actually. The title: I had in mind the kind of things you want to discover when you're trying out a new guitar and seeing if it’s for you. What’s the sustain like? What about dynamic range? How sweet are the harmonics? How does the neck feel in your hands? What range of sounds and voices does the guitar have hidden away? Does it suit your playing style? So I wanted something which explored quite a few of these, maybe the sort of tune you could run through in a guitar shop to get a feel for a new instrument. I also think one of the magical things about a good guitar is that it should push you to become a better player and expand your horizons, while at the same time actually helping you to improve, so I wanted something that I personally found quite challenging to play and also incorporated some things I’ve been trying to get better at recently, like harmonics. Anyway, here it is. Phew, I'm going to need that holiday now… |
|
David Hutton
Cheerfully Optimistic 
Posts: 1,191
My main instrument is: The Colin Symonds All English Guitar
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"","color":"45423e"}
Mini-Profile Name Color: f9f0f0
Mini-Profile Text Color: d0bebe
|
Post by David Hutton on Oct 16, 2014 9:23:38 GMT
Here be my attempt at a song. Sorry its a bit quiet on the recording. All this is a first for me both writing a song and recording it. I purchased a 2nd hand H2 zoom for it as this was recommended somewhere on this forum as a easy method. I am not really sure what I am doing but though frustrating its fun trying!
The song is about the various stages one can feel when somebody ends a relationship with you. Despair, confusion and then angry. Its not very wordy which is good, as I cannot sing.
Please don't leave me
Please stay, with me
I can change
You know it really hurt
I don't know what I did
Or what I said
It really hurt
So you so everything is ok
For you
Well its not for me
Well At least not to day
Musically its just a conventional chord sequence with a little (almost nursery rhyme) tune picked out of it. Basically composed by my limited guitar playing skills. I do try to change it throughout, but am very limited in what I can do.
https%3A//soundcloud.com/davidhutton/please
|
|
Wild Violet
Artist / Performer
Posts: 3,642 
My main instrument is: Symonds OM-14
|
Post by Wild Violet on Oct 16, 2014 15:34:53 GMT
Better TimesThis is in standard tuning, capo on the 3rd fret. Unlike most of what I write, this song is very personal. It's about keeping the faith, no matter how bleak things seem. You might not be able to change a situation but you can change how you feel about it, learn from it, and keep strong in knowing that it too shall pass. Some of you already know that the last few years have been disastrous for us financially, ending up with downsizing from a 3 bed house to a run-down 1 bed flat (with 2 kids and a dog) and selling most of our possessions. I was raised in an extremely materialistic society that taught me what I owned and how I looked defined who I was. Although it was difficult in the beginning, letting things (and old beliefs) go has given me a new sense of freedom, strength, and a clear mind about what I truly need and want in my life. Being able to hold my kids, jam with friends or taking my dog for a walk by the river costs nothing but brings me the more joy than any possession ever did. This song was born out of our situation. Better Times I sold my old pick-up For this dollar in my hand Maybe wasn't worth much It was all I had I told them where to find you I hope you didn't mind He said he needed shelter He'd heard that you were kind Won't you sacrifice the hunger Separate the need And wash away the sin Better times are coming Better times are coming Nothing on the table Nothing in the pan Emptiness breeds trouble Bends the faithful man There's darkness on the doorstep Don't you let it in Better times are coming So feed that fire within Sometimes it takes a fall With no one left to call To realise you don't need wings to fly Far beyond these walls You already have it all soundcloud.com/lynn-mcfarland/better-times/s-mY9q0
|
|
Phil Taylor
C.O.G.
Posts: 4,512
Mini-Profile Name Color: 680908
Mini-Profile Text Color: 121311
Member is Online
|
Post by Phil Taylor on Oct 27, 2014 13:08:12 GMT
At the 2014 Forum Meeting I was asked if I was entering this great competition and I said that it was doubtful since there were no tunes on the horizon. A day or so later I flew to Spain for a 3 week break. Having been delayed 4 hours, we arrived late at night after a storm with large puddles everywhere and promptly went to bed to see what weather a new day would bring.
Waking the following morning in darkness, I was guided to a window by the glow of neons on the light switches and slowly pulled up the blind to let the reliable bright Spanish morning sun and blue sky stream into the lounge. This gave me the idea to try and come up with something for the competition to portray the feelings we had that night and the following morning.
The tune evolved over two weeks with another two weeks needed to arrange the parts and learn to play it to a reasonable standard. The guitar is a Brook Lyn tuned to dropped D with a partial capo on the 2nd fret across the bottom 4 strings.
Despite the other entries to date being audio only, I decided to stick to my usual format and do a video.
It was recorded very simply using a Zoom H1 plugged into my laptop whilst running the basic Windows Movie Maker and integral 'low res' web cam.
Phil
|
|
|
|
Post by soundout on Nov 6, 2014 15:53:31 GMT
Hello all. Well Colin, what you are offering here is amazing! And it's great to hear the variety of entries already made. I'm posting a link here to my own entry, The St. Leonard's Waltz. It's a simple wee tune in DADGAD, played 3 times fingerpicked, with a fingerpicked accompaniment added 2nd time round and a strummed accompaniment added last time round. I capoed on the second fret so it was easier to play, so it's in E now. St Leonard's is a district of Edinburgh where two musician friends of mine live. For over 30 years they have been my 'safe house' in Edinburgh. A stay at their place always involves a walk to town for a music session at Sandy Bell's or the Royal Oak, followed by a blissful stumble back home in the small hours, with music swirling around in our heads. This waltz is an attempt to put that great feeling to music! I am really a singer who plays song accompaniments so this was quite a challenge. I'm also just recovering from knee surgery and don't have access to my usual recording equipment, so I've recorded into my ipad using the DAW Multitrack software - highly recommended - and the little headphones with attached mic which came with my Samsung phone. Needs must! The guitar is a Jamie Kinscherrf High Noon small jumbo. Hope you all like it. I've always been an advocate of 'keep it simple' where music is concerned. I think that's the best way of letting the emotion through. Here's the link: soundcloud.com/soundout2/st-leonards-m4aAll the best and good luck everyone, Alistair Russell. EDIT:NB - this version is multitracked - the following post has a solo version which is the actual competition entry. |
|
|
|
Post by soundout on Nov 6, 2014 19:49:42 GMT
Well folks, it appears I shouldn't have added my own accompaniment to my entry. Should have read the rules again! So I have uploaded a solo version of my tune without accompaniment. You miss the build of the piece but you still get the tune 3 times. Here's what I wrote before, minus the arrangement bits but with the new link to the solo version: Hello all. Well Colin, what you are offering here is amazing! And it's great to hear the variety of entries already made. I'm posting a link here to my own entry, The St. Leonard's Waltz. It's a simple wee tune in DADGAD, played 3 times fingerpicked. I capoed on the second fret so it was easier to play, so it's in E now. St Leonard's is a district of Edinburgh where two musician friends of mine live. For over 30 years they have been my 'safe house' in Edinburgh. A stay at their place always involves a walk to town for a music session at Sandy Bell's or the Royal Oak, followed by a blissful stumble back home in the small hours, with music swirling around in our heads. This waltz is an attempt to put that great feeling to music! I am really a singer who plays song accompaniments so this was quite a challenge. I'm also just recovering from knee surgery and don't have access to my usual recording equipment, so I've recorded into my ipad using the DAW Multitrack software - highly recommended - and the little headphones with attached mic which came with my Samsung phone. Needs must! The guitar is a Jamie Kinscherrf High Noon small jumbo. Hope you all like it. I've always been an advocate of 'keep it simple' where music is concerned. I think that's the best way of letting the emotion through. Here's the link: soundcloud.com/soundout2/st-leonardssolo-m4aAll the best and good luck everyone, Alistair Russell. Read more: acousticsoundboard.co.uk/thread/3382/composition-competition-guitar-colin-symonds#ixzz3IJqfqyAP |
|
|
|
Post by colan on Nov 7, 2014 1:33:38 GMT
Congratulations to all the entrants to date- good original stuff. My entry is a blues- I think. ' Blues ' has evolved a long way from 'field hollers' and blues fans all have particular periods of preference, from Robert Johnson and earlier right through to the Stones and on to the present day. Blues provides a very satisfying groove for players of all levels of ability so it's my chosen genre for this event. The song - ' Burn me a rainbow '- attempts to capture the listener by means of the expression of shared experience. This particular experience- the emotions conjured by gazing into a camp-fire at night- is universal and about as ancient as it gets, so I've tried to approach the poetry from a 'blues ' perspective- the ' blues ' being a state of mind that one desires to shake off rather than seek out. I've used a nylon strung guitar, a 1972 Di Giorgio student classical that I was lucky enough to buy from an eBay seller in Canada for a reasonable price. The price only became unreasonable when Her Majesty's Customs and Excise extortionists slapped on some import duty to fund another bomb run, perhaps against a few Tuareg enjoying a camp-fire of their own. If you're going to get ' blue ' it might as well be for a good reason. Nylon-stringers are not a common choice for blues but I wanted a softened sound conducive to the lyrics. I've miked it very close to the soundboard behind the bridge with a Zoom H4 stereo recorder and I've used my thumb percussively for rhythm- an essential quality of the genre- and the effect, I think, is rhythmic and full. I've left the track ' rough '. A singer I am not, so I've used a separate mike for the vocal- a big, fat, Studio Projects cardioid which enabled me to add a little sympathetic echo to the vocal with very little guitar bleed. It's a necessary addition which moves the vocal a tad into the ' pleasure ' zone and away from the ' pain '- so I hope that the traditionalist will allow me that. Some of us just can't sing, chaps, and we accept it and struggle on as best we can. Fortunately, many other rich and famous croakers have illuminated the path.  app.bsox.com/s/7xshuthou3ep8xirfukfor MP3 app.box.com/s/zyn9wwm5gjpw0pjyzfjqBurn me a Rainbow
Under a blue sky, shades of blue,
clouds of white and grey,
bring me a rainbow- let me choose
to take the blues away.
Evening comes with deepening hues,
colours fade away,
so light me a fire and let me choose.
I need more than blue.
How many blue stars must I lose
from my Milky Way ?
Light me a fire and let the sparks
rise and drift away.
Burn me a rainbow let me choose.
I need more than blue.
Star fall 'round a sickle moon,
constellations play
deep in the shadows of the dunes
spirit me away,
spirit me away.
How many blue stars must I lose
from my Milky Way ?
Build me a fire and let the sparks
rise and float away.
Thrill me- let the curtain rise
on the shadow-play,
burn me a rainbow
a fire like a rainbow
burn me a rainbow
I need more than blue.
Burn me a rainbow
a fire like a rainbow
Burn me a rainbow without blue,
without blue.
|
|
|
|
Post by vikingblues on Nov 7, 2014 7:32:05 GMT
Back in the dim distant past (at the end of September) I uploaded an entry. Having not read the rules properly it had a double tracked vocal. This is the version for just solo guitar and solo voice that should be the official entry. Rosebery Murders - Competition EntryInteresting to see how much difference one extra voice in the chorus makes to the sound and emphasis of a song! My thanks to Keith for his post that alerted me to my mistaken understanding of the rules. Mark |
|
ocarolan
Global Moderator
CURMUDGEONLY OLD GIT (leader - to join, just ask!)
Posts: 35,701
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"","color":"c0cfe1"}
Mini-Profile Name Color: 182a3f
Mini-Profile Text Color: 733a1c
Member is Online
|
Post by ocarolan on Nov 17, 2014 11:38:04 GMT
Colin's Competition Composition(I can barely hear the difference between the wav and mp3 files on my computer, but here they both are anyway -) mp3 (320) - app.box.com/s/db72d1buh9f5ujary4b6wav - app.box.com/s/812jjeoxrm3liuts832mI finally gave up word wrangling and converted this idea into an instrumental piece, which explains the predictable song-like structure! It's played on my Fylde Custom Alexander tuned DADGBE (exotic eh?!) and strung with 13-55 Newtone Heritage strings which I'm trying as a change from my usual Masterclass 12-54. Quite like the feel of a more even tension across the strings - might stick with them a while longer. Recording is my usual simple method via Zoom H2 into Cakewalk for topping and tailing. Otherwise no edits, effects or eq tweaks. As you can see, I gave the title careful consideration. Keith
|
|
Jo whoever he is.
