PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase She Makes It Look Easy

Floyd,

One of the first songs I listened to on the forum. This is top notch quality, hit potential, vocal, lyrics, etc. You set a high bar.

Pat - I certainly appreciate all the kind words. I would be greatly disappointed if I did not get the pleasure of reading your thoughts on what I post. I like that you have suggested different ways of doing things here and there. And I enjoy the discussion that come out of that... there is every chance that you will find an angle that I had not considered... and I am quite open to new thoughts and ideas... So, as Glen used to say "I'll leave the dogs tied up and the latch string out..."




Joe - I appreciate all that. The "BIABettes" are, in fact, a Windows thing - 4 part harmony created in RealBand using the BIAB SGU and the TC Helicon harmonizer plugin that comes with BIAB... It might be possible to use it in BIAB, but I have not tried that (so I don't know how it works there). Thanks for dropping in for a listen....




Earl - good of you to come around for a listen - appreciate that...thanks

QUOTE:"Joe - I appreciate all that. The "BIABettes" are, in fact, a Windows thing - 4 part harmony created in RealBand using the BIAB SGU and the TC Helicon harmonizer plugin that comes with BIAB... It might be possible to use it in BIAB, but I have not tried that (so I don't know how it works there). Thanks for dropping in for a listen...." QUOTE

Just a quick note to advise that harmony (TC Helicon) is available in BIAB 2014-2015 Windows Versions. It is located in the drop down menu just to the right of the soloist button in the tracks menu I don't know if it is available in earlier versions or the MAC version.

With only a single audio track available, it is more limited than what is available in RealBand.

Charlie

Hey Floyd,

I'm late so it's all been said. A great job, definitely up to your usual high standards. I had several ideas for another guitar part!

Everybody's mentioned the Eagles... but I'm hearing a Vince Gill sound when he was with Pure Prairie League (Firin' Up album) all it's missin' is a sax part.

Great Job,

Greg

floyd,

Oh my goodness! Is this inspired songwriting at its very best or what? As others have noted, yet again you send the forum bar for good quality ratcheting its way up the notches. This really is an excellent write, an excellent performance and a first-rate production. The melody, the harmony and the instrumentation are all awesome.

As your songs always seem to do, you've caused me much thought from a lyric perspective.

I've been sitting here puzzling over why the chorus works so well. The hook features three times and the lyric pattern from a title/rhyme perspective is...

• T a T a b b x T

...where T = title; a = first rhyme type; b = second rhyme type; x = unrhymed

What's puzzled me is that each time I've listened to the song, I feel a sense of closure at the end of the chorus. This is strange because:

(a) the title does not rhyme with any other line in the chorus and so it doesn't seem as though it's capable of creating aural closure;

(b) the penultimate line of the chorus is also unrhymed and, theoretically, this means it's also incapable of aural closure.

Even though this chorus finishes on the scale tonic, I wasn't convinced that this has enough aural clout to produce the sense of closure I felt. So I played around a bit and substituted the word “simple” in place of “easy”. This still fulfills the overall rhyme pattern, has two syllables with the stress on the first syllable, and more-or-less maintains the chorus's meaning. This gave me...


When I read this aloud, it sort of works even though it pales by comparison to your version. Having the open vowel sound at the end of the chorus is much nicer. The most interesting thing about the above modification, though, is that the sense of closure that I feel from reading your chorus aloud is gone when I read the modified version aloud. Hmmm.... this means that the power of the word “easy” is much greater than it initially seems.

Pondering the word “easy” for a while, I realised that it's unusual in that, if one stresses both syllables, the word actually rhymes with itself. Since I changed nothing else in the chorus, it must be this inherent quality of the word "easy" coupling with the music's finishing on the tonic that is producing the sense closure that I felt. Interesting. I never realised that rhyme closure can occur with a carefully placed single word. That's quite eye-opening and something I'm adding to my lyricist toolbox!

In his song “Recipe For Insanity”, Steve Seskin uses a similar principle to close his very last chorus by rhyming 'more or less' with 'happiness'.



Ok … time for another listen to “She Makes It Look Easy”.

Thanks for today's lesson!
Noel

FLoyd,

Well, it seems I only have about one day a month to spend any time with anything musical around here for the past several months. When I do have that day, I always look for your latest contribution, knowing that I will really like it even before I hear it. I am never disappointed! This one is just so good! I like everything about it.

So glad I didn't miss this one!

Steve