ShortScale.org

So, we're all fourteen. Been playing together 1.5 years or so, basically as long as I've played guitar. Jaguar for Geetar, Sting Ray for Bass, Drums...

We have about 3 non-paying gigs lined up at the moment.

I'd be grateful for some honest feedback.

Example A (Original):

http://semihollowbrain.lonelyfridge.com ... 0Chair.mp3

Example B (Belle & Sebastian Cover:

http://semihollowbrain.lonelyfridge.com ... g%20It.mp3

I'll try to get a video up.

Thanks!

im about half way the first tune.
very good, you are better than i am right now and ive been playing for like.. 12 years or something.
reminds me of the pixies meets the smiths. i actually kinda dig it. and the recording quility is pretty darn decent. how/what did you guys record on?

i think they're pretty damn good considering your age. i'd maybe suggest a bit of extra instrumentation or maybe just change the guitar sounds occasionally, sometimes the same clean rhythm sound can get a bit repetitive. a glockenspiel or a bit of piano or organ would sound quite nice on the first track.

i'm not so sure about the B&S cover, but maybe it's because i love the original so much. could maybe do with being a bit faster with tighter drumming.

that's just me focusing on negatives though, i think they're decent efforts.

Thanks! We can't really get a decent recording live, so we do drums first and this leads to the loose drumming. I can't come up with second guitar riffs - we have 2 guitars (2nd guy on a stang). He got a nice $150 condenser for vocals, and used that for the overhead with a few dynamics for the drums.

+ Garage band and ANCIENT Powerbook G4.

Also - I can't get out of pentatonic soloning . I can make it sound good, but it gets repetitive song after song.

Very decent, dude. Better than bands I know who are 10 years your senior.

I'm with Stewart- definitely make better use of those 2 guitars, I thought there was only one guitar!

With regards to not being able to come up wth a second guitar part, try listening to your favourite 2 guitar bands and suss out what the non-rhythm player is doing over chords. Joey from the Pixies is a fairly straightforward example; sometimes he'd just play a few simple notes in an octave shape* (re: Wave Of Mutilation, Something Against You etc etc) that fit over the chords and they'd work great.

It doesn't have to be a whole new riff! Also, try picking different chord shapes (like an open C shape against the other guy's barred C or whatever) or just doing simple melodies on the higher strings to add a bit of depth and variety to the songs.

All great advice from Doog there, you don't have to be Hendrix to play something different to your standard chording. Sometimes just even chopping out a more interesting rhythm part with a vastly different guitar sound than the singer can be a great addition to a tune

Doog wrote:Very decent, dude. Better than bands I know who are 10 years your senior.

I'm with Stewart- definitely make better use of those 2 guitars, I thought there was only one guitar!

With regards to not being able to come up wth a second guitar part, try listening to your favourite 2 guitar bands and suss out what the non-rhythm player is doing over chords. Joey from the Pixies is a fairly straightforward example; sometimes he'd just play a few simple notes in an octave shape* (re: Wave Of Mutilation, Something Against You etc etc) that fit over the chords and they'd work great.

It doesn't have to be a whole new riff! Also, try picking different chord shapes (like an open C shape against the other guy's barred C or whatever) or just doing simple melodies on the higher strings to add a bit of depth and variety to the songs.

Code: Select all

* e.g:
-----------------
-----------------
------------7----
-5----OR--------
------------5----
-3--------------

 G          D

Thanks, I'll figure something out tonight. And it was 1 guitar in the recording - I meant when we play live it's 2.

What genre would you consider us?