I had this idea a few minutes ago- writing lyrics is an art

Gdjjr

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Oct 25, 2019
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I participate in a small, acoustic guitar forum- not small guitars, just a small forum :rolleyes::rolleyes: as in only a few regular posters-
but, as an aside I bought my grand daughter (she'll turn 7 next month) a small guitar- and it has great sound! I haven't given it to her yet, but i hope she enjoys it for years to come- I bought her a small one because she is very petite and even a Parlor body is difficult for her to hold correctly-

Someone started a thread about a Neil Young song and as message boards are wont to do the topic veered (see above paragraph for evidence ;) ) off to lord only knows where :confused:- I'm not familiar with Neil Young, btw- another poster said, and posted a picture of a comic book about the History of Willie Nelson :eek:- can you imagine? I bet he never, ever, in his wildest dreams thought he'd ever be the subject of a comic book-

But, I digress. A different thread, that had wandered off topic was about personal song books- (ones own collection of songs for playin and singin)-
Someone (obviously younger than I) mentioned using an iPad app called song something or other- I replied to that; I'm too old, and stubborn, and old begets stubborn- yes, transcribing, or creating, by hand is a PITA- but, - of course there is a but. I'm just wondering how best to introduce it since it has more than one facet- I think.


I guess, I'll start with this. We all know Mac Davis left us recently- so, I'll start there- I remember when watching his show he described what he did (song writing) as painting pictures with words- that knocked my sox off- how poetic!

Anyway, this morning, on the message board, I lamented I'm too old to adapt to an app on anything- like for instance, my oldest son gave me a used kindle several years ago- I've still not used it- I prefer holding the book and actually turning the pages-

This isn't to say that using keyboard on a computer doesn't have its advantages- (but having never formally learned to type I use the back space button a lot ;) )I'm actually quite adept at getting my point(s) across on a key board. I've even written a book (for my kids and their kids about my views on things) - it will never go away because I had it printed and bound- computers crash and not all of us are smart enough to "back everything up in the "cloud" :eek: which goes hand in hand with too old- and stubborn.

I have to admit, emoji's are cool :p:cool:- emoji!? WTH kind of word is that?

Anyway, what Mac Davis said about what he does *inspired* me to think about this transcribing songs thing- hand writing, it seems to me, based on what little I've seen, is almost a lost art- and if you think about it, writing words (lyrically or other wise) is "painting a picture with words"- each letter is a picture!

I told my youngest son, a few months ago, that while writing songs is a PITA it helps keep my hand writing (printing actually) legible- if you don't use it you lose it kind of thing- another old thing is; hands tend to get shakey. So far mine aren't, but I see people whose hand writing is questionable, at best- (younger and older, but, at least older has a good excuse- younger not so much-

Now, where was I goin with this? Oh yeah, painting pictures with words- each stroke of the pen, each word written is a painted (so to speak) picture- some are talented, some ain't. My mother had the most legible printing I've ever seen- (she had been a book keeper and had to print in small spaces, so, she developed/adapted very well) my sons both had atrocious penmanship- the oldest was so small you had to squint real hard to read it- and the youngest looked like hen scratching, literally- their mother and I both had good penmanship, though mine was more correct in that it leaned to the right, while their mother's leaned to the left- but, it was very legible. The youngest son took drafting in High School and now has excellent penmanship- the oldest has gotten better too- age and maturity I guess. Everything he does is on a computer (work related and takes up a lot of his time)

Anyway- transcribing songs into a personal songbook is a great way to keep penmanship from being a lost art- and hopefully future generations won't have to wonder why we trashed (through non- use) an art form! Use it or lose it- the choice is ours.

Edit: Yes, I have written (original) some songs- I'm working on one now, which was inspired from a picture one of the posters on the guitar message board posted of a sketch he had made (many years ago) of a girl he had dated- and speaking of inspiration- I have to tell this story. Kris Kristofferson wrote Here Comes That Rainbow Again after watching a scene from the Grapes of Wrath- a, as in one,, scene from a movie- that is, to me amazing!
 
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What guitar did you buy her? There are a lot of really good small guitars out there right now. There are the cheap offshore guitars, but then you also have the Taylor GS Mini and the Mini Martin (stay away from the Backpacker! Taylor recently introduced their "GT" body size which is said to be a lot like a parlor.

Of course, the Taylors come with a price tag commensurate with the quality...
 
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What guitar did you buy her? There are a lot of really good small guitars out there right now. There are the cheap offshore guitars, but then you also have the Taylor GS Mini and the Mini Martin (stay away from the Backpacker! Taylor recently introduced their "GT" body size which is said to be a lot like a parlor.

Of course, the Taylors come with a price tag commensurate with the quality...
A Luna, it's all mohogany, sounds great and was semi-reasonably priced- I'm not a guitar snob

I personally have 6 different guitars- the most expensive being an Epiphone Dove Pro- limited edition.
The least expensive are 2 Mitchells and I absolutely love their sound and playability- they are, in fact my favorites and they were each significantly less than 200 bucks- my next one, after christmas will be a cheap parlor body- either a Gretsch 7 series or a Recording King.
 
What guitar did you buy her? There are a lot of really good small guitars out there right now. There are the cheap offshore guitars, but then you also have the Taylor GS Mini and the Mini Martin (stay away from the Backpacker! Taylor recently introduced their "GT" body size which is said to be a lot like a parlor.

Of course, the Taylors come with a price tag commensurate with the quality...
A Luna, it's all mohogany, sounds great and was semi-reasonably priced- I'm not a guitar snob

I personally have 6 different guitars- the most expensive being an Epiphone Dove Pro- limited edition.
The least expensive are 2 Mitchells and I absolutely love their sound and playability- they are, in fact my favorites and they were each significantly less than 200 bucks- my next one, after christmas will be a cheap parlor body- either a Gretsch 7 series or a Recording King.

I used to collect, but have pared it down to three guitars at the moment:

1986 Alvarez-Yairi DY-66
2010 Taylor GS Mini Prototype
1990 Fender American Standard Stratocaster

Here's the Yairi. When I got it in 1987, the guitar was in absolutely pristine condition:

6499160449_0f64ed3508_z.jpg
6499160631_8cc9197383_z.jpg


I'm in the process of selling a townhouse in New York and, when we close, I'm pretty sure I'll be adding a Gibson SJ-200 and/or a Martin D-40 (if I can find one) to the mix...
 
Oh yeah, painting pictures with words- each stroke of the pen, each word written is a painted (so to speak) picture

HOLY CRAP! All those words just to convey that one idea?

But Yes...I agree. You are using words to "paint a picture" or a mental image.

I would also add that it takes great talent to evoke an emotional response with your words. (the song "say something I'm giving up on you" is a great example of this).

It's not only in songs, but in all writing.

Say I want to paint a mental image of a man sitting in his chair at home dozing off while reading a book. It's dreary & raining outside & it's around midnight.

It takes a true artist to write "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, over a many quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore".

"As I nodded nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, as if someone gently rapping, rapping on my chamber door".

"Only this...and nothing more".
 
Rather than painting a picture using words...you could also consider it a form of "smithing".

A blacksmith forms things out of iron and steel.
A silversmith creates spoons, forks, and tea pots.
A goldsmith molds gold into jewelry.
A wordsmith...
 

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