White Mage Piano-Ballad Compositions! :)

Hello all!! Here is a youtube playlist of me singing songs that I wrote with the piano, thought I'd share it with you guys! ^_^ Lyrics are shown on each of the videos' descriptions btw. I would love to hear the opinions of the amazing musicians present in this forum! I've been writing these songs when I was between 17-18 on my college years (now I'm 22) so forgive me if the songs may come off as a bit naive-sounding! xD Well, you know, college years, desires to escape the world, etc. you tend to be able to jot down random thoughts into music. xDD I hope you guys enjoy and I what an honor to be able to share music with the wonderful musicians here. :)

Hello ilv! Thank you soo much for your feedback!! I really appreciate it!! :D Those are some really helpful tips for me to follow in order to improve more my songs! I have to admit though, I really am no professional when it comes to making a consistent/stable tempo as that is indeed my weakest point. xDD But I will keep in mind what you said and study with it more and how I can improve it! :) Once again, I really appreciate the tips you have for each song and I will do my best to practice them accordingly (and add some more piano motions too). Thank you so much!! ^_^

Hi White Mage;

First, I would try out various mike placements, to get a better balance.. I assume your using the mike from the video recorder..  The piano overshadows your vocals.. Try moving the camera closer or aim more toward your mouth.. Later perhaps, with some equipment, you can get an audio mike, mixer, for a better blend, but your current situation is fine for your purpose here. 

I think this is good work.. ,You are off to a Great Start..  Specifics - I agree with the points 'ilv' made. 

Search out music and artists that inspire you, songs that are in the style you intend to do.  I used to make very detailed graphs and notes, on how someone contracted a song.

lyrics, chords over them, when a musician added some sparkle and where he put it..  You're piano playing alone can greatly help you spotlight.. 

Search out, find and create some hooks, be they vocal, or a kbd riff. You need something more for the listened to grasp.  The sign of a good tune, is that when it's over, 

you can remember it, and sing at least part of it.. Now that of course depends on what you are trying to do.. If you can't, the song needs work..

I had a teacher, who made me rewrite every song 3 times.. !st draft, through away the weakest 90%. Do that three times.. and then you've got something.. Now you don't have to do that all the time.. but it is a great practice to try.. 

Write out your lyrics, what is the point you are trying to get across.  When you find, it rewrite some of the other lyrics to strengthen or lead up to the important statement.. 

Life, music, every thing is yin/yang.  good-bad/day-night, white-black.. busy-quiet, birth/death, healthy-sick.. .  You need that two parts to make a whole.. This statement works on many levels, consonance-dissonance, intensity-smoothness, loud-soft.  story progressment-story reaffirming the point..  (verses more the story line forward, the chorus makes a statement, reaffirms it.. So although the chorus lines are the same each verse, gives the chorus a slightly different point of view.)

If you are really serious about this (and you are otherwise you wouldn't be here).. There is a free songwriting course at Coursera.org, called 'songwriting by  Pat Patterson.. He teaches at Berklee Music School.. Courses at Berklee online, are pretty expensive but worth it.  Coursera offers one of his courses for free..  They cover the same points, although you don't get personal feedback, (only from other students). Last time I took it, there were 65,000 students. But the are the same exact points..  His books are excellent.. 

There are also other good songwriter teachers out there.  search the net, there are some quite decent free courses..  Find out about as many as you can, and find the one, that you identify the most.. What works for one student, may not for another.. 

You can self-teach yourself, and learn much, and you can develop your own particular style.  But there are always certain music conventions, that are necessary to make listenable music.  Studying music, is not going to rob you of your 'creative inner self'.. It becomes a tool or process, you can always choose to USE or NOT USE..  The more options and tools you have at your disposal, the better writer and performer you will be.

Ok - enough preaching..  

I would simplify the piano parts in general..  With vocal tunes, the vocal is the star, the spotlight should shine on the vocalist.. You can include a piano interlude or solo, where you 'show off ' you keyboard skills

a bit..  It appears to me, your hands want to be the star of the show.  Your face, and voice, are the star (and smile and look into the camera more,  that forces people to pay closer attention..  

In good music each instrument interweaves with the other parts,  Various aspects of a tune rise up to get your attention, and then drop down, or simplify to give room for the other parts to 'shine through'..  You don't need constant 'arpeggiation' going on. And you do build up and drop down note frequency, perhaps do it a bit more..  Some whole note chords, 

PS.. Don't be afraid to smile more,  it is very charming.. A song performance is kind of like acting.  While listening to a song, you don't get to see visuals, the listener creates his own visuals, by the techniques of the music and the vocalist..  

You are doing good..  keep doing what you are doing. and make more postings.