Spoon & Fork

Weasel - Original song

2012-06-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

Here is another song I've written lately. I call it "Weasel".

I like this song because it's fun, and was originally musical number I really liked the sound of, so I added words to fit the music (rather than the other way around). To me, I picture a barnyard dance in this song, but I can also picture a nightclub called "Henhouse". Whatever floats your boat.

Figure me out - An original song

2012-06-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

I've been really into writing songs lately, and want to share a couple that I've been working on. Feel free to critique, but know that I'm far more critical of myself than you can be. ;-)

Today's song is titled "Figure me out". Besides the overlying message of my crippling sense of inadequacy, I think this song turned out pretty bad ass.

I hope you like it.

It ain't me babe - guitar and ukulele duet

2012-06-02T09:15:00.001-07:00

I wanted to experiment with iMovie effects, and figured out how to "clone" myself. Unfortunately, the equipment I have available to me is limited, so the video turned out as good as I could expect it to, which is not that good.

Personally, I'd prefer to sing a duet with someone who can handle harmonies, etc. But in the meantime, I'll have to play with myself.

Yikes.

"It ain't me, babe" is a song I learned during my 100 song in 100 day goal. It is a really fun one to play, and is as complicated as you want to make it. I personally choose to play a very simple version of it.

Enjoy.

Poor Fool - an ukulele country song

2012-05-31T10:19:00.002-07:00

Here's an original for you all. I've been listening to quite a bit of Don Williams lately, so it definitely has the body of one of his tunes, just not the vocals. Either way, it sounds like a country song with an ukulele.

Poor fool

Ain't got no money
Ain't got no time
Aint got what it takes
and I can't seem to find it

I ain't got the brains
To know everything
But I know what I think
Is wrong and right

I got your love
And that's all I ever wanted
Your hand in my hand is all that I need
When you sit beside me and tell me all your dreams
That's a whole lot
For a poor fool like me

I can't promise riches
I ain't got hope for that
I ain't gonna getcha
Fancy shoes and nice hats

But I will write you a song
Every once in a while
I hope I can make you laugh
and that I’ll always make you smile

Cuz I love you

Yes I do

I’m a lucky man

To have found like you

We go out sometimes

And I don’t mind

Sharing a plate

Waiting in a line

But when I get you home

I have you for my own

And I can’t believe

How good you are to me

My Ukulele Song

2012-05-18T09:06:00.001-07:00

I've cracked the formula for a hit song. I may not have the ability to write hit song lyrics, but the music behind the lyrics is simple.

First, to appeal to the masses, your music has to be simple, not complex. This may be a difficult concept to grasp, but go ahead and listen to a "popular" music channel on the radio, and you'll find 4 out of five songs repeat the same thing over and over and over and over. . .

Second, you need a chorus that people can sing along to. The lyrics in the verse rarely matter, simply because when someone requests a song, they say "play the 'chorus' song." Ever heard that? How about "Play that song that goes "hey-yay, hey yay yay yay . . ."". That's Train's "Hey soul sister."

Third, and relevant to the second point, use as few words as possible in your chorus. The more "hey's", "yay's", "ho's" and "yo's" you use makes people more willing to sing along. Think about it.

Fourth, transitions are key. You can't simply play the same progression over and over. You have to add some kind of transition into your song. Bridges before the chorus is a good example of this.

Have two verses, and then in place of a third verse, either add a solo, or if you can't solo, like me, just add a different format to the third verse. End the song with a few passes of the chorus, and end it however you like. Not too long, but enough to give them what they needed.

The formula for the hit song goes: Intro, verse, bridge, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus, interlude, chorus, chorus.

Song writers, you may not agree with this, but if you happen to want to write a popular song, which should not be confused with a good song, use this formula.

Here is my own "Ukulele Song," which will be a HUGE hit, as it demonstrates the hit song formula.

It also demonstrates the difference between "good" and "popular". I hope you enjoyed it.

Circle back to Don

2012-05-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned before how I grew up listening to a lot of Don Williams; my whole family did. I mean my whole extended family did. If we have a family reunion, and someone has a guitar, we can all rally behind a Don William song or two.

The other day, I saw my cousin had posted his top three Don Williams songs on the bookface, and I couldn't help thinking I should get back into playing more Don. My wife doesn't always appreciate the Don simply because she didn't grow up listening to him. But he grows on you like a tick in your neck.

The point of this post is to simply list ten Don Williams songs that any guitar player should learn, mainly because they're simple to play, and provide a perfect ambience around a campfire. If people don't know the words, they can stare at the fire. By the way, the three songs my cousin listed are included in this list (I think).

1) Good Ol' Boys Like Me
2) We got a good fire going
3) Tulsa Time
4) It must be love
5) Some broken hearts never mend
6) Love me tonight
7) Lord I hope this day is good
8) You're my best friend
9) I wouldn't be a man
10) It's got to come from the heart

I'd best stop listing songs before I have to change it to 20.

For anyone who is not a Don Williams fan, you're basically missing out on an old school country singer who sings of lovin' God, lovin' his woman, and livin' a good life. Simple enough. It's what country music is supposed to be, and I'm a self-professed country music hater.

Someone like you, but not quite

2012-05-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

Greetings all. The last post I had, I said I was taking "tomorrow" off. Since tomorrow is never quite attainable, it took me about two weeks before I realized that I wasn't going to catch it.

Bad joke.

In other words, I got lazy, and then I got sick, and then I got distracted, and now I'm here.

One of the songs I learned in the last three months or so is Adele's "Someone like you", and for some reason, it's one of my go to songs when I pick up the guitar. There is a finger picking progression that I like to play to warm my fingers up, etc. This is the song I made a terrible cover of, which you can watch if you'd like. Click here, or I guess I can put the video here:

I had a few days where I had nothing to do, so I thought I'd try to improve the quality of this cover song. After learning a thing or two about Garage Band, I was able to redo it and use a drum track, rather than pumping out a beat on the back of my guitar. Bother.

I wasn't clever enough to make a cool video this time. Also, I still believe it's a poor cover since it's me singing and playing, but I feel like I did a little better than the first time around.

The question begs, is anyone interested in hearing more stuff like this? Any covers anyone would like to hear me do?

Okay bye.

Day 100: American girl

2012-04-28T18:53:00.001-07:00

Well she was an American girl, raised on promises...

I'll admit the only Tom Petty album I ever listened to was of his greatest hits. American girl was the first track on the album I had. Great song to sing along to, and turns out to be a fun to play. All good things. Therefore Tom Petty's "American Girl" is my 100th song of my 100 day goal.

Couple of things. Today is the final day of my 100 songs in 100 day goal. I truly wish I had incredible revelations to share, but I'm exhausted and have limited time as always to write the limited thoughts I actually have. Long story short, I'm quite glad I did this goal, but I'm also glad that it's over. Maybe next time I'll make a list of 100 songs first, and then learn those specific songs. The random search everyday was fun but also difficult to sustain.

Second and more substantial, my wife went through the ceremony to become a doctor today. Five years in the making! We have been everywhere in the willamette valley, hitting hubs of family and random folks along the way. It's been an exhausting, emotional, and overall amazing weekend.

So hooray for all. Related to my goal, one highlight of my weekend is playing mini concerts for my nieces and nephews. They instantly begin jumping and dancing when the music begins. I love it.

I'm taking tomorrow off. But if there are suggestions for a new goal, I'm open to suggestions.

Day 99: I'm a Believer

2012-04-27T22:22:00.001-07:00

Short post today, because my awesome wife just went through an amazing ceremony where they declared her an amazing person.

The song choice today followed a common theme I've had lately of songs that remind me of my wedding. We played I'm a Believer as the processional music for the big event. So it's a fun song for me to play and it turns out that it's pretty easy as well.

99 songs down, 1 remains. What will it be tomorrow? Only time will tell...

Day 98: Super Mario Brothers Theme

2012-04-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

I'm straying slightly from my goal of learning 100 songs on the guitar in 100 days. I found that the Super Mario Brother's Theme music is a must to play on the ukulele. It has that 8 bit sound that a guitar's rich voice overpowers. The uke makes it sound so very pleasant.

On that note, though I can play the Super Mario Brother's theme, it does not sound quite the way you would hear it in the game, so at this time I'm not going to create a video of me playing it. Please take a moment to imagine the theme song of level one, and go back in your memory to the first or last time you played the original Super Mario Brothers. They've come a long way.

With that, I don't have a ton of things to talk about. I made sure to bring my ukulele to the West coast so that I had something to practice with in my last three days of this goal. I hope to see many in this short visit, and am sorry if we don't cross paths this weekend. Soon, my friends.

Another song on the way tomorrow. I don't know what it will be, but I'm optimistic that there will be one.

Day 97: I see the light

2012-04-25T09:43:00.001-07:00

Today's song is a duet. Ah yeah.

I'm quickly approaching the end of this silly goal of learning 100 songs in 100 days, and one of the more common sources has been from Disney movies. Today's song is from "Tangled" and is the duet "I see the light."

Confession, I tend to get a little teary eyed when I watch this part of the movie. Yes, I'm kind of a girl. If you have not seen Tangled, I highly recommend it.

We are going to be spending a solid eight hours traveling to Oregon today, so we made sure to find a movie to watch on the iPad for our daughter. When she watches this movie, she completely disappears into the story. I don't necessarily encourage brainwashing your child, and showing her movies all the time, but I do appreciate distractions when we have to sit in one place for more than five minutes. Tangled is a guarantee. She loves this movie.

I do not have any other incredible words to share with you all. We are excited to come home! My wife is graduating from her doctorate program this weekend! It's a big deal.

Day 96: Ai se eu te pego

2012-04-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

Trying to find inspiration for a song to learn, I was perusing around YouTube the other day. I found that the most viewed video on YouTube is a song: "Ai se eu te pego". I gave it a listen and wondered why this song was so popular. It turns out to be from Brazil, and is in Portugese. It has its own little dance that has grown popular with soccer players, resulting in popularity all over the Western world. Though I had never heard of this song, I'm sure there are many Americans who have.

Though the song is one of the easier songs I've chosen in this goal, I couldn't help but choosing it because it's in a different language. There aren't many opportunities to memorize foreign words these days; especially Portugese words, which lets face it, is a totally pointless language.

Kidding, Portugal. You're important. And Brazil, your beaches look nice on the travel channel.

I've tried taking it a step further to learn the dance.

In case any of you have noticed, in the last half of this 100 day goal, I've been trying to provide a video of the song I learned for the day. Ideally, I would post myself playing it so you have some kind of proof that I learned it. But let's be honest, you don't want to see some half-assed version of a song from a guy who just learned it. Personally, I want to see that the person who made the video has put forth some kind of effort before saying "Publish." Therefore, I think when this 100 song in 100 day goal is complete, I'm going to try and do more video posts that I actually put effort into.

I'm not making promises, but that is what I'd like to do.

More tomorrow!

Day 95: Fast Car

2012-04-23T16:27:00.001-07:00

I've found that when my wife makes a suggestion to learn a song, it is best that I learn said song. The other day she heard "Fast Car" playing on the radio, recorded it on her phone, and sent me the recording in a text along with "Learn this song."

I'll confess that I didn't recognize it. Maybe it was the recording quality she sent me. I used Soundhound, a genius app that listens to a song and tells you what it is, which spit out the answer. Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car". Tracy Chapman? I've heard of that person. Isn't he a country singer?

No? She's a woman? Fast Car was from the 80's?

That was the conversation I had in my brain, and I decided I might as well share it with you.

In case you were me yesterday, here is the song for your listening pleasure:

It turns out to be an epic song that tells the tale of growing up to be what your parents were. Nothing changes 'cause it's all the same. I had a feeling I could be someone.

So that's what I know. Five more songs until I hit the 100 song mark! Then what? Any suggestions?

Day 94: Sound of Silence

2012-04-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

I am on day 94 of my 100 song in 100 day goal. Wowza.

Though I chose a Simon and Garfunkel song a couple of days ago, I think there are a handful of these classic songs that everyone should know. Today's song is "Sound of Silence".

I think this song has always been pretty bad-ass, but a vivid memory I have of hearing this song was when it played in the movie "Old School". There is a scene where Will Ferrell gets shot with a tranquilizer gun and proceeds to fall into a swimming pool, sinking to the bottom. As soon as he submerges, the song begins.

This story has a point. I've heard this song countless times, but when it's played in the right context, it can really strike you. That's why I like it so much and felt it necessary to learn.

For those who don't know much of the history of this song, Paul Simon wrote it and they recorded an acoustic version. The album tanked resulting in Simon and Garfunkel's hiatus. The record company decided to take the song and record some instruments over the top of the acoustic guitar. They re-released the song about a year after the original release and it was a humongous success, bringing the duo back together.

So when you hear this song and recognize it as some mind blowing poetic feat, you should also consider the fact that a record company hit a homerun when they changed it to fit the masses, bringing it to your doorstep. The duo went on to reap huge benefits.

Johnny Quest thinks we're sellouts?

Six songs remain.

Day 93: The way you look tonight

2012-04-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

In this brief goal of learning 100 songs in 100 days, I've found most songs to be playable to some degree. But then in my last 10 days, I've stumbled upon some songs that I want to learn, but somehow they weren't meant to be played on the guitar. Why is that? First, why would anyone write a song that couldn't be played on a guitar? And second, why would I choose these songs at the end of the goal, when I'm trying to finish without a hitch.

The answer to question one is that "The way you look tonight" was written to be played by a big band, with Frank Sinatra, or some other incredible singer leading them along the way. To compress a big band into a single guitar creates chords like G diminished, and B flat minor 9. Those are not chords you see often. No, those are chords I don't see often. I will not speak for you and the chords you see regularly.

Maybe I'm trying to prove something to myself, but right now I am only getting frustrating. Either way, I think I can play this song to a certain degree, so I'm going to say that I learned "the way you look tonight" on day 93 of my goal!

Song significance? My wife and I did our first dance to this song at our wedding. I have fond memories when I hear it. We danced the first verse like a regular boring newly married couple, and then we lindy hopped the rest of the song. It was fun.

I'll be here tomorrow with hopefully a more playable song. Cheers!

Day 92: Beyond the Sea

2012-04-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

An idea struck me yesterday that I had once or twice considered in the past, but had never given it an empathic perspective. My wife enjoys watching HGTV, and house hunting shows. I argue that it is the most expensive channel she could watch, but then she ropes me into watching them too, so I can't exactly ridicule her for something I end up watching.

Back to point, on house hunters, there was a musician and his wife trying to find a small place to live. Of course, they find a place and the wife says "It's great because he can play his music in his own room, and I don't have to listen to it."

Yeah, she said that. And this is the part that struck me: most people don't prefer to listen to practice all day long, including your significant other. All the memories I have of my wife, sisters, parents and friends who got tired of listening to my meandering on the guitar all became perfectly clear. It's not that people don't want to listen; it's that they don't want to listen to you all the time.

Now to my main point, which is my song of the day that took an unfortunate amount of practicing: Beyond the Sea. This song actually has significance in my life as my wife and I debated dancing to it at our wedding. We ended up choosing it as the last song, and didn't even get to dance to it. Either way, it's near and dear in my heart.

Most everyone else knows it from Finding Nemo, which is fine. We danced to this song in the theatre when we saw the movie.

More tomorrow.

Day 91: Mrs. Robinson

2012-04-19T16:16:00.001-07:00

I've mentioned a few times in the past 90 days that I grew up listening to folk music and oldies. This included groups like Peter, Paul and Mary, Don Williams, John Denver and Simon and Garfunkel. I've learned a handful of PPM songs during this goal, and I already know the Don Williams and John Denver songs I care to know. That leaves the folk singing duo, Simon and Garfunkel.

I learned "Feeling Groovy" way back on day 19. Rad song. Scanning through songs today, I came across someone playing Mrs. Robinson on the ukulele and two things occurred to me. First, this song looks fun to play, and second, I could probably sing it better than the guy who posted his video. Whether the second point turns out true or not, here's at least my attempt:

I acknowledge a couple of things. This version is pretty rough, and I make it through half the song before my daughter begins screaming in the background. I decided to post this version because it basically shows I learned the song, but I also appreciate people's limited attention span. If a version of a song is lackluster, I tend to start looking for a version that is better. So as a favor, I've kept this version short.

I can't believe it. 91 days come and gone. What should I do once I'm done with this goal??

Side note, I found a new mentor for ukulele lessons. He's some old guy from Seattle, and he's got a million lessons for me. It's perfect.

See you tomorrow.

Day 90: Black Betty

2012-04-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

I began my goal of learning 100 songs in 100 days by putting out requests to see what songs other people thought I should learn. One of the first suggestions I received was "Black Betty" by Ram Jam. Personally, I do not recall ever hearing of this prior to my goal. I gave it a listen and decided I should try to learn it. All the tabs and how-to's out there were complicated and difficult, and so I decided to just give up on it.

As I'm scraping the bottom of the bucket of song suggestions, I came back across "Black Betty" and decided to give it another try. I found a good youtube teacher who gave me a nice rundown of the "song" part of the song. I call it that because there's also a solo part of the song that lasts for three minutes, and I'm not as interested in learning that.

So I will qualify today's song and say that I know the part of "Black Betty" that you would recognize as "Black Betty." If you were to happen upon the solo of the song, you might not likely recognize it, so I figure it not as important to learn.

By the way, this music video is amazing.

I will say that I do intend on learning the rest of the song at some point, but for my purposes, I'm going to stick with the part that is relevant.

A note to that note, I DO know what the road to hell is paved with.

More tomorrow.

Day 89: Dream a little dream of me

2012-04-17T12:57:00.002-07:00

I couldn't sleep last night, so I started doing my homework a day early to try and find the right song to learn for today. I came across "Dream a little dream of me" by the Mamas and the Papas. This song has been on my list for a long time, so I thought I'd go for it. It turns out to be a fun song to play, and I hope enjoyable for other people to listen to.

I learned it on the ukulele last night, and then on the guitar today. Here is my rendition:

So, it dawned on me the other day that the end of my 100 songs in 100 day goal is going to fall smack dab in the middle of our weeklong visit to Oregon. I've been debating how to handle this setback. I suggested packing my ukulele along with us, but having a toddler that doesn't get a carry-on bag on the plane means that we'd be short that many distractions.

The other strategy is to prepare several songs in advance that I could automatically post each day. But guess what, I haven't done that for 89 days now. Do you find that crazy that I've literally written a post and learned a song every day of this goal? I've been too honest, and I'd be disappointing myself if I strayed from that straight and narrow path.

Anyone have any thoughts? I could schedule my Oregon trip around homes that I know possess a guitar. I see no flaw with that.

More tomorrow. Always a pleasure.

Day 88: Get off of my cloud

2012-04-16T12:40:00.002-07:00

My wife and I have an ongoing inside joke. If one of us is trying to get the other's attention, we'll say what any red blooded American would say: "Hey!"

I would say three out of five times, the other will reply: "You!" This is likely followed by an erratic dance and the singing of "get off of my cloud!"

Congratulations Mick Jagger, your melodies are being sung as some silly inside joke in the 21st century.

Searching for songs to learn the other day, my wife and I had this above mentioned exchange, and she suggested I learn the song. My response was two words that define a happy marriage: "Yes, dear."

So, all you Rolling Stones fans, be ready for my acoustic guitar sounding off a classic or two. I don't think I have any other Jagger features, so I'll just stick to mumbling my way through the verses until I find the chorus of his songs.

More tomorrow. 12 songs to go in my 100 day goal. Holy crap.

Day 87: No One Else

2012-04-15T16:54:00.002-07:00

I'll confess that I really struggled to find the "right" song today. It's not that I didn't learn a song, but rather I couldn't find a song that I learned well enough to say I learned, or a song that I felt was worth listing for day 87 of my 100 day goal. In the end, I had to choose something; the day is coming to an end and I have a deadline.

Song 87 is another track from Weezer's Blue album titled "No One Else". The funny thing about Weezer is that one album was outstanding, and I never got into anything else they ever did. I don't have a good reason for this, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Here's the song:

The song basically says "I want a girl who only sees me and doesn't talk to anyone else, or do anything outside making me pies for me in the kitchen. In high school, I remember listening to this song and thinking "Yeah, I want a girl like that. I like this song." Then my sister said "I hate this song! They're basically saying they are immature and have trust issues."

Touche, sister. Boys and girls somehow have different views on the opposite sex.

More songs tomorrow! Thanks for reading.

Day 86: Venus

2012-04-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

Trying to learn 100 songs in 100 days has me scraping the bottom of the barrel for songs I've wanted to learn ever since I began playing the guitar. A song that has been on my list for years is "Venus" by Shocking Blue, though I had no idea that was the name of the song, nor had I ever heard of the band. In case you are afflicted with the same naivety, here is the song:

My funny story: the first time I thought "I should learn how to play this song" was before I played the guitar. I had to confirm that timeline on wikipedia, but the first time I remember hearing this song was when it played during "The Brady Bunch Movie", a great disaster of a film that came out in 1995. I probably watched it a dozen times. There is a scene where Marsha comes walking out somewhere dressed all foxy, and they played this song to introduce her. I couldn't help but think that song would be fantastic to learn so I could belt it out when I saw some foxy lady walking around.

And then I never learned it, and seventeen years passed.

So now I know it. Foxy ladies beware. Or as the song implies: Venuses. You know who you are.

More songs tomorrow.

Also, the correct Latin for plural Venus is "Veneres", in case you ever go on Jeopardy.

Day 85: Somewhere over the rainbow/ Wonderful world

2012-04-13T09:58:00.002-07:00

I have had my ukulele for about one month. The one song that every ukulele player should learn is of course, Isreal Kamakawiwo'ole's version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World." Yes, I copied and pasted his name in my blog. Personally, I get frustrated with his version because he changes the words around a little bit. If you know these individual songs, I find it useful to use the words as they were originally sung. Either way though, it's just an absolutely great song.

The reason this song took me longer to learn than I felt necessary was because the chord progression changes way more than I ever expected it to. Here's a secret most musicians don't want you to know; popular songs use few chords. A typical song has three to five chords in it, and only changes between the verse and the chorus. The progressions are four chords and they repeat again and again until the song is over.

This song has four or five different progressions, with many more chord changes than I had thought. It's not like it's REALLY complicated, but trying to keep track of what to play while tracking down the right words to sing can make it a challenge.

Same story for the song "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley. which I learned on day 25 of my goal. Sounds simple enough, but the progression jumps all over the place, making it harder to play than you would expect.

Another song tomorrow! Thanks for reading.

Day 84: Barracuda

2012-04-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Close your eyes.

I can't exactly start a blog post with those words, can I?

Try to imagine yourself driving down the road, flipping through the radio stations. All of a sudden, you come across this awesome guitar going "chung-gugga-chung-gugga-chung-gugga-ba-bwaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

Then you put on your metal face, and start bobbing your head a little. You don't know the words, so you just continue this look until the chorus comes. Then you realize that you know one word, and it's at the very end of the chorus: "... ooh, Barracuda."

Yes, today's song is "Barracuda" by Heart. I think this song is rockin' bad. In other words I like it, and I have chosen it as my 84th song to learn in my goal of learning 100 songs in 100 days. I'm quite glad I did.

For anyone keeping track, I do apologize for picking another song from the late 70's. Two days in a row. I don't know what to say, except, "Barracuda!"

More tomorrow.

Day 83: Hold the line

2012-04-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

I'd like to acknowledge one of my followers.

Curse you "lasagna", if that is even your real name.

That said, continuing my goal of learning 100 songs in 100 days, today's song is Toto's "Hold the Line", a classic from the late 70's. I think I had heard this song at some point in my life, but I also had no desire of learning to play it. Then a certain follower of my blog suggested I learn some Toto. The rest is history. I found the first song that popped up under Toto's search, and began cursing lasagna.

Seriously, I will find you and play this song for you twenty seven times.

That's how loyal I am, folks. It takes a lot to endure listening to certain things.

By the way, if anyone out there is a Toto fan, I'm sorry if I offended you. I'm just sorry all around.

Some parting words, as I often like to insert, are to tell you all that I'm quite uncertain of any future goals I have. It's going to be tough to follow such a goal, and I'm also going to be preparing to move across the country. The one thing I have started is another blog called spoon's move. I plan on writing about a number of things: preparing to move, road tripping, money saving and money making strategies on the road, etc. Feel free to check it out. There's not much to it now.

Okay, bye.