How to Describe your Music

"Rob Roper", Ariel Hyatt, Derek Sivers, describing your music, marketing your music

When I meet someone in a band, or a solo performer, I ask “what kind of music do you play”. Frequently they’ll say, “I don’t know, I can’t really describe it. My music is original and unique”. That doesn’t help me decide if I want to pay money to go see them, or buy their cd. “Original and unique” is great, but it doesn’t mean I’ll like it.

But that’s exactly what I do when people ask me about my music. I fumble around; I’ll say it’s a little this, a little that… I really don’t know how to describe my music.

That’s a problem. It doesn’t help get people interested in coming to hear me.

There was an interesting blog about this by Derek Sivers, a video with Ariel Hyatt about the need to be able to describe the your music in a short phrase, see

So I’m trying to come up with a description that’s reasonably accurate that would help people know what kind of music I play.

Several months ago I put some songs up on the folkalley.com website just to see what sort of reactions I would get. A songwriter friend told me, “you know, you’re music isn’t folk music at all”. Another songwriter friend told me “you know, you play true folk music”. Aarghh! Not helpful! Or is it?

I’ve been playing solo acoustic for the last few years, but that’s only because I got away from playing electric guitar in bands to focus on songwriting. Once I get a bass player and drummer, I plan to pick up the electric guitar again. Then I doubt anyone will use the term “folk” to describe my music.

Last year I asked some friends to describe my music, and they wrote some wonderful things, which I put on my website, and my myspace site. That was great, and I’ve been using those quotes. Tim Riordan said I’m “a rock and roller and raconteur with an acoustic guitar”. I like that. But I still need a simple category that most people will understand.

I suppose I could say “acoustic rock” or “folk rock”.

“Alternative rock” lost its meaning a year after it was invented. “Alternative” quickly meant “mainstream”. I fear “indie rock” will soon suffer the same fate.

Any suggestions for me? Got an opinion on this subject in general?

-Rob

Recording a 2nd EP

"Rob Roper", recording

Today I scheduled a recording session at Swallow Hill in Denver for May 21. As of now, my plan is to make a 5-song EP of songs I’ve been playing for the last year or so. I’ll record the 3 songs I wrote a year ago– “Like a Child”, “Me”, and “You Could Have Had Me”, and two of the first songs I wrote that I didn’t put on my DIY record, “Daddy’s Little Girl” (2004) and “I Miss Me” (2005).

“Some Songs I Wrote” was a DIY record I recorded myself in my basement 2 years ago, mixed and mastered it, played all the instruments, and did the artwork–even took my own photograph. This time I’ll have Swallow Hill’s recording engineer and live show sound man, Brian Hunter, handle the technical duties. And I’ll have my violin player who’s been accompanying me the last two years, Julie Oxenford O’Brian, record her parts.

The tentative title is “More Songs I Wrote”. It will come out in a cardboard sleeve (I HATE jewel cases).

Of course I reserve the right to change my mind on any and all of the above. 🙂

-Rob

A singer-songwriter has 4 jobs

singer-songwriter, songwriting

It’s not just singer-songwriter; it’s not just two things. It’s four:

1. composer of music
2. lyricist
3. musician (guitar and/or piano, or whatever you perform with)
4. singer

In the “old days”, one person composed the music, another person composed the lyrics, a band of professional musicians played the music, and the singer sang. Sometimes it’s still done that way today. Singer-songwriters are trying to do the jobs of 4 people. No wonder this is so hard. I’m not whining or complaining; I love it. But it explains why it’s so difficult to be good at all 4 things (see my previous blog, “3 Types of Songwriters).

I began as a guitar player. Then I took singing lessons. Then learned how to write songs. Others do it in a different order.

I took piano lessons a few years ago, and took more last year. But my focus for the last 5 years has been songwriting (music and lyric composition). As a result, I’m starting to feel more confident in my songwriting. So now I’m taking singing lessons again, because I think that’s my main weakness.

I’ve got 4 jobs. Not counting my paying job.

When I look at it that way, I don’t call myself lazy anymore.

-Rob

Heart but no Brain

songwriting

I started this one about a year-and-a-half ago, then it sat for awhile, and I came back to it about a month ago, and feel like it’s at a first draft stage where I can put it out there for feedback. I’m still trying to figure out how to sing it; it’s a little challenging for me. I think that’s because I’m still trying to figure out what the melody should be in some places. (You can here it at www.myspace.com/robroperdemos). And the lyrics may need some tweaking also. The structure is unusual, but that seemed to be what the song wanted musically.

Heart but no Brain
by Rob Roper 3rd draft March 22, 2009

You got a heart but no brain
a voice out in the rain
spoken, never heard
and so much to say

An apprentice with no master
Apollo’s little bastard
left on your own
and time moves ever faster

I can see you’re just a flower
that needs a little water
the neglected middle son
the farmer’s ugly daughter

You just need a little help
but you’re too shy to ask
you don’t want to be a burden
and you’re afraid they will laugh

You’ve got so much inside you
that wants to come out
but no one believes in you
and you’ve got your doubts

You know where you’re going
but you don’t have a map
So you stare at the road
and you feel that you’re trapped

If you quit and gave up
no one would care
nobody knows
what you have to share

And now your forehead
is all black and blue
’cause the brick wall is stubborn
but so are you

(instr over B part)

(repeat V1 and V2)

President McCain’s 1st Month in Office

Democratic Party, Democrats, Obama, political satire, politics, satire

On the foreign policy front…

One of President’s McCain’s first acts was to announce the closing of the Guantanamo Bay prison, where Prisoners of War were being held and tortured, contrary to the protections required by the Geneva Convention. Most of the prisoners had been quietly freed by President Bush over the past several years. President McCain is not freeing the remaining ones, but simply transferring them to other prisons in the U.S.

President McCain also announced with great fanfare that he had ordered US military and intelligence personnel to stop torturing prisoners. However, he stated that he would continue the nefarious practice of “rendition”, where prisoners are sent by US intelligence agencies to other countries where they can be tortured and the US can feign ignorance.

President McCain announced that he would continue the American occupation of Iraq, leaving as many as 50,000 US troops, and an unnamed number of mercenaries, to maintain US domination of the country. He did say, however, that he would reduce the number of direct US troops over the next 16 months in order to transfer them to Afghanistan in an attempt to shore up the US occupation of that country.

Regarding US support for Israel’s ongoing war against its indigenous population–the Palestinians–President McCain has sent his new Secretary of State to Palestine to meet with officials there. However, based on statements made during his campaign, there is reason to believe that that he will press Israel to end its violence and land grabs against the indigenous population, and comply with UN resolutions to resolve the conflict.

Prior to taking office, the new President announced that President Bush’s Secretary of Defense would continue in that post, and reached across the aisle to name Hilary Clinton–a strong supporter of President Bush’s Middle East policy while in the US Senate–as his Secretary of State. Thus President McCain’s continuance of Bush’s Mideast policies, with a few minor variations, should come as no surprise.

Moving onto the domestic front…

President McCain announced a new budget with a record deficit, following in the footsteps of President Bush. Although he said this is the worst economy since the Great Depression, there are no Roosevelt-style WPA jobs programs. Instead there are tax cuts a la Bush, and subsidies to companies in the tradition of trickle-down Reaganomics.

Of course the new President is continuing and even escalating the massive bank bailout program, which is no surprise, since he voted for it as a Senator just before the election. There is no talk of punishing those responsible for the meltdown, unless you consider limiting the bailout companies CEO’s salary to “only” $500,000 a form of punishment.

So far it appears that, as his opponent charged during the campaign, President McCain is just going to be “more of the same”.

The most noticable change, of course–and the one that has everybody talking–is that, after taking office, McCain appears much younger, and with a more tan complexion. Reporters have also noticed that his public speaking is noticably more elegant and refined, in the style of a Harvard graduate.

Rob Roper
March 1, 2009