Three "new" songs, seeking advice on how to improve

I know next to nothing about compression, EQing, or any of this technical stuff. All I do is hook up my keyboard and play straight into reason 4... So I doubt my songs are on par with many of yours. In fact, they're not. But I'd like to hear some criticism in order to learn how to improve.

My soundclick page can be found here: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=544524


"Another Unamed Song" Is the oldest one on there. The way I played the fake guitar, it might as well have been an organ

"Good Night" was made at 3 in the morning just to take my mind off of something... Kinda boring.

"Currently Untitled" Is my favorite of the three, but the drumming needs a lot of work. I accidentally put a drum loop in the wrong spot. You should be able to notice where this one part keeps on repeating...


I realize that a lot of my songs are a bit limited as I can only play by ear and have no further musical knowledge...

But I'd really like to hear your thoughts on what you think of the ideas, and how I can improve.

Thank you!


Edit: I forgot to mention, all three of these songs are meant for vocals. I just haven't gotten around to writing lyrics and singing yet... Nor do I have the quiet place to record, sadly.


Edit 2: Ignore Running out Of pain. That's just a rough copy of me playing a song from a band called 12 Stones.

"Another Unnamed Song"

I really liked it. Good song and you have good song writing abilities

My thoughts....

1. The Fake Guitars - I understand that you are writing a "rock" song and you want guitars and play keys, but I think you need to rethink having the fake guitars for the sake of it.. What I mean by that is that I think the main theme with the arpeggios sounds really cool and fits in well. But when you change to what I'd describe as the chorus and you use the fake guitars as chords, it sounds really fake and it may sound better using a strings or pad patch.

Also with the fake guitars I think it is important to consider the difference in playing technique between guitar & keys and write accordingly. It is hard/impossible to express bends, slurs and hammer ons of a guitar on keys so IMO stay clear of it and write in a more sympathetic way using legato runs etc.

2. The kick drum - there is something weird happening with that kick drum. On its own it sounds OK but when it plays that fast combination it sounds strange. I t is too far forward in the mix and seems to make everything else drop out. Maybe it's a compression thing? Maybe needs better eq or simply dropped back in the mix? Another thing to think about with the drums is when you have a fast combination like that, on real drums the beats are not all the same impact or velocity so change the individual velocities of each strike. In real life the last strike is usually the hardest. This will humanize it.

Only meant as constructive criticism. I really like the tune.

By the way, you have a great ear and real songwriting skills. What is stopping you from gettin glessons on music theory and technique? It will expand a whole other opportunities for you. With your ear and ability I am sure you would be able to do it no problem.

Glenn

"Currently Untitled"

This again shows your writing skills, you have a really nice ear for progressions. Overall this tune needs some light and shade and it is a bit repetitive which would be helped obviously when vocals are added etc.

Otherwise cool. Although the drums seem a little jarring through out.

Glenn

Thank you very much for the replies. So far you all have told me things I've never even considered before.

Glennb, for some reason, I never considered "humanizing" the drums. One reason is.... I don't know how. I'll try and figure it out, though.

I do agree that having the guitar play those chords sounded terrible during the chorus. As I'm not much of a guitarist, I can't really tell "Wow, I don't think a guitar can play like that."

I have tried micing my guitar amp, but it somehow sounded more fake than my sampled guitars, lol.

And as for why I never have had lessons... I'm not really sure. I just never had any interest in learning the "real" way of playing an instrument. I have confidence that I could teach myself most of what I need to know about that, but there's no interest. I can't explain why, really. Maybe there's a hidden desire to play just as well as other musicians who have had years of musical training without having to do what they did... Haha.

I've always wanted to collaborate with someone else, but I've never found anyone who's willing...


And Matt, thanks. I'll try EQing the guitar a bit. Although I don't even really know what that means, I'll just go turn a bunch of knobs and press buttons until it sounds different...

Thank you, CreatingNoise. My friend who is also a guitarist said the same thing, but I thought he was just being nice. The whole "guitar solo" at the end of the song was improved on the spot, and I liked it...so I kept it.

I'll try and fix the drumming when I get around to redoing these songs. Thanks for the tips!

I think Good Night is a wonderful composition. Has a haunting quality to it that I find fascinating....

Jacob, listened to ‘Currently Untitled’. For having a self-described lack of knowledge or training, you are awesome. You are obviously very talented with a natural ear for music. So give yourself an edge, look for a book on music theory, and one on audio mixing. Perhaps someone here will suggest something specific. I look forward to hearing these with lyrics and vocals.