Hey Alan,

that was great. I liked how you started with the riff, and then it felt like you morphed it into a Ka`au Crater Boys picking. I’m excited to see where you take it from here.

I think I have to start noodling and playing around, and save them too. I kind of feel disappointed when I start a song, but I don’t finish it, and the next time I think about writing a song, I feel myself get psyched out because I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to leave it unfinished. I should try, and just save all those little bits anyway. It’s probably better to try and give up on a song than to psych myself out of even trying. You never know if those little noodles might lead to a full song, and if they don’t, you might come back to them in the future, and flush them out then. I have to get over the idea that every song idea is precious. Some work and some don’t, but they all lead to your overall experience.

I started my song yesterday too. My idea is to actually sample the live lesson when Aldrine played the riff, and use the sample to make all the instruments for my song. I worked on it a little last night, and I did try to record me playing around with the sample, but I don’t think it recorded the audio, so I have to try again. I’m looking forward to working on it, and I think posting my progress will keep me on track.

I finally got around to doing more work on my song

Well, here is my submission for the Live Lesson Challenge. It’s my first attempt at writing a song and one of my first time trying to sing and strum at the same time. This is the second time that I’ve recorded myself on video (still uncomfortable in front of the camera).. It’s a little rough, but I’ll keep practicing. Hope you enjoy.

(Destiny) The Only Word (Key of D)

Intro – instrumental (picked 1st three strings): [G] [Em] [D] [A]

Verse 1
I [G] don’t believe in magic
and there’s [Em] no such thing as fate
but the [D] moment that our eyes met
it’s like [A] destiny was paved

The [G] honeymoon may be over
but our [Em] love’s still going strong
we share [D] everything with each other
was it [A] destiny all along?

Instrumental (strummed): [G] [Gsus4] [G] [Gsus4] [G] [Gsus2] [D]

Chorus x2
I’ve [Em] fought the demons in my head
they [G] pushed me to the very edge
but [D] you taught me how to love myself
and [A] backed me off that ledge

Instrumental (strummed): [G] [Gsus4] [G] [Gsus4] [G] [Gsus2] [D]

Verse 2
Now [G] we’re growing old together
I’ll [Em] never forget the day we met
you’ve [D] taught me how to truly love
yeah, [A] destiny’s the word that fits

I’ll [G] love you past forever
you [Em] have become my world
I can’t [D] imagine a day without you
[A] destiny’s the only word

Instrumental (strummed): [G] [Gsus4] [G] [Gsus4] [G] [Gsus2] [D]

Chorus x2

Outro Instrumental (strummed, fade): [G] [Gsus4] [G] [Gsus4] [G] [Gsus2] [D]

Hey Kevin and Kawai,

great job! Kevin, you did amazing for your first challenge. It’s cool that you wrote lyrics for your song. I’m terrible at lyrics, so whenever someone does it for the challenge, it always amazes me. Kawai, you always write cool songs for the challenges. I really liked how simple this one is, and the Gb and A7 transition chords are nice touches. You probably already tried this, but you can also substitute the Gb with a Gminor. It keeps that melody note step down on the A string that you were doing with the Gb, but it adds a little different flavor. Again, both of you did an awesome job. Keep it up!

Nice work everyone!!! I’m 4 episodes behind, trying to catch up. Kevin, your first attempt writing a song? Nice job. I thought the lyrics were fantastic!