At another forum, where I'm a moderator, one of the members asked for a style recommendation for "Make It With You". I've always liked the song, but never performed it, especially for the senior set. But, what the Hell do I know.

As usual, the next step was to call Dom Mason and ask if he ever performed the song - silly question. Of course, and not only that, he knows the guy who wrote it, and a quick Wikipedia search revealed the entire singing world performed it at one time or another. I'm surprised that Don's name wasn't in the Wiki list. Don said the old folks may not know the song, but I took a chance on it today and performed it for the first time - They loved it!

Today, I performed it using a 16-beat ballad style, which seemed to fit just fine, at least in my mind. I just did this quick recording of the song on the PSR-3000 using the Zoom H2, which in reality does not have the recording quality that I currently enjoy with the PSR-S950, but it's OK. So, other than the recording quality, I would like to hear comments from this forum to see if there are things I should or can do to make the song better.

Make It With You

I eagerly await your comments,

Gary

Well, I just listened to my recording, and right away I knew I had to raise the chord a bit. While singing the song in E was a bit easier on my lung capacity, I had to go to G in order to get the best vocal quality and make the song reach out better (at least I hope that's what I did.)

MAKE IT WITH YOU

Gary

Gary ... I finally had a chance to really listen to this, and since you asked, I offer the following: ... as it is in most cases, it comes down to what people like us are looking to do with a song - make it 'close' to the original, or 'make it our own' ...
That being said, - and I realize this is a 'quick recording' - I think the style you've chosen is fine, although the original was more 'simple' ... you might try just a simple '8beat' style, especially if your KB has an acoustic or unplugged style set ... I might also suggest listening to get the phrasing closer to the original ...
The addition of a bit of harmony would not hurt either, and when a song has a particular 'hook', like that electric bass line, I try to learn it and incorporate it into the song, and in this case, I might even use an electric guitar sound in the right hand played an octave or two lower ...

Here's the original:

PS: ... my personal favorite BREAD song is "IF" ... we played it with the band in NY back when everything didn't have to sound just like the record ... which was good because all the singers in the band were male baritones ... ... I enjoyed putting my own background vocals and harmonies to that song ... maybe some day I will try to recreate that and post it here ...

Thanks Tony, I tried it with an 8-beat, and to me, it didn't sound nearly as good as the 16-beat styles. Maybe it's just me, though. Also did some harmony in the exact same spots as the original, didn't like that either. Guess I'm gettin old. I performed it today and the audience loved it, and with few exceptions, they're all older than me, but there were a few youngsters there, too.

Thanks again old friend, and I'm looking forward to hearing your recording of If,

Gary

Gary ... to quote from Ricky Nelson's "Garden party" : "You see, ya can't please everyone, so ya got to please yourself... "
As long as you and your audience liked it, you're fine ...

Tony, I always listen to my elders when they offer advice. I don't always like it, but at least I listen, and try out their ideas, which I hate to admit, often work very well.

Thanks for taking the time to comment. A lot of folks apparently listened and didn't. The same with the voices I posted, more than 1-thousand downloads, and three or four thank yous. Amazing.

Cheers,

Gary

Well, then, I can see why you might not take advice from me, as I am younger than you ...

Whoops, I forgot. Yep, you are definitely younger, not as good looking, but younger.

I used a different style this afternoon, recorded the song while I was playing it live, and I'll post it tomorrow.

Thanks again old friend,

Gary

I always use an unplugged 4/4 style. Guitar, bass and drums.

Here ya go, guys - different style, recorded live yesterday. I might try some vocal harmony the next time, Tony.

https://app.box.com/s/epp4eexrv4s4myome2do

Gary