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All for the hand of a Lady by elfdaughter [Email]
Genre: Celtic

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SONG STATS:
Hits: 1124
Comments: 7
Votes: 4
Plays: 331
Last Played: Oct 08, 2008 - 08:53:38 AM
Downloads: 83
Fans: 1
Uploaded: Mar 07, 2006 - 06:38:50 PM
Last Updated: Mar 07, 2006 - 06:07:42 PM
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Keywords:
Celtic (62), bodhran (4), fantasy (23), medieval (14)
Description:
Trying to get back into the way of song-writing. A knight sets out to win the heart and hand of a lady by means of great deeds.

Takstar E-340 Mic
18" Bodhran

Lyrics:
The tale I tell is of a knight,
Who fought for love, and fought for light,
Who fought with armour shining bright,
All for the hand of a lady.

Through forest green he made his way,
On steed of white, armoured in grey,
His banner held high, with colours gay,
All for the hand of a lady.

With helm plumed in blue and red,
He rode to the Isle of Ilired,
There to leave a dragon dead,
All for the hand of a lady.

The dragon,with eyes as black as coal,
Eyes that burned, dark as its soul,
Roared as if to protect its foal,
All for the hand of the lady.

The knight he took a glancing blow,
Parried the dragon's attack, just so,
And gave the dragon a fatal blow,
All for the hand of a lady.

The knight he took the scales blue,
And made a coat of mail, whose hue
Was the ocean, the knight's lawful due;
All for the hand of a lady.

With coat of dragon, he rode on,
On to the forests of Elithion,
Where he hunted down the Unicorn,
All for the hand of the lady.

He hunted down the Unicorn,
The beast so noble and folorn,
And took from it's head the golden horn,
All for hand of a lady.

He rode on to the Fairie Glade,
Where a harp from fairie yew he made,
With unicorn hair he strung it and played,
All for the hand of a lady.

The harp he took to an old king's hall,
And set it down upon a wall,
Set it down to sing for all,
All for the hand of a lady.

The knight travelled on alone,
Ever onward, far from home,
But his mind was ever on her, alone,
All for the hand of a lady.

But the lady loved him none,
Scorned the gifts of unicorn,
Turned him away, alone, folorn:
Never for the hand of a lady.

Now he wanders, alone and free,
Ridding beast in every country,
With coat of scale and harp 'pon knee,
Never for the hand of a lady.
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Needs fleshing out &mdash 03/07/06 - 07:13:20 PM
I like the poem. I found the melody quite repetitive and lacking in colour for interest.

But what you really need for this is back-up. Your voice isn't quite strong enough to carry this a capella. There are a lot of pitch problems. I do think you would do better to sing above instrumentation. A gentle strumming guitar or acoustic picking or arpeggios on a piano.

This has potential.

[ Reply to This ]
Needs fleshing out &mdash 03/07/06 - 07:42:49 PM
Hmm, I've always had that problem when it comes to writing melodies. Got any tips? I agree to be honest, and if I hadn't left my harp tuning kit at the SCA event I'd have added that to it (and also bearing in mind that I did record this at 3am so was trying to be quiet so as not to disturb my housemates) Yeah, this does need work - thanks for the feedback though - this is going to be my entrance for the Minstrel's guild, so it needs to be my best. Has anyone got any tips for melody writing? I always seem to end up with this problem.

---
Poets have written many a song, be they short or be they long, but never is the poem good enough, until the poet is in a coffin rough

[ Reply to This ]
Needs fleshing out &mdash 03/07/06 - 07:51:06 PM
By the way, can you point out to me where the pitch problems are? I can hear where you might think they are (where I tried to modify the tune slightly whilst singing) - but if I know where you hear them then I know what to listen out for.

---
Poets have written many a song, be they short or be they long, but never is the poem good enough, until the poet is in a coffin rough

[ Reply to This ]
Not horrible then for 3am &mdash 03/07/06 - 08:35:14 PM
Well, I would have given you higher scores than the ones currently on the board. Just to let you know, that is not my vote. I chose not to vote and simply give you comments.

The first three stanzas are not terrible with regards to pitch. but then more and more notes do seem to sit just under the pitch. By the fifth stanza, you start to really sound tired and the pitch then really slides.

I think the best thing is for you to re-record this when you are more awake and have more energy.

I wonder what your vocal range is. One way of making the music more intersting is to sing some stanzas an octave above or below your current setting. That adds colour.

Also, if you know chords and are able to understand what I mean by thirds, you could choose to sing some stanzas up a third. Maybe even layer it so you are in harmony.

Loreena McKennit, an exceptional Canadian artist, is the closest example whose music is mirrored by this tune. She doesn't have a lot of melodic variations either, but adds dimensions to her music with her singing. Sometimes she is full throated, and in other parts of the same song, she will sound more angelic. Do check her out if you aren't familiar with her.

I hope this helps.

[ Reply to This ]
Not horrible then for 3am &mdash 03/08/06 - 08:57:10 AM
Thanks Charlie! I always appreciate feedback like yours because it gives me an idea on what I need to work on. Thanks, I'll definately give her a listen!

---
Quack, Quack, for the love of God, QUACK!

[ Reply to This ]
Elegant !! &mdash 08/31/06 - 03:31:11 AM
elfdaughter this is the most spirited song
I heard how I love this song ..the singin so
amazing ... well done !!

[ Reply to This ]
.. &mdash 04/14/08 - 08:03:58 AM
nice song. reminds of an artist who used to play at a coffee shop i lived near a few years ago.

[ Reply to This ]
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