Naming the stuff you and your bands do...

[saxgirl9]

So, putting together a group for a gig or a recording I've found is not as hard as naming the compositions you write, or naming the CDs you record. Does anyone have any suggestions for how they name tunes and projects?

It is just kind of ridiculous because we can spend ten minutes writing a tune and 10 hours trying to think of a name for it.

[JASaxman]

I usually always do original work, because I find it a little more exciting. That and I can't screw it up, if know one has heard it before. I do understand where your problelm is. Naming songs, and albums is a little hard. Naming your first album is usually the easiest because its usually self titled. :)

When I'm naming songs, I will usually set a theme for the song, before doing any acutally arranging, that way it will be easier to name later. Or, if your doing a live gig somewhere and your band needs more time to fill, you make somthing up that songs good enough to keep, I will usually name it after something that has happened at that location, or after something someone has said. Its usually a spure of the moment type thing, so I don't know if any advice will be worthwhile to you, but I guess it never hurts to try.

Then again, you could do what some bands do. They close there eyes and flip through the pages of a dictonary, and then stick there finger down on a word. :D

[cleger]

You couls always use the Braxton approach and use symbols to represent your tunes ;) . Although they don't translate well to text so you end up with tunes names listed on AMG like "(840m)-Realize-44M-44M".

[JL]

Somewhere, I heard a good story on this topic. An interviewer asked Charlie Parker where he got the name of one of his tunes. He just shrugged and said something like: "I don't know where the name came from; someone just slaps the names on these tunes after I leave the studio."

[Gregg W. Jackson]

I number my tunes consecutively. If a tune is good enough to play in public, then I give it a name. That way, when someone asks me what the name of the tune is, I don't have to say "138". Of course, most of the people I play with don't remember the name I tell them, and the next time they ask for "that shuffle in E".

[Chris S]

I number my tunes according to date, until (as Gregg mentioned) I deem them worth keeping. So, if I were to write a tune and complete it on April 30th, 2005, it's temp-title would be 043005. If I decide to keep it, I usually name it like JASaxman does. I have a tune named 'Broken Dishes' because one time we were playing at a coffee shop and one of the servers dropped a tray, resulting in.....

Best,
Chris S

[saxgirl9]

I usually always do original work, because I find it a little more exciting. That and I can't screw it up, if know one has heard it before. I do understand where your problelm is. Naming songs, and albums is a little hard. Naming your first album is usually the easiest because its usually self titled. :)

I never want to have a self-titled song or album. I think that it is kind of lame when people can't come up with anything and name it after themselves, no offense to anyone.

When I am in a jam for choosing a name I have two methods.

Method A: Close my eyes and spin around. When I stop and open my eyes, the first thing I see is what I name it after.

Method B: I've always been told to name songs after whatever I was thinking or doing at the time. Musicians must do this a lot, because a lot of songs are named after girls. Haha. :rolleyes:

Anyway, coming up with a title isn't as much of an issue as coming up with a title that doesn't sound stupid is.

[electricninja]

I never want to have a self-titled song or album. I think that it is kind of lame when people can't come up with anything and name it after themselves, no offense to anyone.

I agree, it's extremely lame.

If you have lyrics, the title is easy. Otherwise, do what ALL the jazz greats do, and give it the most random irrelevant retarded name you can think of. If you see someone in the distance dancing around a stick, call your song "Dancing Around A Stick". If you eat at Subway, call your song "Hold The Mayo And Mustard". If you spent time in prison, call your song "Exit Only Please".

Personally, I feel that songs without lyrics deserve serial numbers, not titles. And that's not far off from how classical composers used to do it.

[Chris S]

Personally, I feel that songs without lyrics deserve serial numbers, not titles.

I disagree. I think that a title adds a little something extra. It adds another dimension to the music. Something that reflects what the tune is about (I'm speaking mainly of jazz tunes here, but this could apply to classical music also). How would you view standards differently if they weren't titled? 'So What?' 'St. Thomas' 'Anthropology'

My favorite 'titlers' are Charlie Mingus and Herbie Hancock. With titles like II BS, Haitian Fight Song, Watermelon Man and Yams.... how could you not be intrigued?

And that's not far off from how classical composers used to do it.

I think what you're referring to here are the Opus numbers associated with 'classical' music. Composers didn't assign these numbers, historians did. No composer was vain enough (that I know of) to catalogue his own work. They might have numbered things if they wrote two pieces using the same form that were in the same key (i.e. Symphony No. 1 in C Minor and Symphony No. 89 in C Minor). But even then, most compoers since Bach have named at least some of their pieces (Bach's were generally based on some kind of liturgy, Mozart would name his occasionally - 'The Musical Joke', Beethoven's 3rd Symphony is titled 'Eroica', most (if not all) of Chopin's preludes are titled, etc. etc. etc.)

Anyway, point is, I think a title adds a lot to a tune.

Chris S

[Ritchie]

Keep a list with title suggestions. When you have some spare time, sit down and think about titles which sound cool for a piece of music, and add them to your list. It is not necessary that you have a specific tune in mind when you invent your titles! Titles can be anything from complete nonsense to observations what is happening around you. Or pick some adjectives and nouns at random and put them together, if it sounds good to you, add the combination to your list.

Now when you have a new composition to name, go through your list an pick the title which fits best to the mood and style of the tune. The titel is a part of your composition. When you announce your piece before playing it, the connotations of the words you use set a certain mood for the listener.

Re thesonandall: my favourite Mingus title is Meditations for a pair of wire-cutters

[saxgirl9]

thanks everyone for your input. still having trouble coming up with a name for my cd though!

[electricninja]

thanks everyone for your input. still having trouble coming up with a name for my cd though!

If it's your first CD, use the name of the band. Then the CD becomes an introduction to your music.

[saxgirl9]

My CD ended up being called the title of my favorite track... well song on the CD. So - its called "Angel Eyes"

www.shannon-kennedy.com if you want to check it out.