I have taken a break from songwriting recently. We (my husband and I) have been working on some cover songs with a friend on drums. Our sole purpose is to play the drummer's wife's birthday party in August, but I think we might consider playing a local venue for fun.
It's always amazing to me that I can work on a cover, particularly if it's one I never imagined doing, and get so much out of it. I never bothered learning certain songs because they only have 3 or 4 chords and are over played, but as I'm learning them I come across new voicings, new rhythms, etc. Things I had never thought of before. I might never play these songs again, but I know they are being retained in the musical part of my brain and will manifest themselves when I am working on something new. I think being narrow minded (only listening to one style of music) will keep you from pushing forward, keep you from opening up your creative world.
It's also a reminder that some songs were huge hits for a reason. How many times have we all heard "That'll Be the Day" by Buddy Holly? But you learn it and try playing it at the same tempo with the same feel/energy! True, it might not be a concerto or symphony, but there is something real there.
I'm hoping that when I get back to my songs I will have some fresh ideas. I am itching to perform so badly. I just have to force myself to make it happen.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Song Obsession
'real love' -john lennon
I've been obsessed with this song lately. So simple and yet so beautiful. It sucks me in and I can't get it out of my head.
Have a new song 3/4 of the way finished. Needs some more lyrics and arranging. The other song is stuck in limbo as often happens. It's funny because I thought it was the one that would stand out. They take on a life of their own and surprise you sometimes.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I am reminded this week that songwriting requires my 'songwriting muscles' to be in shape. I need a good 2 hours to practice, run through old songs, then start the pieces of the new songs. I have been writing 2 new songs (in true Rachel fashion) that could mesh together. But the more I add to each the more they take on a life of their own. One is a song I started a year or so ago that never really went anywhere. The other is newer, based on similar chord structure, but a very different subject and ultimately a different sound.
My more recent songs are an attempt at creating something that sounds deceptively simple, but has depth or detail that keeps you hanging on. Something that is smooth and easy to listen to, but has unexpected turns that keep you on edge. It is a fine line. Simplicity can be beautiful, but it can also be boring (redundant, bland, trite, etc. etc.) But look at Ode to Joy. Everyone knows that melody. Think of the scene in Immortal Beloved when Ode to Joy is playing at the end. I cry every time! So simple, yet so deep. That comes from a deeper place.
Lyrics are hard to come by these days, but I am hopeful. They always seem to drop out the air when I least expect them. Usually when I have been playing a song and getting into what I think of as the "runner's high". That place where endorphins kick in and your are just floating in that creative place. Hard to do with children, housework, part time work....but I'm trying to make time.
You can now be my fan on facebook. How self indulgent is that? My husband says it's just marketing, but I feel bad about it....I forget that no one values humility anymore. So in an attempt to be more confident - be my facebook fan!
My more recent songs are an attempt at creating something that sounds deceptively simple, but has depth or detail that keeps you hanging on. Something that is smooth and easy to listen to, but has unexpected turns that keep you on edge. It is a fine line. Simplicity can be beautiful, but it can also be boring (redundant, bland, trite, etc. etc.) But look at Ode to Joy. Everyone knows that melody. Think of the scene in Immortal Beloved when Ode to Joy is playing at the end. I cry every time! So simple, yet so deep. That comes from a deeper place.
Lyrics are hard to come by these days, but I am hopeful. They always seem to drop out the air when I least expect them. Usually when I have been playing a song and getting into what I think of as the "runner's high". That place where endorphins kick in and your are just floating in that creative place. Hard to do with children, housework, part time work....but I'm trying to make time.
You can now be my fan on facebook. How self indulgent is that? My husband says it's just marketing, but I feel bad about it....I forget that no one values humility anymore. So in an attempt to be more confident - be my facebook fan!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
The dreaded 'WALL'
I always tell my students to expect to hit a wall that they will have to work work to break through. Often times they progress quickly in the beginning, then they hit some more advanced rhythm and bam! they're stuck. They can't play the song with the same amount of effort that the previous songs required. They must push themselves to a new level, connect new parts of their brain that have never connected before. After you break through the wall the new technique you learned seems simple and you wonder what made it so hard.
I feel like musicianship and songwriting is full of these walls. I have broken through most of them with the passion of youth. I didn't have to work so hard to get through as I do now. Now I hit a wall and get what I call writer's block. I have written songs using my new skills, pushed myself, now what? I have no desire to just write the same song with new words or slightly varied chords. I hear SO MANY SONGS and I think, that sounds like 1,000 songs I've heard before. I want my songs to musically lead your ear (and heart, and maybe mind) to a new place. I want you to be surprised by what comes next, but not bothered by it. I want it to feel familiar or identifiable, but not redundant.
I am now brushing up my chord knowledge and improvisation skills. I used to feel like my instinct was enough, but through the years I've realized it isn't. There are more avenues I haven't been down. I don't utilize augmented chords. I don't know what mode of scale goes best over what chord. I have stumbled upon these things and developed some good habits (and I'm sure some not so good ones) but I believe that to push deeper into songwriting as art I need to have a good, or better yet great, grasp of it's foundations.
Basically I've hit a wall that is bigger than any I've come across before. I feel like I don't really have the time to work through it. That depresses me. I feel like I am either on the precipice of artistic death or the edge of an ocean of artistic discovery. Do I have the power to choose?
I am also constantly frustrated with the limits of my voice. That deserves it's own blog. I can't really change it, but I think I can learn to bring out it's good qualities. Or learn to live it.
I feel like musicianship and songwriting is full of these walls. I have broken through most of them with the passion of youth. I didn't have to work so hard to get through as I do now. Now I hit a wall and get what I call writer's block. I have written songs using my new skills, pushed myself, now what? I have no desire to just write the same song with new words or slightly varied chords. I hear SO MANY SONGS and I think, that sounds like 1,000 songs I've heard before. I want my songs to musically lead your ear (and heart, and maybe mind) to a new place. I want you to be surprised by what comes next, but not bothered by it. I want it to feel familiar or identifiable, but not redundant.
I am now brushing up my chord knowledge and improvisation skills. I used to feel like my instinct was enough, but through the years I've realized it isn't. There are more avenues I haven't been down. I don't utilize augmented chords. I don't know what mode of scale goes best over what chord. I have stumbled upon these things and developed some good habits (and I'm sure some not so good ones) but I believe that to push deeper into songwriting as art I need to have a good, or better yet great, grasp of it's foundations.
Basically I've hit a wall that is bigger than any I've come across before. I feel like I don't really have the time to work through it. That depresses me. I feel like I am either on the precipice of artistic death or the edge of an ocean of artistic discovery. Do I have the power to choose?
I am also constantly frustrated with the limits of my voice. That deserves it's own blog. I can't really change it, but I think I can learn to bring out it's good qualities. Or learn to live it.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Dueling Banjo's
My whole life I have struggled with which instrument I should predominantly play. I started on violin and still love it, but let's face it, you've never really seen a great singer-songwriter singing along with his or her violin. My mom taught me basic piano as a child and we had a child size guitar that we beat up. At 11 or 12 I began getting interested in both. I love the versatility and portability of guitar, but I am no where near as good as I need to be to really play guitar. As with the violin I've felt like I reach a certain point that I can't get past. I'm pretty good, but not great. Piano came along and I fell in love. I can see how the chords work together, I can feel with my hand the different shapes that create the sound I'm looking for. I still feel like there is so much I can learn, but I feel like it's within my ability.
I get personal enjoyment and satisfaction from playing multiple instruments, but on the other hand there is the disappointment at not being a virtuoso at any of them.
Yesterday I got out my violin and played for an hour or two (while children ran around my feet breaking stuff and crying) and it was absolutely awesome. In the end though, I felt guilty that I just spent hours doing something that leads me nowhere. I get so much from it emotionally, but that's it. My house is still messy and my bank account is still empty. Again, it's the endless struggle of gaining a normal life and losing myself in the meantime. If I appear put together it's only because I have sold myself down the river to be 'normal'.
I'm not sure where this post was supposed to go. It is what it is.
I get personal enjoyment and satisfaction from playing multiple instruments, but on the other hand there is the disappointment at not being a virtuoso at any of them.
Yesterday I got out my violin and played for an hour or two (while children ran around my feet breaking stuff and crying) and it was absolutely awesome. In the end though, I felt guilty that I just spent hours doing something that leads me nowhere. I get so much from it emotionally, but that's it. My house is still messy and my bank account is still empty. Again, it's the endless struggle of gaining a normal life and losing myself in the meantime. If I appear put together it's only because I have sold myself down the river to be 'normal'.
I'm not sure where this post was supposed to go. It is what it is.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Social scenes/Networking
I have basically given up any hope of having a successful performing career. Any attempt to 'get gigs/shows' has only resulted in my recoiling from the pressure of the scene. I don't mind meeting people or making friends. I DO mind the fact that that is ALL that music has become, or maybe ever was to most people. I am not intending to sound like some elitist that assumes I am better than others and don't 'need' them, but I don't believe the two are inherently linked.
In history think back to great artists. Many of them were antisocial and saw no recognition in their own time. Many of them died lonely and despondent. I neither think of myself as such an artist, nor do I want that future (or lack thereof) for myself. I desire satisfaction of some kind. At the same time I am afraid that satisfaction in life squanders the passion that fuels art. Maybe I really am a self saboteur, as I've been called. There is no winning. Of course there isn't!
Is it practical to spend the majority of your time and energy 'networking' (read:partying)? I would much rather sit at home alone playing and writing music, then on a semi-regular basis performing that music for people who appreciate it. Not for people who only appreciate fashion and live their lives in worship of the 'underground'. I always joke, 'Hey, I'm as underground as it gets!'.
I admit this is mostly a bitch fest. I work hard on my music and put a lot of thought into it. I just want it to be appreciated or at least noticed. Then again, I'd have to 'put myself out there' and succumb to the social networking black hole where no one wins and everyone is the next best thing...for 5 minutes. I just know it's not in me, and it never will be.
"on a beautiful day, in the finest of ways,
the most perfect dream can fail me.
and all my ideals
spill.
it's hopeless it seems, to bust at the seams
to build all your dreams
just to burn them.
when I haven't the smile
or strength to upload these lies.
it proves to me
exactly what I should be.
an unfinished ghost, who conquered the most
and undid the failures of lesser ghosts
he visited me, he answered my plea
he said "if anything's free, it's endeavor.
just don't forget the damages you'll inflict.
so shield your eyes
from the stars
the money
the guise."
Another link for my own sake.
In history think back to great artists. Many of them were antisocial and saw no recognition in their own time. Many of them died lonely and despondent. I neither think of myself as such an artist, nor do I want that future (or lack thereof) for myself. I desire satisfaction of some kind. At the same time I am afraid that satisfaction in life squanders the passion that fuels art. Maybe I really am a self saboteur, as I've been called. There is no winning. Of course there isn't!
Is it practical to spend the majority of your time and energy 'networking' (read:partying)? I would much rather sit at home alone playing and writing music, then on a semi-regular basis performing that music for people who appreciate it. Not for people who only appreciate fashion and live their lives in worship of the 'underground'. I always joke, 'Hey, I'm as underground as it gets!'.
I admit this is mostly a bitch fest. I work hard on my music and put a lot of thought into it. I just want it to be appreciated or at least noticed. Then again, I'd have to 'put myself out there' and succumb to the social networking black hole where no one wins and everyone is the next best thing...for 5 minutes. I just know it's not in me, and it never will be.
"on a beautiful day, in the finest of ways,
the most perfect dream can fail me.
and all my ideals
spill.
it's hopeless it seems, to bust at the seams
to build all your dreams
just to burn them.
when I haven't the smile
or strength to upload these lies.
it proves to me
exactly what I should be.
an unfinished ghost, who conquered the most
and undid the failures of lesser ghosts
he visited me, he answered my plea
he said "if anything's free, it's endeavor.
just don't forget the damages you'll inflict.
so shield your eyes
from the stars
the money
the guise."
Another link for my own sake.
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