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bamboonews gigs 06.15.09 |
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jibber jabber once upon a time.................. you fill in the blank. i sometimes start there with a student i'm pushing to write music. they sometimes act dazed and bemused about how to wrap their heads around the idea of creating a song from thin air. some mighty fine musicians spend a life of dedication to perfecting their game but never write a tune. some would say there is no need to write a new song as everything has been said...every turn has been copied a zillion times...the beatles ended time and space by using up everything else. there's nothing new. some days...i would ascribe to that notion. 4 days a week i sit next to a boom box with a guitar in my hand writing out progressions...notating voicings...counting unconsciously...keeping track of the format. some days...it's all predictable cake. my students think i'm awesome because they don't yet 'hear' what i hear and don't realize each tune is shouting the same information at me....sometimes tune after tune...cd after cd. i never really listen to lyrics....as both singers i duet with will attest.....but i do lock in on melody, phrasing, and technique. all that means is i'm burning brain calories focusing on a broad part of the tune spectrum...if you will......and try to 'take it all in' in one big gulp. songwiters will tell you all their tricks and everyone has a bundle of them. start with the emotion....hey dude it's the story....why i always get the progression first....not me it's always melody while i'm driving....i was running over some speed bumps and i 'heard' this idea for a song.....my heart was broken and i needed to write this. everyone gets to it from a different...yet much the same way. i work with some super writers....dabble in it myself....have many students who figure it out and bring new life to the world through their interpritation of reality via music. point is...to all of you who have thought about it.....just do it ( insert nike 'swoosh' logo here). stop procrastinating and make up a song. make it goofy, sad, or angry but write one. one of the buttons that got pushed to write about this was an experience i had recently with a student. she came in a few weeks ago....we shot the breeze...she told me about school and life....she ate a snickers or two while chatting for a few moments. she always tells me she needs a snack at that time of day. as we tuned and got ready to crank it up she told me she had written a song and wanted to play it for me. she opened a notebook and had all the lyrics written down over two pages....sat it up on the music stand. she told me it was called "dance girlfriend"....then hit it. I dropped my head and listened as i always do trying to take in a bunch of musical things about the students tune...arrangement...melody, etc. somewhere around the bridge i was sold. after the bridge there was a 'break down' chorus then the romp of the double chorus and the end. my measurement is always, 'does it sound like music?' and for sure it sounded like music. a lot like a radio tune....flushed out..thought out...performed, played and sung right before my ears and eyes. after that happens i always think about what just happened and what i need to say in response to what just went down. i looked up into the eyes of an 8 year old girl with a pink acoustic guitar who had just blown me away because of the tune and because she's 8. sometimes kids will try things because they don't have enough history to judge themselves and franky could care less...hey it's a new experience and they let it fly. no pre-judging themselves and certainly no low self esteem.....no emotional stunting baggage from the past to thwart the progress of being in the moment and writing a song from scratch start to finish....break down chorus and all. nice hook in the chorus. yea...she's 8. so what can she teach me....and all the other writers and aspiring songwriters out there struggling to get one down on tape.......don't think.....just do it....swoosh!! once upon a time......................pick a musical style for the background of your mental 'video' and be the director for awhile....see what comes up.
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picture this represents a visual side of this musical life i get to lead. i was 19 and traveling in new york state with a band and decided that taking some photos was important....if for no reason but to validate some story's when i became an old man. the places i get to go..the people i get to work with...the beauty and oddness of life i get to experience would all sound like tales of a crazy man without something concrete. maybe it was just to keep my own memory's fresh and clear rather than re-writing them hundreds of times in my mind. the camera takes a split second of time and places it on a slide to be viewed in detail. it can be like smelling a scent that sends a flush of thoughts around your brain...like the coffee brewing right now downstairs. so the section is to bring back some memory's and share some new ones. it's a chance to give you a glimpse into some cool folks around here who play music day in and day out....some who are only starting life's journey as musicians and some who will just have music and art around them all their life. get your camera out and charged up and document the fun you have this summer. don't take 10,000 shots from arms length of yourself to put on your face book.....turn that camera around and view the world you live in.....share your thoughts and life with your friends and never think a shot looks stupid......let someone else decide that. if it's trash it's trash but if someone go's..'oohh' save it for a rainy day when you need a 'lift'. the picture this opens with photos by paul cooper.....he shot the adult showcase we did in may. paul is my photo guru and without his encouragement i certainly wouldn't be as far along with this aspect of my creative life. after that section it life as usual and i hope you enjoy my version of my life over the past 45 days or so. now get a muffin and some green tea and settle down to view picture this.
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