Entries Tagged 'Passion' ↓

It’s been 6 months since I began writing a song, and I put things on hold while I tried to find the sound in my head that went with the words with which I’d begun.

I put off trying to refine the lyrics because I felt like I needed to strengthen my ability to hear the music that would carry them.

On Friday night, I had a Linkin Park concert playing on TV, and I sat down to try to figure out the piano bit in In The End, and while it’s a simple pattern, I was happy to find that I could find the keys by ear, and was able to play it in a moment or two.  I don’t expect anyone to be impressed by that, but it was an indication to me that I was starting to make some progress matching what was in my ear with what was in my head, and ultimately with the piano keys.

It may not seem like much, but I also found that after I’d gotten the finger movements down for the bit of Brick I shared earlier, that mental practice (I was the guy on the subway “playing” his thigh) improved what came out the next time that I actually sat down at the keyboard.

I’m enjoying the feeling of learning music like a child, getting comfortable at the keyboard, and experimenting in a number of ways.

I’m not going to try recording myself singing yet, but here’s the verse

Like an actor playing me who didn’t get the part,
I wasn’t living my own life, not with all my heart.
Stopped getting wiser with my years, just started gettin’ old,
Tryin’ to figure what went wrong, I found I’d lost my soul.

And here, my friends, is how I’m hearing the music for it now… have a listen…

I’ve spent much of the past 6 months trying to figure out what I do and don’t want my life to be.  Last night, in discussing my progress or lack thereof with a friend, I brought up music as something that I see helping me along.  Saturday, I turned up 80s tunes and sang in my living room, and I could feel the goodness.

I sat back down at the keyboard I’ve mostly been looking at, watched a Youtube video to try to pick up a few chords that went together.  After getting used to playing them the way they were in the video, I naturally started playing with what I later found out was arpeggio — playing the individual notes in a chord separately — and I started to get something that sounded somewhat like No One by Alicia Keys.

I really like finding these things by accident.  My entire life, I’ve learned through experimentation more so than formal training.  Playing music gives an immediate feedback loop, and doing it on a USB keyboard plugged into a PC means that not only can I hear and record, but the software that I’m using (Music Creator 5) has a view called "piano roll" where I can see the notes which I played and I don’t have to rely on my ears alone.

I can’t imagine a better scenario for self-learning.  I just don’t have a clear goal yet.

I think that my next step should be to try to learn a complete song, but I’m not quite sure how to approach it.  I’ve been mostly playing with my right hand, which is something from which I’ll have to move on, but I think that what’s probably best for me to do is to try learning small parts very well, achieve "muscle memory", and then add complexity.  Just like I did with typing.  I no longer look when I type, but I never learned how to use the home row and "touch type".

Another friend went to see Ben Folds last night, so when I spent some time at the keyboard last night, I decided that I would learn the first part of the melody from Brick.

I think I’ve got most of the muscle memory for this bit down pretty well, but I’m not sure if I should move on to other parts, try to get timing and pressure right, or find another song I’m willing to straight-up commit to.

I know the timing and pressure vary within this sample, but even just being able to get to this point so quickly is encouraging.

Here’s what I’ve got so far…

It’s time to move past "testing the waters", though.  I’m desperately searching for a song I can commit to learning in whole, and will stick through simply because I love it.  Of course, it also helps if it was written for piano, and on the simpler side… 

I’m open to recommendations…

Like an actor playing me who didn’t get the part,
I wasn’t living my own life, not with all my heart.
Stopped getting wiser with my years, just started gettin’ old,
Tryin’ to figure what went wrong, I found I’d lost my soul.

It won’t be easy, not at all, but things just couldn’t stay,
I’d die a lonely death inside, it has to be this way.
Moving on I know I do so all by myself,
but there’s a need I have I just can’t put back on the shelf.

I’m doublin’ down.
I’ll take my chances, raise the stakes, givin’ up’s what I can’t take.
I don’t have a master plan, just gonna do the best I can.
Get my body workin’ right, hangin’ out with friends at night.

I need a love I can’t deny, no matter how hard I try,
where we’re seein’ eye-to-eye, naked souls nowhere to hide.

This was my first recent attempt at writing lyrics, as of July 25th.  I’ve continued to edit, but I wonder with later revisions if it began to lose something.  I’m sharing it now as my starting point, and hopefully it will evolve into a full and robust song.

I’ve just begun reading a book on writing song lyrics,  Popular Lyric Writing: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling and I’m already convinced that it’s both confirming what I thought I’d noticed while listening intently to songs, and teaching techniques which will help me bring out what I know that I’ve got inside, to share.

Comments and civil criticisms welcome.

Copyright 2010 Anthony Dante Ortenzi