New Songs

So after the songwriting class, I went home stoked. I wrote a ballad called "This Pain Will Pass" which was a rich piece, but unfornately, a little like bread that is really yeast heavy. So I let that one rest while I whipped up another one based on an object-writing piece I wrote on "spring". It was about forbidden love.

My 14 year old daughter listened to it and she said it was okay. Politely, eyes averted. I asked her which one I should share, this new one called "Secret You and Me" or the first one I wrote from last year called "Wishing on a Star"? She said "Wishing". Which clued me in that maybe this new song wasn't so hot. My husband called the "Secret You and Me" an "affair" song.

So with heart about as heavy as that yeast bread, I set out to write a new set of lyrics. Yesterday, I tweaked it and came up with something I thought was infinitely better. It is a love song (nothing illicit!), "You're Lyric to Melody" which was a lot of fun to write. And I owe it all to my oldest daughter.

She's a great critiquer because she is honest if she doesn't like something. If she squirms then I know I have pushed the envelope. If she says it's good, she means it. She also gives me suggestions of alternate phrases especially to poetry, which she writes.

***
I took my song to a songwriter's critique meeting last night. I just had to go this time if only to redeem myself from the Christmas party.

Right before I performed my new song, I stared at the page thinking I have forgotten it! Fortunately once I started strumming, I remembered. (It was so cool to have my own acoustic-electric guitar to play, and it sounded great!)

The critique: my audience liked the musical metaphors I used. But they said I could vary, take up a notch, the chorus. Someone said she liked the "organic grassy" feel of the song. Mmm, Norah Jones? Colbie Caillat style?

(I felt bad critiquing this one guy about his song, but I guess it is part of being a songwriter, having a thick skin? And I was a little paranoid about sharing my song, especially after the president/host passed around a release form for us to sign we won't sue for plagiarism!, but I guess if someone actually thought my song was brilliant enough to be copied than I am lucky.)

I will take this feedback and revise my song in time for the second and last part of my songwriting workshop Saturday.

My husband calls songwriting my latest obsession. Sigh. Coz it is so true.

First Songwriting Class

I arrived just a few minutes before class started. My classmates were mostly men, with maybe five girls/women out of a total of thirty. What does that say about songwriters? Our instructor had an Irish name and I kept wanting to ask her if she was from Ireland, but I forgot.

I picked a chair with a turquoise-covered notebook, and then switched it at the last minute with a colorful striped one with a purple pencil. I was wearing purple that day, and I don't know why color matters to me so much, but I figured if you are going to go through the day picking things out, you might as well pick things that make you happy.

When I introduced myself, I said I had been in a band before, which I later felt silly doing because, well, what did it matter, really? Especially since some other members of the class later said they were also in bands.

The teacher spent some time talking about her experiences, which were interesting, though I wish she could have said a little bit more about stuff that I could have related to. And then she launched into the technical aspects of songwriting. Here are the major points I learned:

Keep it simple.

Keep it simple.

Keep it simple.

And then we went into object-writing afterwards. She gave us a prompt: mirror. It was like being at the edge of a cliff and diving in. I didn't know exactly what to expect, and I found things that I didn't even know existed! I posted my piece here.

What I learned from object-writing:

Evoke emotion. Someone shared their horror-themed entry, which was cool, but for me it didn't resonate emotionally.

Be specific. My classmates really liked it when I wrote: "It was always dusty and full of stray powders that spilled from the cheap makeup I bought at a store on Katipunan Road."

Use all senses. That is how a scene comes alive.

Bonus: I tried object-writing when I was stuck in my novel, and it forced me to write a scene more vivid than anything I have written lately.

***
Next week, we get to share a song! I am excited/nervous/purple.

My New Baby

I brought home my new Crafter acoustic-electric guitar yesterday. Beautiful, mellow sound and the action is low, which is nice.

My son inherits my Ibanez guitar. I told him he can play it whenever he wants. He says, "I will, but probably not all the time."

It'll be interesting to see if he becomes interested in the guitar. I hope so.