running on instincts
The funny thing about composing for me is how instinctive it is. You have to rely on your gut, your heart and find a way to turn your brain off and listen to your soul. It's the only way to keep yourself from being formulaic.
When I started this creative binge a few months ago, I was still thinking within the confines of my mind. What rhymes worked together, what notes were "harmonically acceptable" to be played in chords, what rhythm was most appropriate for the type of music I was trying to write. I seldom just let the piano and my heart do the talking. I thought too much.
Now, after a few months of spending inordinate amounts of time with Suzie, my piano, I find myself finding more and more flexibility in my composing. Writing lyrics has become less and less about what I am trying to say, and more about how i am feeling at any given time. Not everything is specifically about anything, but at the same time, I'm not afraid to write about the things I am experiencing.
Example: Circus Clown is very much about my illness. No Re-Entry speaks of concerns I had in not be able to disengage myself from a situation that I believe will end badly. Impossible is a ghost story about a former love. All stories that I would probably not tell anyone else about- the specifics of which I reserve for myself- and yet once I put it to music, it stops being my story and belongs to everyone. The funniest thing is how many people have told me that they "have totally been there" and can "relate" to what I write. And yet I know that each person's experience is unique- no one has ever experienced the same emotions.
I suppose, in essence, that is the ability of music. As Beethoven said (actually, I have no idea if he really said it or not, but Gary Oldman said it, while playing Beethoven in Immortal Beloved and the words struck me as being true) "It is the power of music to carry one directly into the mental state of the composer." Those words become more and more true to me with every song that I write.
My newest song is venture into a very new territory for me. It is far more raw than anything I have ever written. It is the most instinctive. It basically wrote itself. I just typed it out. I am looking forward to perfecting it- and i am so so happy to have the opportunity to explore a very new approach in music.
I used to love singing. I used to love playing. But there is a substancial difference between playing and singing the notes that other people wrote and writing my own. It's exciting. It's liberating. It's vulnerable. I think I like it.
Newest song can be found at www.poetryandpromises.blogspot.com- it's called "Talk To Me". It's definately a little on the risque side. But I kinda like that side of me, so it works out.
Sweet.
Zita
When I started this creative binge a few months ago, I was still thinking within the confines of my mind. What rhymes worked together, what notes were "harmonically acceptable" to be played in chords, what rhythm was most appropriate for the type of music I was trying to write. I seldom just let the piano and my heart do the talking. I thought too much.
Now, after a few months of spending inordinate amounts of time with Suzie, my piano, I find myself finding more and more flexibility in my composing. Writing lyrics has become less and less about what I am trying to say, and more about how i am feeling at any given time. Not everything is specifically about anything, but at the same time, I'm not afraid to write about the things I am experiencing.
Example: Circus Clown is very much about my illness. No Re-Entry speaks of concerns I had in not be able to disengage myself from a situation that I believe will end badly. Impossible is a ghost story about a former love. All stories that I would probably not tell anyone else about- the specifics of which I reserve for myself- and yet once I put it to music, it stops being my story and belongs to everyone. The funniest thing is how many people have told me that they "have totally been there" and can "relate" to what I write. And yet I know that each person's experience is unique- no one has ever experienced the same emotions.
I suppose, in essence, that is the ability of music. As Beethoven said (actually, I have no idea if he really said it or not, but Gary Oldman said it, while playing Beethoven in Immortal Beloved and the words struck me as being true) "It is the power of music to carry one directly into the mental state of the composer." Those words become more and more true to me with every song that I write.
My newest song is venture into a very new territory for me. It is far more raw than anything I have ever written. It is the most instinctive. It basically wrote itself. I just typed it out. I am looking forward to perfecting it- and i am so so happy to have the opportunity to explore a very new approach in music.
I used to love singing. I used to love playing. But there is a substancial difference between playing and singing the notes that other people wrote and writing my own. It's exciting. It's liberating. It's vulnerable. I think I like it.
Newest song can be found at www.poetryandpromises.blogspot.com- it's called "Talk To Me". It's definately a little on the risque side. But I kinda like that side of me, so it works out.
Sweet.
Zita
posted by Zita Dube @ Monday, March 06, 2006
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