When "life" sometimes gets crazy....

I've been silent for a few weeks..."life got crazy."

Well, that's a normal state of affairs, but this was crazier-than-usual, with health issues / surgery for my husband (who is normally incredibly healthy) - so, I've been in caregiver mode.

Sometimes when things like this happen, it's all you can do to "just hang on." Yet seeds still get planted, and your Creative Self stores away things for a more fertile time.

In the meantime, I came across something today I'd like to share. This came to me via the ASCAP Daily Brief (powered by The Dean's List). This is an excellent email newsletter, written by Dean Kay and available via ASCAP (www.ascap.com). The newsletter gives links to music news and articles; in this case, an article on musicians and social networking and a reference to (and interesting comment by) songwriter Leonard Cohen:

"In the magnificent volume Songwriters On Songwriting, in which Paul Zollo interviews legendary songwriters about their craft, Leonard Cohen describes his creative process: "It takes me months and months of full employment to break the code of the song ... I try everything to ignore it, try to repress it, try to get high, try to get intoxicated, try to get sober, all the versions of myself that I can summon are summoned to participate in this project, this work force." He proceeds with a tale of how it took him a decade to write Anthem, offering detailed explanations as to why he chose one word over another....

from http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/sep/23/music-social-networking-promotion-blogs

Something to chew on....

But…what if what I write is garbage?

Well, that’s a matter of opinion, isn’t it? I usually get frustrated with my own songs, so I know how THAT feels.

Keep this very important thing in mind: Not every song (or song fragment) that you write will be what you consider good. Nor will every song you write even be finished.

If you dismiss it before you’ve halfway written it, however, you’re not giving it (or yourself) a chance at all.

The critic/editor inside of our heads is our own worst enemy – far, far more vicious than Simon Cromwell could ever be. This Critic is going to be screaming its head off when you head down this road.

Know what?

The louder it screams, the closer you are to reaching a new and better level in your songwriting.

Unfortunately, this Critic causes the abandonment of many a fine song, and the disillusionment of many a songwriter. Write in spite of it.

Know these very important facts:

There are many, many songs inside of you; an infinite amount.

Some are better than others. You will write all kinds – great ones, sucky ones, mediocre ones, and Oh-my-God-where-did-THAT-come-from?

You will have good days (and weeks and months) and bad days (and weeks and months). Just keep writing.

Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way (and many other wonderful books on creativity), puts it this way: “Just show up at the page.” If heeded, this single concept will help you tremendously.

Another concept that she discusses in her books is that God is the Ultimate Artist – and artists love other artists. God didn’t make just a few flowers; God said “Wheeee! This is fun!!! Let’s make MORE!” and got started with pansies, tulips, roses, buttercups, lilies, and….well….you get the picture.

The Creative Source is endless. It is always there to be tapped. The more you write, the wider your own creative channel becomes – and the more songs you will be writing. Some may be the roses, some may be the ragweed.

Judge not. Write on.

Stirring the Creative Pot 1

Where do these ideas come from? What’s the story?

Take a look and listen to songs you know (and what you like). For some, songwriting is telling a story in a song. That’s how I see it – yes, there are people and companies creating rhythms and dance mixes and grooves and so on. Sometimes they tell a story – a very, very simple one.

I don’t think that every piece of music, every song, must have lyrics. Have a listen to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, for instance. There’s a story there, and it moves me to tears though I’ve been listening to it for decades. My interpretation of the story might be different from yours, but there is a story there.

Rod Stewart said “every picture tells a story, don’t it?” (Well, he wasn’t the first, but that’s besides the point). Every song tells a story. It might not be a traditional “folk song story,” but it’s still a story, and very often the story is told with an economy of words, and an economy of chords. Etta James sang “I Would Rather Go Blind” in a two-chord progression (I – ii) (which is C – D minor if you’re in C) and mopped the floor with us. “I would rather go blind…than to see you walk away from me.”

Next time you listen to a song, ask yourself “what’s the story here?” It may seem obvious, but thinking about it gets you to thinking about song construction.

Sometimes I’ve decided to write a song about a certain topic, and sometimes the song idea just hits me and it pours out. The thing about songwriting is that there’s no real “right” or “wrong” way to get started. There are certain things in crafting the song that make it more accessible to listeners, and I’ll be covering those over time as well. But for now, listen for the stories in the songs you like, and keep writing your own.

That Ancient Chinese Ritual...tu-ning.

Groan. Sorry. Bad musician joke. There’s tons of info online about how to tune your guitar…but every once in a while, someone asks me about it. (There are also tons of bad musician jokes online as well.) So, here are some tips and resources….

First of all…there are a lot of different tunings. Yep. And no, you don’t have to learn ‘em. After you’ve been playing for a bit, you can have fun exploring them (and that’s great fuel for songwriting…hey, isn’t that what this blog is supposed to be about?). But for now, start with EADGBE. Standard tuning. You can stay there as long as you like. You can either hike on down to your Locally Owned Music Store (or, lacking that, your local mega-mart might have something along these lines) and purchase a pitch pipe (cheapie, but does the job) or an electronic tuner (more costly, requires batteries, also does the job.) Got a piano or electronic keyboard handy? You have a tuner. Start with E below middle C, then A, then D (right above middle C), G, B, and the next E.

Or, included in the price of your monthly DSL or cable, find an online guitar tuner!

www.onlineguitartuner.com , http://www.gieson.com/Library/projects/utilities/tuner/ , http://www.guitarforbeginners.com/onlinetuner.html ,
To name a few. There are many great sites out there to get you going! This blog is to be about songwriting and creativity, and I’ve spent several posts writing about making guitar playing easier for a beginner (or “re-beginner.”)

The reason for that…if you have to fight with the tools of songwriting, it interferes with the creative process. And while you don’t need a guitar to write music (your instrument might be piano, or violin, or voice, or banjo, or hurdy-gurdy, or whatever), it is always a good thing to have additional instruments, even if you just “play around” with them. This is because it nudges your brain in a slightly different direction.

Brain nudges. Might be time to take a break from the guitar info and foray into the world of Brain Nudges and Stirring the Creative Pot.

Capo: Putting the squeeze on it

Capo: A capo, or, rarely, capo tasto (from Italian capo, "head" and tasto, "tie or fret") is a clamp-like device used on the neck of a stringed instrument to shorten the strings, hence raising the pitch. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capo)

Wikipedia says it well, but they don’t mention that capos can be your best friend when you are learning to play (and beyond). (Actually, the Italians said it first, and no one can talk about music the way Italians can! Accelerando, mio tesoro! Or something like that.)

So far, I’ve talked about string gauge and action (or string height). The more tension in the strings, the more pressure required to press ‘em down accurately (so that you get a clear sound)…and after a bit, the more pain - until you get used to it.

A capo is one more tool that can bring the strings closer to the fretboard. You can do this whether or not you had the action lowered.

Just one thing…you’ll notice that the capo raises the pitch when you use it. That’s its primary purpose. Each fret = one-half step; capo 1 (capo at the first fret) will raise a C to a D#; capo 2 (at the second fret) will raise a C to a D. (If this doesn’t make sense, don’t worry about it right now. Whatever you do, don’t stop playing!)

Now…if you really want to Be Kind To Your Fingers, get some light electric strings on your acoustic guitar, have someone lower the action (or not), tune the strings DOWN one-half step and then capo at the first fret. Your guitar will probably sound a bit weird, but you will be able to play for quite a while without pain!

Seriously, you probably WON’T need to do ALL of that. But you can if you need to! The long and short of it is…do whatever you have to do to make it easy to play if you are just starting out (or if you haven’t played in a while, and have, as a friend of mine says, “soft fingers.”)

Tuning. Ah, yes, tuning. Until next time --

Making it work so it doesn’t hurt: Guitars

I had a guitar when I was 14. My grandparents loved to travel, and would take road trips to El Paso and come back with treasures galore – silver jewelry, leather handbags, etc. On one visit, they brought me a guitar! I was in heaven!

I was also taking piano lessons at the time, twice a week, so that pretty effectively squelched the thought of guitar lessons. No matter, I thought, I have songbooks that have guitar chord diagrams.

Now, this guitar had The Strings From Hell. You know, the kind that slice your fingertips to ribbons. So, after some months of fighting it, I gave up.

Do you know how many times I have heard a variation on this story from someone? I’ve heard it 3 times just this past week! There are an awful lot of lonely guitars out there, and just as many frustrated musicians-at-heart who feel like “well, music’s just not for me.” ARGH!

There are things you can do to make it easier to play – other than buying a new guitar. You see, if it hurts, you won’t play it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Wal Mart guitar or a Martin guitar; you won’t play it.

“We bought her/him a guitar for Christmas, but s/he never plays it!” If you’re saying that about your child, ask your child if it hurts. Or maybe it’s you who wants to play, but it hurts. Good news: There are several things you can do to make it easier.

The String’s the Thing. I’m going to assume that your guitar is an acoustic (hollow body, no amp needed). Most people start with an acoustic.

Guitar strings come in gauges ranging from extra-light to heavy. They also come in “Acoustic” and “Electric” variety. There are many other variations as well, such as steel, bronze, bronze wound, micro-treated, phosphor bronze, etc. Don’t worry about these right now.

Why different gauges? Different tastes, and the type and gauge make a difference in the tone. But if you don’t learn how to play first, what the heck difference does TONE make?

(In my mind’s ear, I now hear a chorus of guitar-slingers gasp and faint over my last statement. Sacrificing sacred tone? Oh, NO! Yeah, right, get over yourself.)

In general, we refer to string gauges in terms of light, extra light, etc. or as “tens,” “elevens,” and so on. That number refers to the gauge of the first (lightest gauge) string (each string will be of a different gauge).

Right now, I’m looking at a set of “Custom Light” (Phosphor Bronze) for acoustic, 1st string is .011. I also have a set of “Extra Light Gauge” 80/20 Bronze Wound for acoustic, and the 1st string is .010.

To make life simple, we can refer to these as “acoustic, elevens” and “acoustic, tens.” The lower the number, the thinner the string, the lighter the gauge. Again, don’t worry about the “bronze wound” or “phosphor bronze.”

Of course, if you go into your locally owned music store and ask for “acoustic tens” they might think you know a lot about this and say something like “coated or not?” At this point, you shrug, try and look cool, and buy the lightest gauge at the cheapest price. Once you are playing more, you can join the guitar-slinger-string-discussions on coated strings, but for now, don’t worry about it.

GET THE LIGHTEST GAUGE. Don’t assume that “starter guitar” is really set up for beginning players.

In fact, you can get ELECTRIC strings for your acoustic guitar. Why? Because electric strings come in even lighter gauges, and will be even easier on your fingers. Ahhhh, relief.

You might hear “you’re gonna mess up the neck” or “it’s not gonna sound right.” However, this is a temporary thing. Having electric strings on your acoustic for a few months before you move up to light gauge acoustic strings is not going to damage your guitar. If it's a rare vintage breed that's finicky, I’d suggest you switch to another instrument for learning and have a good, trustworthy guitar tech give that baby a tune-up.

As for tone, yes, it will sound a bit more “twangly,” but you are doing this in order to make learning easy. So what?

You could get a set of electric extra lights (or super lights) which would be nines. (The lightest gauge string in the set is .009). Put these on your acoustic guitar and your fingers will love you. Tone be damned, you’ll be playing.

In addition, you can use a capo on the guitar, and / or have a guitar tech lower the action.

Huh? OK, that’ll be the next post.