In the Beginning...

I have wanted to get a blog going for years, but have always felt that I didn't have the time. Now that I am done University, I have been working on neglected projects. Digging through old lyric sheets and music journals, I have found a lot of musical and literary material from years past. These old projects will take up most of my time and efforts for a while, and will comprise the bulk of the content on this site for a good while.

When I sit down to write a song, I usually play around on my guitar, and wait til something comes to me. Sometimes it will be a series of chords, or a melody. Once in a while, though, it will be a melody with lyrics that I cannot detach from the melody. Even when the words don't necessarily make sense, or fit with the rest of the song that I wish to write, I cannot find any other words that seem right for that melody. I have learned that when this happens, I shouldn't fight the musical instinct to use those words.

The song that I am working on right now, entitled 'Damage Control,' is a combination of two separate musical ideas which had some embedded lyrics. Neither song was going anywhere, until I realized that they could fit together fairly well. Pairing them was the key to finishing the song writing process. I was unhappy with either piece on its own, and couldn't seem to change the lyrics without offending some internal musical sensibility. But they felt right in combination, so I went with it. The recording is almost done, but I still have to finish the glockenspiel part, and perhaps edit the organ part as well. I will post it here once I have it finished.