I started a brand new song, donno exactly, maybe an hour ago. The lyric is shaping up nicely, and the melody for the refrain is set, and set down. Even got the last part of the coda roughed out. Only thing left is, hm,mm, what do you call that? The main melody? The bit in between, that isn’t refrain. You know what I mean. Too tired and too high to care a whole lot if I’m making sense.
I’ve worked it out, and this is the first song I’ve written in some six years. I’ve noodled around, kicked around melody ideas, but this is the first real song. For me, the lyric usually comes first, and the melody follows quickly, or at least parts of it. So it was this time. I had the rough lyric in about five minutes. As I refined it, the refrain melody slowly took shape in another layer of my mind, so to speak, until it was defined enough to start setting down. Then there was some logistical stuff with Cakewalk, the antiquated but excellent music software I use (recommended to me many years ago by none other than Fred Schendle of Glass Hammer) as t how to copy and paste just the music so I could put the refrain melody in with each occurrence of the words. And, by the time I’d sorted that out, I had the very end. As to the remaining blank spots, I’m not worried. There may be an existing fragment I can shape. If not, the bits I need will come. They usually do. And, I have a really good feeling about this song. The way it flowed felt so right, so wonderful.
I don’ know if it uses different muscles or what, but songwriting is very different from writing prose or, curiously, even poetry. The flow is different; the feel is different. I haven’t experienced the particular kind of creative expression in so long that I’d almost forgotten what it feels like. But, it’s one of those things that comes right back. And it sure feels great!
The working title is "Music to My Heart," and I think it's going to stick. Seems pretty solid.
ReplyDeleteMusic seems to take place in a different place in the brain than language does. If someone has a left hemi stroke, and is having language difficulties, they can sometimes *sing* what they can't *say*. . . .
ReplyDeleteInteresting.
ReplyDeleteOn a smaller scale, my voice teacher in Washington told me that people with a stutter, even a very severe one, can usually sing with no problem.
And, of course, music also stirs, moves, people differently than language, or unaccompanied language. Maybe that's why music is so closely connected with religious rituals of various kinds.
And, of course, everyone knows that the right music is an essential part of a romantic evening. *grin*
Gee, Puddle, I'm really glad you made that observation. Thanks.