Hear the Music

I am frequently asked the question, “Where does the music come from?” and “Which happens first, the lyrics or the melody?”

The music first comes to me in Silence.  A silence of thoughts, commotion and interference.  When my mind isn’t on other “things” I can tune into the music around me-- my footsteps, an airplane passing, the buzzing of an electric line, the chirping of crickets.  Somewhere amidst this cacophony of buzzes and beats lives an organic melody.  I can be lying in bed half asleep or on a morning jog.  When something comes to me, I tune in a little more.... is it a keeper?  I hum it again and again until it plugs.  I record it on my phone because these little gifts are easy come, easy go.

Sometimes I hear the lyrics first-- these tend to be triggered by something someone says/does (usually children!) or by an emotion I may be feeling.  I may be reminded of something I felt in my more formative years and I happen upon it like a buried treasure.  “Gadzooks!” and if I am smart, I write it down and develop it over time.

The music and lyrics rarely happen at the same time.  Mostly I get excited by a concept first and then work on a melody that I feel represents the mood of the lyrics.  How would something sound if it was bouncing?  How can I portray a cowboy riding into space?  When it comes time to record it, I share it with my band and we bring it to life.

We all have music in our lives-- our children’s laughter, the pitter patter of feet, a thunderstorm.  We tend to block it out with other noises.  It’s hard to shut off the Super Ego and embrace the Now-- we are just too busy to hear anything.  I have a friend who is suffering from cancer.  She has no choice but to rest and let her kids play in the yard.  Ironically, her children are creative geniuses because they have time to tune into their natural rhythm but that’s a whole ‘nother Blog...