Sunday, January 11, 2015

Songwriting is a Game of Recovery

My dad, Dr. Leonard Olguin, often applied a version of the above aphorism to various human endeavors. He would say, "Hearts is a game of recovery," or "Driving is a game of recovery," usually when things were looking particularly bleak. So, I got a rough start with this project, finishing the first song already a day behind schedule. Well, perhaps my songwriting chops are getting warmed up or perhaps my greatly improving physical condition has cleared up my brain, but whatever the case, I just finished writing Song #2, three days AHEAD of schedule!

What I'm finding particularly interesting about the process of this project is that the songs have been very persistent in their calling to me. They have gotten smart about it. They always ask me to simply come and spend some time with them. No big goals. No pressure. Next thing I know, I've finished another "A" or I've worked out the harmony and melody for the "B." I had hoped to go to bed tonight with a solid first draft of the three "A" sections. I was there by 7:00. I took a break and took a stab at the "B." The lyrics flowed out pretty sweetly. Working out the music to the "B" took some time and effort, but there was no agony, no self-doubt. By 10:00, the song was finished.

One of my goals for the project is to get people to start thinking differently about creativity, songs and songwriting. For this song, I invited the folks following on Facebook to contribute some rhyming pairs of things that they liked. The response was rich and bountiful. I used one of the pairs for the wind-up of the "B!" I especially love when people are willing to play along!

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