This I Believe
Music has always been a big part of my life, from youth to the present. It fascinates me. From a song, one takes away much more than just the sum of the individual parts. There is near infinite meaning in the way the song is structured, worded, and sung. And, all of this meaning is just waiting to be decoded and understood. Now, as I grow older, I have become not only a listener but also a writer. Looking at music from this new perspective changes the way I view music continually, and writing has begun to alter the way I look at the world, as well. From singing The Beatles in my toddler days, to writing songs in the present, music has been crucial to my development as a person.
From a young age, I loved music, and was always singing a song to myself, the pleasure of the people around me, I might add. In seventh grade, I started playing the guitar. I stuck with it and on the way picked up the bass guitar, piano, and I can get by on trumpet and drums. My motivation for learning how to play the guitar was at first small. I took lessons mostly because my mother wanted me to. But as I learned, it became so much more. I was able to bring to life words and symbols on a page in a book. I felt useful. I felt talented. I felt like I finally had a talent in life, and people (at least my parents) were willing to listen. As time went by, I got better and better. I started to understand how songs were structured and written; I began to write my own songs. This was probably the single most important step in my musical career. Writing was the meaningful application of my limited musical skill. Before, I was a musician. With this leap, I became an artist. Well, at least in my mind. Self-expression like never before was now at my fingertips. As a naturally shy kid, I didn’t talk much about my feelings. But, with a song, all that I needed were some chords and a melody, and I could say whatever I wanted to communicate. If something was bothering me, I could sing about it. I could get the idea off of my chest and into the air, which was a process of reflection in and of itself. Writing allowed me to find myself, the ideas I liked expressing, the melodies I liked to create. Everything about the songs I was writing was a reflection and extension of me. And, writing with other people in the bands I was in, while similar to writing solo, allowed joint expression and communication, leading to interesting sounds that would be impossible alone. Now, several years later, my views have evolved even further.
I view each song as a package. The package contains several components: chord structure, rhythm, melody, harmony, and lyric. Depending on the style of song, this package will be easier or harder to understand. A good pop song (the pop of the 60s and 70s, not so much today), to me, is the epitome of a well packaged song. It so tightly knits all components of the song, that one doesn’t even notice all of the mingling parts. The song just comes across as a singular unit, a tidy, packaged message. While other bands have certainly written fantastic songs, I still believe that The Beatles did it best. In my mind, their songs express “truth.” The different elements of the song all belong together and with each other make the song what it is. The Beatles have been my role models as far as song writing goes. Though it is a lofty goal to write like they did, it gives me something to work at. I have learned several instruments to create more interesting sounds. I can weave my own personal experience and modern musical influences, and their classic, catchy style of song. When I write a song that I feel comes close to speaking “truth,” it is very rewarding. I feel accomplished in that I have created a package that someone else can listen to and quickly enjoy and understand. While there are hidden meanings in the lyrics of any song, I tend to think that a good song’s ideas are easily accessible.
Music has allowed me expression that would otherwise be impossible. It has been crucial to my development and happiness as an ever-growing person. I honestly cannot imagine my life today were it void of music. I can only thank my father for listening to good music when I was young, and my mother for making me take those guitar lessons.
From a young age, I loved music, and was always singing a song to myself, the pleasure of the people around me, I might add. In seventh grade, I started playing the guitar. I stuck with it and on the way picked up the bass guitar, piano, and I can get by on trumpet and drums. My motivation for learning how to play the guitar was at first small. I took lessons mostly because my mother wanted me to. But as I learned, it became so much more. I was able to bring to life words and symbols on a page in a book. I felt useful. I felt talented. I felt like I finally had a talent in life, and people (at least my parents) were willing to listen. As time went by, I got better and better. I started to understand how songs were structured and written; I began to write my own songs. This was probably the single most important step in my musical career. Writing was the meaningful application of my limited musical skill. Before, I was a musician. With this leap, I became an artist. Well, at least in my mind. Self-expression like never before was now at my fingertips. As a naturally shy kid, I didn’t talk much about my feelings. But, with a song, all that I needed were some chords and a melody, and I could say whatever I wanted to communicate. If something was bothering me, I could sing about it. I could get the idea off of my chest and into the air, which was a process of reflection in and of itself. Writing allowed me to find myself, the ideas I liked expressing, the melodies I liked to create. Everything about the songs I was writing was a reflection and extension of me. And, writing with other people in the bands I was in, while similar to writing solo, allowed joint expression and communication, leading to interesting sounds that would be impossible alone. Now, several years later, my views have evolved even further.
I view each song as a package. The package contains several components: chord structure, rhythm, melody, harmony, and lyric. Depending on the style of song, this package will be easier or harder to understand. A good pop song (the pop of the 60s and 70s, not so much today), to me, is the epitome of a well packaged song. It so tightly knits all components of the song, that one doesn’t even notice all of the mingling parts. The song just comes across as a singular unit, a tidy, packaged message. While other bands have certainly written fantastic songs, I still believe that The Beatles did it best. In my mind, their songs express “truth.” The different elements of the song all belong together and with each other make the song what it is. The Beatles have been my role models as far as song writing goes. Though it is a lofty goal to write like they did, it gives me something to work at. I have learned several instruments to create more interesting sounds. I can weave my own personal experience and modern musical influences, and their classic, catchy style of song. When I write a song that I feel comes close to speaking “truth,” it is very rewarding. I feel accomplished in that I have created a package that someone else can listen to and quickly enjoy and understand. While there are hidden meanings in the lyrics of any song, I tend to think that a good song’s ideas are easily accessible.
Music has allowed me expression that would otherwise be impossible. It has been crucial to my development and happiness as an ever-growing person. I honestly cannot imagine my life today were it void of music. I can only thank my father for listening to good music when I was young, and my mother for making me take those guitar lessons.