songwriting

There’s No Time to Rest

I spent much of the day recreating project templates and reinstalling plugins and patch libraries. Part of this was procrastination, but mostly it was to overcome the frustration I get when technology gets in my way. As I installed the various libraries, I randomly selected the piano patch you hear in this piece. I was just noodling with it as I installed other things and the main chord progression started insisting itself on me. As I played that, I started humming a rough melody and a word would slip out every now and then. The mood quickly established itself, and … Continue reading

Run, Run, Run

Ok, some rules of engagement to start the month. In these daily posts, I’ll mostly be posting lyrics, and possibly some production information or war stories from the composition and posting. What I thought went right and wrong, ideas that might not have made it into production in time, or things that might need to go away later. What I won’t be doing (very often) is discussing meaning. If it’s obvious what it’s about, then it’s obvious what it’s about. If it’s not obvious what it’s about, then it’s up to you to decide what it’s about. Run, Run, Run … Continue reading

February Madness

Song-A-Day 2019

Today marks the beginning of another Song-A-Day challenge. This will be my fourth year participating, and it has been a rewarding and educational experience in so many ways: My studio chops have gotten much better and faster. Songs and mixes aren’t as precious as they once were. “Failures” bother me far less (and aren’t always failures). I’ve learned how to pivot, sometimes radically, when an idea isn’t working. Other people’s processes have influenced mine, but also made me more confident that my process is my process, and it’s not wrong. My self-confidence has grown. Fear of sharing my music is … Continue reading

No Song Today

Note: This post was written in 2022 and backdated to appear on the date the song was recorded. In recent years, I’ve tried very hard not to write songs about Song-A-Day itself. This is just a personal rule – I don’t have anything against it in general and certainly don’t mind when others do it. Sometimes the fact that you can’t come up with anything to write with is exactly the topic you need to write about. My light aversion to the topic developed slowly as I listened to this and subsequent years. In 2017, it was Add A Track, … Continue reading

Take It or Leave It

Another Monday, but a Monday with seven – SEVEN! – new songs under my belt. While I wasn’t happy with everything, on the whole, the first week was a success. I’d proven to myself that I could write on a daily pace, and I was pleasantly surprised at the overall quality of the compositions. But back to the workplace, back to a shortened schedule for writing. When I got home after work, I wasn’t sure what to write about. That got me thinking about what made things worth writing about in the first place. I’ve always been an avid reader, … Continue reading