Why do we make songs?

Almost everyone says they like music. Everyone, I think, remembers some song. Some, moreover, come to the other side and discover that they have something to say, a need or perhaps a hobby that leads them to compose musical pieces or songs.

A song is a treasure The truth is that we are surrounded by music, sung verses, rhythms, sound experiences with intention, but have you ever wondered why we make songs? Let's see what good it is for us to compose new works and, perhaps, show them to acquaintances and strangers, to those beings we call humans.

Who can write songs?

This is the million dollar question. And the key to answering it is understanding what a song consists of. There I collect some definitions that more or less agree that it would be “a musical composition for the human voice, with lyrics.” Therefore, if you have a voice, whatever it is, and you know how to speak, you already have the basics to produce songs. We can add musical instruments, if you want, but in reality, playing an instrument is not mandatory to make a song. So, a priori, anyone can do it. Think for a moment about the following, an everyday situation. You are at home doing a household chore or on the street, on your way somewhere, and the memory of a song comes to mind. But it is an incomplete memory, some parts of the song are not clear to you. Even so, you can't help but sing it or hum it or hum it and, in the spaces that you don't remember, you improvise, you fill them with other memories, with your experiences, with your resources. Congratulations. You are composing a song. Podcast episode dedicated to this topic

making songs

Believe it or not, that is the same process that a songwriter faces, professional or not, successful or not. Exactly the same process. Test, success or error. Test, success or error. I like this more than that, this doesn't fit with the rest, etc etc… These trials and these decisions, recorded or saved somewhere, physical or virtual, are the basic workflow of a composer. A good portion of the tasks involved in writing a song are no different from other everyday tasks we do every day in our lives. From cooking, to DIY, or any activity that involves putting different things together, mixing them according to personal criteria or taste and achieving a specific result. That's also how songs are made. With more or less experience, with more or less self-satisfaction, what we understand as music, lyrics and purpose are the elements that are mixed in each song in a particular way and result in a more or less unique combination. The obstacles we encounter when we write music or songs are similar to the problems of chefs or architects or almost any job or trade. Too strong, too long, too sweet, fragile, boring, out of place,…
These types of thoughts and many others are common during the creative process of many activities without the supernatural aura that surrounds what is called “artistic.” Thinking about the detail and the whole, about what we say and what we wanted to say, about continuity and surprise, taking into account balance and meaning when choosing words or notes or tones when we write a song are equivalent to thinking “salt or pepper”, “how much salt or how much pepper”, “maybe sugar is better”, who is going to eat this dish? I will not go here to talk about insecurity, self-demand and many other mental obstacles that threaten composers in their work. It would be enough for several entire programs. Today we are going to focus on the positive, which is a lot.

Personal benefits

Who sings his evil scares. I repeat this popular saying a lot because it seems to me to be a jewel of eloquence and human knowledge. To make a song it is not necessary to be a singer, but we do have to sing, and singing is, to a large extent, synonymous with health. This, more than a phrase or the voice of wisdom, is an experience. We have all felt that relief, that special emotion when we sing or hum a melody, when we sing the lyrics of a song, and also after doing so. We feel better, more comforted in the difficult situations of life and we feel even better, in celebrating the good or happy moments. Writing in general, moreover, and making songs in particular, is an extraordinary tool to get to know ourselves better.

Composing is exploring If you think you know everything about yourself, you probably know very little, in reality. We are, to a large extent, unknown to ourselves. We are too close to each other, so to speak. We have too many interests involved to easily view our circumstances with any objectivity. It is not something so simple. Writing a song gives us some distance. Our words, our melodies are ourselves in front of our eyes and our ears, and they give us the opportunity to see ourselves unfolded, so to speak, and evaluate ourselves with a little objectivity, with a little perspective. These two benefits, alone, already give an idea of ​​how powerful this activity is. If we add the social and relationship dimension that can lead to expressing ourselves in this way, we would still find many more.

Conclusion

In short, if you think that it is impossible for you to ever compose a song, you are wrong. It's that simple. Today, right now you could write a phrase on paper, or record an expression, or an idea, or a concern on your mobile phone and you would already be in the process of creating a letter. If you use your voice for it and add some intonation or attempt at a melody at the time of recording, you will already be exploring musical possibilities for that idea. The most famous composers and the least known, all use this type of media to collect material, seeds that with time and some dedication will or will not become complete songs. Some better than others, some very different from the first form or idea they had, others preserving the initial essence. The music of a song will lead to its lyrics and back again, like a braid of sounds and meanings. It doesn't matter. Each song has its story, its birth, its development and its conclusion. The paths that this process will follow and the times are very varied. Some songs will be written in a fairly linear way, from start to finish, others will not. Some will be completely written in days or weeks, others will wait in a drawer or in a computer file for months or years until a complete development is found. This program is designed to tell you one thing. We don't need anything extraordinary to write a song. In fact, there is only one requirement for this: wanting to do it. Basic skills are available to everyone, any of us, anywhere, at any time. The concrete skills, the habit, the techniques, the specific knowledge that help us give complete shape to a song are nothing esoteric. They are easily assimilated and, with some practice and interest, they are learned and bear increasingly better results. Well, I've already unburdened myself. It is very angry when a person, and I am a living example of this, limits themselves in activities that they can actually do due to personal or collective beliefs. Our brain can be our ally or our main enemy. We must monitor it and force it to work for us and not against us. We have to pay a little attention to how we think and whether the results of our thoughts lead us to do what we want and can do or put obstacles in our way. Our head must be at our service and not against our desires and possibilities. This is it, why don't you write a song? #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_column_with_background { padding: 10px; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form_column:not(:first-child) { margin-left: 20px; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_paragraph { line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_segment_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_text_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_textarea_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_select_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_radio_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_checkbox_label, 3 .mailpoet_list_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date_label { display: block; font-weight: normal; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_text, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_textarea, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_select, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date_month, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date_day, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date_year, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date { display :block; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_text, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_textarea { width: 200px; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_checkbox { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_submit { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_divider { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_message { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form_loading { width: 30px; text-align: center; line-height: normal; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form_loading > span { width: 5px; height: 5px; background-color: #5b5b5b; }#mailpoet_form_3{border: 1px solid #fcb900;border-radius: 40px;text-align: center;}#mailpoet_form_3 form.mailpoet_form {padding: 20px;}#mailpoet_form_3{width: 70%;}#mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_message {margin : 0; padding: 0 20px;}#mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_paragraph.last {margin-bottom: 0} @media (max-width: 500px) {#mailpoet_form_3 {background-image: none;}} @media (min-width: 500px) { #mailpoet_form_3 .last .mailpoet_paragraph:last-child {margin-bottom: 0}} @media (max-width: 500px) {#mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form_column:last-child .mailpoet_paragraph:last-child {margin-bottom: 0}} Please leave this field emptyDo you write songs or would you like to?

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