Here's my latest song:
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
¡La Mũsica!, ¡La Mũsica!
A lot of music being written right now, for some reason. And I know it's not me writing it 'cause I've never really come up with anything that satisfied me when I was attempting to write secular music. But now...music.
Here's how that plays out: I'm not trying to write or even expecting a song, then I'll hit upon a cool chord progression, get a theme in my head, and wham-bam, Bob's your uncle, the song has written itself.
Sometimes it takes a few days for all of the lyrics to gel, but they do eventually. And when it's happening I tend to get pretty emotional. I mean, this is the Holy Spirit working through me, I'm very much aware of it, and it blows my mind every time. ,
So last Sunday night I'm in the middle of this process when Katie comes downstairs and finds me with tell-tale tear tracks all over my face. Awkward! The result of that session was "Song of Gratitude", which I like better than any song I've written to date. I'll try to record a couple of these this weekend and post 'em.
But, all this music flowing out of me naturally begs the question: Why can't I sing? I have slightly better than average, but still modest, guitar skills, and now I'm writing original tunes. Seems He'd have gifted me with an acceptable voice as well if music has some part in His plans for me, doesn't it? But, I'm relegated to life with barely one octave of vocal range and even those precious few notes are poorly modulated. Well, that's his business, I suppose, and I'm just beyond grateful that he's choosing to work through me in this way. There was always a reason that I became fascinated with guitars as a tiny kid. I always knew I'd learn to play, but even after I worked my way to semi-competence on the strings the music never really took off for me. It's been something that, with the exception of a brief stint in a Bluegrass band, I've mainly consigned to my living room. I guess He was reserving his rights to my music, and I'm thrilled that it's now pouring out of me like this.
All this means that I'm now actively seeking a musical collaborator. Someone with a voice and hopefully some instrumental skills who can bring to life these songs that I can only barely squeak out. And I hope this person comes along soon. Or persons, for that matter, 'cause a smallish, acoustically based group would fit my bill quite nicely. Another guitar, a base, percussionist. I'd dig it.
(Of course, all this hinges on whether or not anyone else likes my songs as much as I do. Jury's still out on that one.)
While I'm on the subject of song writing, let me share this: A few months ago I had this song process happen for the first time as I described in my post "Out Of The Blue." I felt that God was challenging me to not just sit on this song, but to share it right away. In church. Which I did.
Well, a couple of nights later I sat down for some quiet time and Bible study, and prayed beforehand asking God to calm my mind, bring clarity, and, if He would, direct me to the passages he'd have me read. I wasn't really expecting much in that regard, but immediately "Psalm 33" came to mind. Understand that I'm no Bible scholar. I'd been at it for less than six months that night, and I certainly didn't know the Bible well enough to know what was there.
So, I turned to Psalm 33 and this is what I found:
Psalm 33:1-3
Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.
Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make music to Him with a ten-stringed harp.
Sing a new song to Him;
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.
This is an amazing God we worship, friends.
Speaking of being asked to pray out loud in church, I was. Wednesday night. I think I may have sensed that this would be the night he'd finally give me the nod, 'cause I'd turned it over to God a few minutes before: "Lord, if I'm called, hows about you take it, eh?" That's worked in the past. The day I gave my mini-testamony, for example. Anyway, I got through it. I have little idea of what I said, but I kept it brief and then took some razzing from our pastor due to the milestone.
Look for another post coming this weekend with some thoughts on what feels like a stalled conviction on my part., and, hopefully, some sound files. I know I've been AWOL for a couple of months. Don't be hatin'!
Here's how that plays out: I'm not trying to write or even expecting a song, then I'll hit upon a cool chord progression, get a theme in my head, and wham-bam, Bob's your uncle, the song has written itself.
Sometimes it takes a few days for all of the lyrics to gel, but they do eventually. And when it's happening I tend to get pretty emotional. I mean, this is the Holy Spirit working through me, I'm very much aware of it, and it blows my mind every time. ,
So last Sunday night I'm in the middle of this process when Katie comes downstairs and finds me with tell-tale tear tracks all over my face. Awkward! The result of that session was "Song of Gratitude", which I like better than any song I've written to date. I'll try to record a couple of these this weekend and post 'em.
But, all this music flowing out of me naturally begs the question: Why can't I sing? I have slightly better than average, but still modest, guitar skills, and now I'm writing original tunes. Seems He'd have gifted me with an acceptable voice as well if music has some part in His plans for me, doesn't it? But, I'm relegated to life with barely one octave of vocal range and even those precious few notes are poorly modulated. Well, that's his business, I suppose, and I'm just beyond grateful that he's choosing to work through me in this way. There was always a reason that I became fascinated with guitars as a tiny kid. I always knew I'd learn to play, but even after I worked my way to semi-competence on the strings the music never really took off for me. It's been something that, with the exception of a brief stint in a Bluegrass band, I've mainly consigned to my living room. I guess He was reserving his rights to my music, and I'm thrilled that it's now pouring out of me like this.
All this means that I'm now actively seeking a musical collaborator. Someone with a voice and hopefully some instrumental skills who can bring to life these songs that I can only barely squeak out. And I hope this person comes along soon. Or persons, for that matter, 'cause a smallish, acoustically based group would fit my bill quite nicely. Another guitar, a base, percussionist. I'd dig it.
(Of course, all this hinges on whether or not anyone else likes my songs as much as I do. Jury's still out on that one.)
While I'm on the subject of song writing, let me share this: A few months ago I had this song process happen for the first time as I described in my post "Out Of The Blue." I felt that God was challenging me to not just sit on this song, but to share it right away. In church. Which I did.
Well, a couple of nights later I sat down for some quiet time and Bible study, and prayed beforehand asking God to calm my mind, bring clarity, and, if He would, direct me to the passages he'd have me read. I wasn't really expecting much in that regard, but immediately "Psalm 33" came to mind. Understand that I'm no Bible scholar. I'd been at it for less than six months that night, and I certainly didn't know the Bible well enough to know what was there.
So, I turned to Psalm 33 and this is what I found:
Psalm 33:1-3
Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.
Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make music to Him with a ten-stringed harp.
Sing a new song to Him;
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.
This is an amazing God we worship, friends.
Speaking of being asked to pray out loud in church, I was. Wednesday night. I think I may have sensed that this would be the night he'd finally give me the nod, 'cause I'd turned it over to God a few minutes before: "Lord, if I'm called, hows about you take it, eh?" That's worked in the past. The day I gave my mini-testamony, for example. Anyway, I got through it. I have little idea of what I said, but I kept it brief and then took some razzing from our pastor due to the milestone.
Look for another post coming this weekend with some thoughts on what feels like a stalled conviction on my part., and, hopefully, some sound files. I know I've been AWOL for a couple of months. Don't be hatin'!
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