Normal, Balance, and Word Things

LIFE UPDATE:

Life is ever-moving. I long for some sense of consistency, and the last few weeks have done a fantastic job of evading it. I traveled with some friends to film some horse racing content and returned home to deal with multiple, conflicting resonances that have made life feel unsettled — all of which are minor and undramatic, but they’ve culminated in anticipation for “normal.”

For whatever it’s worth, I don’t expect normal. I think it’s quite evasive and rare in reality, but my idea of what normal is feels more like a goal; and I hope to find a full, one-week cycle of its doppelganger soon. Fingers crossed this is the week.

I’ve started weekly collaborations with artists I enjoy working with and realized how much work each collaboration requires to honor the time. I’m realizing the importance of setting aside time for each meeting AND the time to work on whatever needs done afterward. Collaboration is a social alignment practice, and my individual contribution requires a significant number of hours to bring value to the table. I’m learning and stoked.

Additionally, I’ve been aware of how unaware I am of most lyrics for most of my life. I’ve always heard weird (incorrect) words, and even when I read the correct ones, they seem irrelevant or meaningfully evasive. This isn’t true for all songs, but I’ve, more often than not, found myself wondering why something seemed worth writing a song about.

I’ve also stated, on multiple occasions, unhelpful words — “I’m not good at lyrics.” Why?

I haven’t practiced (although I’ve haphazardly attempted). I don’t know what is acceptable. I don’t know the mistakes I’ll make; more importantly, I won’t know when I make mistakes, and I fear I’ll look stupid for not knowing I wrote a dumb lyric or rhymed too obviously (thanks to my third-grade focus on rhyming structure). 

I found a commercial songwriting teacher and started lessons a couple of weeks ago. The goal is to fail fast, learn, grow, enjoy, and eventually (hopefully sooner than later) bring some confident competence to the table of lyrics writing.

As much as I’d love to be a fantastic songwriter right out of the gate, the reality is that my goal is to bring value to the table when working with others. If I can grasp the mechanics of rhythm and rhyme and how they relate to melody and chords, I’ll be in a much more comfortable spot.

Lastly, I went through my old recordings and have over 150 “songs” that need lyrics. These are all unique chords and melodies that I feel bring an emotion worth sharing: words incoming.

Next up, figuring out a reasonable attempt at balance.