More on music.

[spacebug]

I'm not so good with lyrics.

After never getting leads in musicals in high school or getting solos in choir as a kid, I'm coming to grips with the fact that when I put my mind to it and I'm not super scared to do it, that I can actually sing pretty well. That's a tricky one to overcome. But I also have just as difficult s time getting over the "having something to sing" part as the fear that is having your voice out there. I find the buffer of a physical instrument very comforting on stage- there's something extra naked about singing. So, my vocal stuff is often just textural- because I'm a musician and not a vocalist, I tend to dislike that words in songs most often become the focal point, especially to people who listen to words more than music. Which, I think, is most people.

But I woke up with the beginnings of lyrics in my head this morning.

We'll see what happens with that.

I have more to say, I think, but I need to find my shoes. And a hair tie. And go to work.

Comments

[vaxjo.livejournal.com]

I know it's Friday, but I think you should wear more than just shoes and a hair-tie to work.

Lyrics are* hard. I've never in my life written one that I didn't immediately think sounded beyond stupid. This is probably because I grew up listening to heavy metal and, if you should ever actually read the lyrics to those songs, you'll realize just how awful they all are (with few exceptions).
And it also bugs me that most people will judge a song based solely on its lyrical content.

[spacebug.livejournal.com]

Silly vax. I'd never go to work only wearing shoes and a hair tie- I'm wearing socks!

Yeah. It's a lot of why I started using journal entries (mine or other people's) for words instead. I have a lot of those. But then it has the danger of songs becoming so personal that I have a difficult time sharing them with people. Getting over getting the music out, getting over getting my voice out *and* getting over sharing these words that I only ever really intended to say to myself- that's a nice triple whammy of places for doubt to keep you down. I generally usually feel better once they're out in the world, but it can be really hard to make myself get them there.

[autodidactic.livejournal.com]

Don't mind me, but when you were younger (like when we first met) I found your verbal pattern to be one of a person who was a little scared of what was coming out of her mouth... like you were afraid of seeming too smart and either a.) getting flamed for it or b.) being shunned as some sort of poindexter. These are rather big assumptions, I know, so please take with as much salt as necessary.

I've always suspected that you've got a great voice, though. You know, from the couple of times I've heard you sing... albeit so quietly I wasn't sure I was just hearing things again.

Anyway. Bon courage. I can't imagine you sucking at all.

Love,
A.

[spacebug.livejournal.com]

Heh, you might be right. I'd like to think I'm getting better, but who doesn't spend their teens (or after, for that matter) mostly worrying too much about what other people think? And at the time, those people were older and I figured that meant they were smarter than me. Which maybe they were sometimes, but maybe not as often as I gave them credit. :) I guess I try to err on the side of never underestimating anyone. I should start applying that to myself more, perhaps.

[pied-piper70.livejournal.com]

You and I have had this conversation before, about lyrics and singing...I know that, for me, I'm not naturally a lyricist...a part of me thinks I should just get over and write some...another part of me says that, if it doesn't come naturally, than why do it? Why not collaborate with someone who DOES write lyrics naturally and can sing them as well?

The problem is that, for those of us who are primarily instrumentalists, realizing that much of pop music is centered on lyrics can be a bit of shock ("oh, my god...you mean NO ONE else cares about that synth line EXCEPT ME? You mean, their listening to VOCALIST?")...then again, knowing that is half the battle...it means, then, that you decide whether that matters to you or not; whether you want to write music that needs lyrics or write instrumentals (dance trax, ambient trax, etc.) and be fine with that...

For me, I realized awhile ago that, aside from writing music for projects, much of the music naturally gravitates into songwriting and thus needs lyrics...and I try to write lyrics...and I try to write a vocal line...and while my voice is okay, I'm never REALLY satisfied...and I always know that there's SOMEONE out there who can write better shit than I can...it's just a matter of time before I start searching for them...

You may be in the same boat...or else you may be developing as a composer/songwriter...the point is you're stretching yourself as an artist and that's always a good thing...always a Good Thing...

[spacebug.livejournal.com]

It's funny- I like the way lyrics can sound, but I don't want them to be what the whole thing is about, because it's not to me. And I feel like the music expresses more than I can with words, but I still have urges to use my voice as an instrument. Kind of a conundrum. I need my own crazy moon language or something, so that people won't listen, they'll listen, you know?

Anyway. :)

[sarendipatree.livejournal.com]

The best lyrics are those that don't mean the same thing the first time you hear them as the fourth or sixth. Definitely hard.

[alisgray.livejournal.com]

good for you. I woke up with a song I didn't like in my head. someone else's song, about cadillacs and elvis.