WHAT MY SONGS MEAN TO ME
My songs are momentary interludes that caress my soul.
My songs elevate the mundane and ordinary into something uplifting and ethereal.
My songs allow me to float away to another place.
My songs are stories and each one is unique. They are like “time machines” for me, and each song of mine transports me back to my youth.
My songs have music and words that came into my head and heart in a way that I do not completely understand. Sometimes the beauty of the process overwhelms me.
My songs soothe me and remove all elements of stress from my life.
My songs take away my pain. My songs might express anguish and sadness, but with the haunting melody all pain flows out of my heart.
My songs were something “heavy” before I was able to rediscover them this year. Now each song created represents “lightness.” The creation of a song leaves an empty space that will be filled with further creations that are possibly even more beautiful.
My songs are gifts. They were always there, and I was given a gift that I am simply sharing.
My songs allow me to express emotions through singing that are unlike any other form of expression. Most people understand emotions such as crying or laughing. However, the emotional expression of singing is unlike anything else for me.
When I sing my songs, I really do feel like my lyrics soar while my heart explodes!
My mom actually signed me up for ballet! Here I am in costume for a performance as “Raggedy Ann.”
I wondered how it would be perceived if I continued sharing my musical journey on this blog. People would be checking for updates about my mother’s condition. My passion for songwriting might seem inappropriate to share at such a critical time as my mother’s illness.
I decided that I don’t need to worry what anyone thinks of me!
Certainly, my mother’s condition is now in the forefront of my life. A year ago, when she was very ill, I was an empty shell.
Now, I am a completely, different person.
I feel different even down to the way I walk, and hear my own voice. Last year held an amazing transformation for me.
I want to inspire others to know that it is truly possible for a person to change in a relatively short amount of time!
I’ve learned from past challenges to follow my intuition and my heart. I accept whatever circumstances I must face.
I believe that because of music, my soul is invigorated and healthy.
I will always remember the grief in my life.
My scars are there. They are the reason that I have so much feeling for my music!
At Kulak’s Woodshed, the host often jokes with me.
“Farewell”
I recorded Farewell as an instrumental, although it used to be a song I sung in high school as a goodbye to my choir friends.
Here is a link to my original story about this song:
The original lyrics for Farewell did not have perfect rhymes and wasn’t a good fit for me at this time in my life. For some reason, about a month ago I decided it might be interesting to reinvent Farewell as a completely, new song.
My first step was to transpose the chords into a lower key. It wasn’t difficult to do that, but certainly the guitar chords sounded different.
Farewell as an instrumental had a great chorus melody, but didn’t have a good melody for verses. The guitar arrangement was far too complicated to sing along with.
Last week, I began to play around with chord progressions to construct a melody for the verses. Although the song required a lot more work, I shared with Peaches the progress I had made on it.
It was today when I had a revelation that the lyrics for Farewell could be improved in a way that would be an “excellent fit” for me.
The song will become a “Farewell” to my mother.
Peaches Chrenko has been my vocal coach since May of last year. She teaches at Winnetka Park and used to teach my youngest son.
Below are lesson clips. Due to my mom’s illness, I did not share last week’s clips that were recorded before her fall. I’m sharing clips from my last two lessons because I find the process of a song “unfolding” fascinating for me.
If you are interested in songwriting feel free to get a glimpse into my world!
Lesson with Peaches about FAREWELL 12/29/10
Lesson with Peaches about FAREWELL 1/5/11
© Judy Unger and http://www.myjourneysinsight.com 2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Judy Unger with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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