All posts tagged with 14-songs-in-14-days

Technically, this isn’t a 14-songs-in-14-days tale, though it still has to do with songwriting and with Pat Pattison and all the other usual earmarks.  We have a new 14-day challenge coming up on May 1st, though I won’t really be doing it until June.  I and several others begged off, partly because of the story I’m about to tell.  Also, my new CD will have it’s official release celebration on May 17th – at Joe’s Place, MLK and Chicon, 7 – 9 pm — and I feel like my time would be better spent preparing for that.

However, for at least one other person that declined the next challenge, it’s because Pat and Berklee School of Music offered an online songwriting class for FREE.  My favorite price.  It was though a company called Coursera, and it was very well put together.  And I’m about to tell you all about it and send you the two songs that came out of it.

We have actually already done one 14-day challenge this year, but it was about putting together effective metaphors, and I made it to Day 10, before real life took over.  It was grueling, requiring a lot of thought, and even more time.  I’m sure it was good for me, it was that painful.  Maybe one day I’ll go back and finish the other four days, mostly because it took such effort to get that far.  But I’d rather write songs….

So ….

The class was 6 weeks long, and involved putting to use the ideas that Pat presented in each of several lectures for each week.  For example, the first week was about describing a song idea in a series of boxes, each larger than the one before, and each concluding with the chorus idea in a way that made the chorus pay off bigger each time. It was also about identifying different points of view in examples of popular songs, and then trying them out in one’s own songs.  There were quizzes along the way, to make sure the student was getting the point, and then at the end there was an assignment involving the boxes.

I didn’t particularly care about getting a grade for the course, though later that did become an issue for me. I wanted to do well and get something out of it, after all.  But at the end of the first week, despite several hints that this was the case, I discovered that what I thought was the due date actually was not.  It had actually been the day before.  This happened because on the stated date, Monday, March 11th, the window closed at 9 AM.  9 AM?????  I’m a musician! The only reason I know there’s a 9 AM is because it’s on my clock.  Though not necessarily in bed, I’m usually not functional before 11, and even that’s iffy.  I haven’t been actually awake at 9 AM since I stopped having to take children to school …. a long time ago.

So I missed getting in the first assignment.  We weren’t supposed to write an actual song for it, just outline one in boxes, and just write the chorus and maybe the first verse.  In fact, I had been so intrigued by the idea for this one,  that I had most of the song.  Since I was kinda ticked off that the window closed that early, and since living well is still the best revenge: I went ahead and finished the song.  I ended up using it for the next assignment. There’s a link to it at the bottom of this post.  Recording is quick and dirty.  Garage Band. You know how that goes.

The next few weeks were spent variously on identifying different types of rhymes, and learning to use them in a song.  Pat generously offered to allow us to look on while he put the concepts into practice.  It had boxes, rhyming worksheets, choice of tones, lots of preparatory stuff. At one point, I thought to myself “This is pretty mathematical.” which (from me) is not a compliment…..

But then, he started to actually flesh out the song. Amazing!  Wonderful lyrics that not only suited the idea, but felt exactly the way I believe he intended us to feel.   “This way you don’t ever have to have writer’s block”,  he remarked during one presentation. I thought, “I don’t believe in writer’s block anyway!  I learned during the first 14-day challenge that songs are literally everywhere….oh wait!  The 14-day challenges were Pat’s idea too”.

Now the course is over.  I turned in the last assignment, designed to make the students use all the skills they’ve learned, and evaluated five of my fellow students’ efforts (We had to do this after each assignment.)  I’m waiting to see what five of my cohorts had to say about my efforts.  I know several others of the students personally, and wondered if I’d run into them during the 6 weeks.  Pretty unlikely. There were 65,000 people from all over the world taking this course is what I heard!

The results of the last assignment are also linked below.  (Same caveat about the recording quality.) So I got two new songs out of the 6 weeks.  Not bad.

One Tiny Step

Real

I know. I kinda left you hanging, didn’t I.

Well, here are the rest of my songs from our last 14, and a couple of descriptions of my favorites from the other writers involved in this insanity.

Although I had pretty much resolved to stay home during the holidays, the Universe was not listening when I said so. You know the old saying, “Humans plan and G-d laughs”.  We were going to Los Angeles, it turned out, because my daughter, Raina, and her husband, Jesse, now live there. They have a house in North Hollywood we wanted to see, and Andy had not been to California in a long time, and someone offered me a gig at a nice venue there, and…..etc.  But some of you who know me, or for whom I’ve performed, know that I ran screaming from Los Angeles back at the end of the 80s. And that every once in awhile, I wake sweaty from a nightmare that I had to go back and live there again. Mostly, it had to do with people I encountered there, or anyway, two of them, who convinced me I was in the wrong place.  It’s hard not to believe some people are predatory when they are preying on you.

THE  SCENE OF YOUR CRIME

I’m revisiting the scene of your crime

I guess the universe thinks

It’s been enough time

For me to recover

But I’m not so sure

So I’m revisiting the scene of your crime

 

I’m rehearsing the words I could say

To calm myself down

When I notice my hands shaking

Like “Take a deep breath”

And “You don’t have to be upset”

I’m rehearsing the words I could say.

 

You hurt me in a way

No one’s thought of before

How very creative of you!

That was years ago now

I don’t care any more

I’m sure

I’m pretty sure….

 

That’s why I’m revisiting the scene of your crime

I guess te universe thinks

It’s been enough time

For me to recover

But I’m not so sure

So I’m revisiting the scene of your crime

 

Everything went just fine, and I returned to Austin unscathed.  A funny thing happened on the way home. My friends Linda and David drive down from Minnesota every winter to escape the cold.  As they were reaching Austin, there was a freak snowstorm in West Texas, so they stayed at our house while waiting for the weather to clear. They left our house at almost the same time as we left California, so we met them at Exit 65  on I-10 in West Texas, without either one of us losing any time in our journey! Which would have been impossible without cellphones. We hugged, talked a bit, then they continued west, and we continued east. Dontcha love it?

This next was the result of a very productive day for anything except songwriting:

HALLELUJAH!

Hallelujah my car is washed

Hallelujah my bills are paid

Hallelujah my house is clean

Hallelujah my bed is made

Hallelujah my shopping is done

And the rest has been deferred.

Hallelujah! Best of all,

Hallelujah my pedis are cured.

 

Hallelujah my pianos practiced

Hallelujah my guitar is too

Hallelujah my ivories are tickled

Hallelujah my strings are new

I guess I’m a little ADD

I guess I’m a bit of a nerd

Hallelujah my song is written

Hallelujah my pedis are cured.

 

Not much as songs go, but my chores were done.

The next day, as I was telling someone about Raina and Jesse’s wedding, I realized that the song for that day was already written. By Rob Corddry who was the officiant at their wedding.  Or sorta:

LOVE IS FUN

Physics is hard

And chemistry’s hard

But love is fun, and it’s easy

House cleaning is hard

And mowing the yard

But love is fun, and it’s easy

Either kind of calculus is hard

The perfect pun, a 10K run

But love is fun

And it’s easy.

 

Doing my taxes

Makes me anxious

But love is fun, and it’s easy

Losing weight is hard

Not being late is hard

But love is fun, and it’s easy

Speaking truth to power is hard

Writing these songs, admitting I’m wrong

But love is fun

And it’s easy.

 

People tell you love is hard

You gotta work

(You kinda do.)

They forget to tell you the reward

Love has its perks

And that’s the truth

 

Learning restraint is hard

Learning to paint is hard

But love is fun, and it’s easy

Splitting a log is hard

Bathing the dog is hard

But love is fun, and it’s easy

Learning to drive is hard

Playing a drum, lifting a ton

But love is fun,

And it’s easy.

And finally, I got the song about my Dad that I’ve waited a decade to write:

HERO

My papa was a fly boy

In 1944

He flew his final mission

In the 2nd “war to end all wars”.

But didn’t see his home again

For a year and 2 months more

And there are those who call him a hero

 

They locked him in a prison

Somewhere beside the sea

With the memories of companions

To haunt his dreams

And a photo of his wife         

And the child he’d never seen

And those at home called him a hero

 

The most modern of maachinery

The most primitive act

When he was finally free,

He wended his way back

And he saw what they had done,

And what we did to them

He said, “No….I am no hero.

 

My papa laid his life down

In 2007

A good father, a good men

He gave me goodness to believe in.

And somewhere in the universe

I hope he feels forgiven.

And he knows he is a hero

As far as other writers and their successes this time, the standouts for me were Jean Synodinos (Forgive His Sins – which was good advice for me at exactly the moment I needed it — Winter Grey and The End of the World); Katie Gosnell (among others, a hilarious little ditty called No More Funny Songs Please); Stewart Moser (The sweet story of It’s For You  and a beautiful Biblically-based song called Inner Abraham), Joe Strouse (The Right Lane is the Right Lane For Me). Couldn’t agree more, Joe!

I can’t give you any of theirs, for obvious reasons, but you can have Hero to listen to. This will definitely show up on a CD or EP at some point.

Hero

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday.  It’s the “trickster” aspect of it, I think, and also the opportunity to pretend to be someone (or even something) else for awhile, that gets me so excited.  Consequently, I love Halloween songs, the weirder the better.  My favorite of other folks’ musical contributions to that holiday are many but the standouts are “Sally’s Song” from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and something called “Zombie Jamboree”.  There was also a song in The Corpse Bride — can you tell I like Tim Burton? — called “The Remains of the Day”, that I want to learn for my next Halloween show.  I always try to book something at the end of October so that I can have a Halloween show.  This year, the closest I can get is October 20th, but that’s OK. Halloween really should be celebrated all month, as far as I’m concerned.

So, we’re on our second 14-songs-in-14-days challenge, and it’s five months past my sudden and unexpected trip to the hospital. I think I’ve spoken of this in another post, but the short story is that I developed a blood clot in one leg.  First time in the hospital for anything other than a baby, first surgery and I emerged pretty traumatized by the whole affair. To start with, my life, pre-hospital stay, was lovely. And I knew it.  I was writing and performing. I was teaching music. Mornings began with a 30-minute run admiring my neighbors’ gardens. Lovely. And threatened by my health “issue”.

Now, there were all these white-coated people telling me about things I needed to slow down, or even stop, and suffice to say, I was pretty resistant.  As the symptoms yielded to time and medicine, I mentioned to someone that I was running again, and he clucked and shook his head.  My reasoning was that if I wasn’t supposed to do it, I wouldn’t be able to, and I was able to run, therefore …..

Seemed logical to me, but I may have been biased.

At one point, the doctor ordered an ultra-sound and the results indicated that the clot wasn’t gone, as I and everyone else expected.  It was the day before a trip up to see my sister-in-law, and it was a Friday, which meant I couldn’t talk with the doctor about it until Monday.  I just wanted the whole thing to be over, and I was pretty distraught that it wasn’t.

That night we were at my sister-in-law’s house and I couldn’t sleep, and I still owed the universe a song, so I got up, turned a chair to the wall, and worried. All sorts of terrible things went through my mind, of all the things I wouldn’t be able to do EVER AGAIN (I have a problem with what they call “awful-izing”.)  At some point, Andy got up and came looking for me to ask what was going on.

“Oh nothing,” I responded.  ”I just have goblins in my head.”

That became the title of my newest Halloween song.

There were some great songs written by the group this time too.  By now we were veterans and no longer freaked out by the project.  A few people wrote songs about the challenge, but not as many as before.  Sue Young wrote a heart-wrenching song about the BP oil spill called “Black Water” that she says was pretty much an interview she read in the paper. And Jimmy Joe Natoli wrote a fantasy about driving one of the students on his school bus, called “Ellen’s Ride”. Great fun was had by all, I think. But we were still fairly surprised that we were getting usable songs out of this.

We had a gathering after the two weeks were over, and I chose this one as one of my two favorites. When I played it, Mo McMorrow, one of the other members of this group, expressed her surprised that this song came out of that experience.  Here it is. Have a listen. See if you’re surprised.

Goblins in my Head

The title of this post was my response when I realized that what we were talking about was doing another 14-day challenge.  I thought we’d proven our point already, and that was more than enough stress for one year.  But, no. Apparently, it wasn’t.

(Pat Pattison actually suggested in one of the workshops that we should do the two weeks, take two weeks to rest after, and then rinse and repeat. This was met with a change of subject by our class.)

Even though I thought I’d already learned everything that was to be learned from this ICU for songwriting, I have to admit that I thought saying no would be a mistake.  What if there was a really good song (I mean, a REALLY good song) lurking somewhere in those next two weeks, just waiting for me to get there.  I could see it now, dressed to the nines, checking its watch, tapping its tiny glass-enclosed tootsies.  Well, maybe not quite. But the truth is, I was afraid to say no and miss it, regardless of what it was wearing. So I said yes.

You may or may not remember, but in one of my earlier posts (Health Issues), I mentioned that I’d been taken to the emergency room for the second time within a short number of years. Like two. The issues weren’t the same, and though the first one turned out not to be very traumatic, the second trip was pretty upsetting and had long-lasting consequences. I suddenly found myself with a giant blood clot in one leg, and for the first time, had to spend several days in the hospital, had surgery, and dealt with my life being totally out of my control. That had happened just before the first 14-day challenge. And by the time this second challenge rolled around, I thought it would be over, but it turned out that it wasn’t. I just wanted to get off the medication and go back to my “real” life, but there were still some mountains to climb.

As a result, there were some fairly whine-y songs in this batch.  I’ll do you a favor and fail to burden you with those.  The one acceptable one was a gospel-ish song about trying to be grateful to be alive to receive, even if what I received wasn’t what I asked for.  It was based on the grace that was said at my sister-in-law’s table in Dimmitt, TX when we went for a visit in the middle of the challenge.

Which brings me to the point of this ramble: In this batch too, the best songs were written while I was traveling.  There were a couple that I really liked at the beginning of the 14 days. One, “The Hands of my Clock”, was about my broken Kit-Kat clock, and another was about the people who were trying to tell me to “slow down”. I have very strong opinions about that whole concept, and I stuck them all in a song called “No Need to Hurry” as in, I’ll be dead for a long time someday. Why start now?

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I no longer believe in “writer’s block”, but it does seem like being out of my familiar environment fires up my creative machinery. Sometimes you just have to slap the contraption up side o’the head to make it work.

But the one I’ve chosen for you to hear on this post is a little ditty I wrote sitting in a chair facing the wall in the home of a different sister-in-law in Abilene, TX.  We had stayed in her home overnight, and I’d had a nightmare. I got up to dissipate it, or think about it, whichever one actually happened, and my husband came out awhile later. There I was scribbling down the lyrics to that day’s song, about my nightmare.  It’s called “Goblins in my Head”, and it was recorded on my little home set up, as soon as I got back. (This is by way of being an apology if the quality of the recording isn’t all it could be.) I used it as a Hallowe’en song that year.

Goblins in my Head

 

When last we saw our heroine, she was driving across Utah in a blue 2007 Prius, happily writing songs and not feeling tired at all. Really. Not at …. ummmmm ….

Well folks, that’s the last time I try to drive from Austin, TX to Salt Lake City, UT in two days. Day 8 was a total bust where songs were concerned.

But I did get some pretty cool songs out of the challenge this time.

Starting with Day 9:  When I got home and recorded this, it turned out to be a piano song.  I had taken my keyboard with me, but it wasn’t needed at the competition. And due to the size of the room in Albuquerque where my gig there was, it never even got taken out of the car. So I tried for awhile to make this song a guitar song, but it would never behave, so it’s a piano song.

Starting to Care for You

I see you coming toward me on the street
Even blocks away, I’d know your long stride anywhere
With suddenly trembling hands I reach
To smooth my windblown hair.
Oh dear.
I think I’m starting to care
For you.

I know that you are in this room
Even in this crowd I’d know your deep voice anywhere
So when did my new favorite tune
Become each word you share
Oh dear.
I think I’m starting to care
For you.

I recognize the signs
Dry mouth. Pounding heart.
In the movie in my mind
You’re cast in the leading part.

I feel your eyes upon me all the time
Even when I’m alone and you’re not really there.
Those silly songs are right.
Your name is like a whispered prayer
Oh dear.
I think I’m starting to care
For you.

I recognize the signs
Daydreamin’ like a child
Turmoil in my mind
Can’t. Stop. Smilin’.

Repeat last verse.

Day 10:  This one, labeled “Untitled” was in my MasterWriter (the application I usually write songs on) when I opened it.  I didn’t remember starting it, but I thought it would be good inspiration. And it was.  But I think I originally meant it to be the beginning of a song for my daughter’s wedding, and that’s not where it ended up going.  I’m chalking the atmosphere of it up to how very tired I was, and the news of the day.

I Must Apologize

 

I who have known you since you entered this world
I who have witnessed your laughter and tears
And I who have watched you growing up
Applauded your courage in the face of your fears
I who have claimed to have gathered some wisdom
And tried to shine in your eyes
Now I look around me in shame
I must apologize.

I who had so many big dreams
Some that I knew would never be
But I always thought that some of them would
What I would begin, you would complete.
I joked you were born to save the world
But I’ve come to realize
I don’t even know if that would be good
And I must apologize.

Justice lies on the rack of greed
Hatred rises afresh
Fear is winning and love cries in the wilderness.

So here is the torch, may you hold it high
May it light your way to success
Just remember to cast that light on
Those who weep in their distress
And if you succeed where I have failed
I hope you’ll believe that I tried.
And remember my good intentions….
Really … I must apologize.

Day 11:  Leora at this point noticed my Big Brother song, and asked if it was inspired by her song.  I told her it was, and she suggested that we pick a theme for this day and both write a song about it.  She gave me a couple of choices, and I picked this one because it rang some bells for me.

This Old Red Dress

This old red dress, it used to go dancing
Harold and I would step out on the floor
People would smile when they saw us coming
I miss Harold, but I miss dancing more.

This old red dress, once it was new
I loved the way it belled out when we’d twirl
Satin and sequins and rhinestones too.
Red shoes to match. One string of pearls.

I would give anything for one more dance
With Harold and I swept up in the romance
He was my prince and I was his princess
When I danced with Harold
In this old red dress.

I’ve tried dancing with others, don’t get me wrong
Gave each one a chance, but none were as good
That’s how it’s been since Harold’s been gone
Found none to match and I don’t think I could.

I would give anything for one more dance
With Harold and I swept up in the romance
He was my prince and I was his princess
When I danced with Harold
In this old red dress.

Sooner or later I’ll find him again
Whenever I’m finally laid to rest
I’ve already planned what I will be wearing
For sure it will be this old red dress

Chorus

Day 12: Finally! I finally have the song I’m going to sing at Raina and Jesse’s wedding. (My daughter and her fiance, for the uninitiated.) This is the 6th one, but this one I actually like. You won’t get to hear it until after October 6th though, because I want its first performance to be at the wedding.

First Steps

Long ago when you were small
And you were learning how to walk
A bit afraid that you might fall
But walking would be grand.
You were young but you were brave
So you let go of the table
And off ito the future you ran.

Starting school when you were five
You were standing to one side
Watching others on the slide
By the playground fence
You were shy but had a plan
You let go of mama’s hand
And off into the future you went.

It’s those first steps of each new adventure
First steps that take you so far
It’s those first steps that take you to who you are.

Now you stand to speak your vows
Eyes so shiny, smiles so proud
To say forever right out loud
I do, and so do I
You are young and you are smart
To trust in love and give your heart
And off into your future you fly

Remember
Remember

It’s those first steps of each new adventure
First steps that take you so far
It’s those first steps that take you to who you are.

Day 13:  Another one of my goals for this challenge was to get another song for my Biblical series.  I have been writing story songs for all the characters in the Bible who, although they are an important part of the story, never get to speak or in anyway demonstrate how they feel. About anything.  The first one was “Rachel’s Sister” which is on the CD that I’m finishing up now and have been raising money all month to mix and master. But eventually, I’d like to make a CD with the whole series (which I project to be 10 songs) on it.  On this day, I gave Leora some “titles” and she chose “My Neighbor’s Garden”, but as you see, I changed it on this song. It is the story of David and Bathsheba, told from her point of view.

Your Neighbor’s Garden

I have something to say
Though I may not speak.
I may not show my anger
But I am far from meek.
The Lord will smite us both, David,
And your son won’t last a week.

You spied while I was bathing
And you knew I was alone.
And I had to obey you
When you called to me to come.
While my husband was away, David,
You took me from my home.

Who do you think you are then?
Stealing roses
From your neighbor’s garden.

My husband was a fine man
A loyal man and true.
An honorable and kind man
Not a king like you.
Sent him into mortal danger, David,
While your child within me grew.

Who do you think you are then?
Stealing roses
From your neighbor’s garden.

There are commandments
There are committments
And there are always
Consequences

My name is Bathsheba
And I will be your queen.
And the mother of Solomon
So I will bear the shame.
But the rose you stole, David,
Will forever wear a stain.

Who did you think you are then?
Stealing roses
From your neighbor’s garden.

Day 14:  And a bit of fluff to round things out.

Make Me Cry

Fireworks
and parades
Baby smiles
And holidays
Words of wisdom
Fluffy kittens
Furry mittens too.

Graduations
Wedding vows
Family photos
Lacey clouds
Fields of flowers
Meteor showers
Have the power to

Make me cry
Make my tears fall down
With happiness
I’m just like that I guess
They make me cry.

Sweet reunions
Christmas lights
Hearty laughter
Butterflies
Memories
Ocean breezes
Willow trees do

Make me cry
Make my tears fall down
With happiness
I’m just like that I guess
They make me cry.

I’m a little embarrassed that I tried to get out of this two-week challenge. Even up to the eleventh hour, I was vacillating about doing it. Now that I’ve seen the results, I’m really glad I went ahead and did it.  Here’s Starting to Care:

Starting to Care