Friday, January 31, 2014

The Muse

The muse is defined as the central inspiration or idea of a song. It can be anything from a break-up to a brand-spanking-new Ford Pickup. Usually, the muse is also central to what is happening in the author's life. An excellent example of this is the song American Pie by Don McLean.

https://soundcloud.com/user4664891/don-mclean-american-pie?in=connor-simrell/sets/the-legends

This song was clearly inspired by the events of World War II. The lyrics at first describe life before the war, and when the music "dies" is clearly a euphemism towards the start of the war or the nuking of Japan.

This most prominent moment in my life right now would have to be being with my new girlfriend. It's like nothing I've ever experienced before with another person, and I feel like I could just pour my heart out into the lyrics.

Here is a verse that I've written that may or may not be used in the final product:

The taste of your skin
Still lingers on my lips
Imprinted memory
Of my hands on your hips

I stare into your eyes
You stare into my soul
You got me where you want me
I'm under your control

Sunday, January 26, 2014

The Beginning

There are so many factors that you need to consider when you set out to write an amazing song, and each of these factors needs to grab the listener. You need a relatable muse, tone, and lyrics. Once you've established these, you must address the tempo, the key, the notes and chords, and the vocals, and how you want to include these in the song. After all this work, you will spend hours recording and editing until you have come up with your final product. This entire process could take anywhere from weeks to years. The song Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen supposedly took 7-10 years to get to its perfection of a final product, and took three weeks to record alone. I, on the other hand, have a mere semester to achieve musical greatness.

I will break up these factors (the muse, tone, lyrics, key, notes/chords, vocals, and recording) into individual blog entries that I will be posting every friday until I reach my final product. The road to greatness is a long one, and I want to document every step of my journey. Also, In every blog post I will be including a link to a song that I believe to be excellent, for me as inspiration and for your listening pleasure. This week's song, of course, is Bohemian Rhapsody.

https://soundcloud.com/ecpa/queen-bohemian-rhapsody

Join me on my journey as a novice, though study and passion, attempts to create a musical masterpiece.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Rhapsody