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If you want to look at or download the lyrics or charts of my tunes, click here. I would feel very honored if you would play them and even record them. They are all registered with ASCAP.
Here are some thoughts on composing and writing lyrics……
I love to write tunes. There’s a whole different process that goes into this then what happens when you’re performing. The main difference is that you can go back and fix stuff when you are writing tunes till, by golly, you get it the way that you want it. (Unlike performing which is like playing a sport- in the moment- and well, you just got to roll with what you do and make it work). Still, catching the inspirational flow is the object in both types of creative adventures and often the skill of “making it work” helps you to keep that flow going in either discipline.
I have written most of my tunes in the same way. I try to basically relax and just play without editing or judging myself. I would capture it all on my computer thru a high tech “midi” device that connects from my acoustic piano to the computer. (In a way this is just a glorified tape recorder.) The process, although you must make the time to do it, is extremely satisfying to me.
At this point, the real discipline is needed. You see, you have to then go over what you played and sort out the good stuff from the meanderings. Maybe there are moments in it that you knew you had meant to play this or that, and so you fix it. After doing all of that sort of thing, my way would then be to print out it out from the computer on music paper. This would basically be an out of time thing and I would then have to figure out what it was that I actually played- what we call transcribing it- and then “fill in the blanks” and make it all work.
A lot of times the entire tune would come out pretty much whole and it would feel like some kind of divine intervention. Like, for instance, the piece that I wrote entitled “The Salt Suite”-which contains the tune “Guardian of Crystals”- came out completely done. All I had to do was transcribe my improvisation. I am really proud to say that this tune won 2nd place in an international song writing competition that was sponsored by www.saltqueenfoundation.com.
The tunes that I have written with lyrics have a story that is kind of wild. In many of them, the lyrics came way after the fact- basically within the last few years- even when the tune was written long, long ago. I have been able to really capture the moment when the tunes were originally inspired even if the words came a decade later. Wild, huh?
Writing tunes is extremely satisfying. It’s nice to feel like you have a finished product that is neatly put onto a piece of paper. Although I love the buzz of performing, you just never-ever feel like you’re done. That’s OK, though. I’ll just keep doing them both.
So, here’s the stories behind some of my tunes:
“Swingin’ for the Ride” is not an example of what I was just talking about. I wrote the music sometime in 2006 and on the 4th of July in 2006 I wrote the lyric. I had sent my wonderful hubby, who I lovingly call my monkey, to the World Poker tournament. He was pretty gosh darned excited. Meanwhile, I have been nicknamed the energizer bunny- hence “feelin’ hop electric.” We had been told by an intuitive person that we would write a story together. I think this is the story. The words of this song really reflect my attitude towards life now and what I’ve been through. My life has not always been easy, but I have been able to accept “stuff” and move along- trusting that the spirits will help me.
“Seems Like A Dream” was written originally during the humongous snow storm that happened on January 7th, 1996. The entire city of New York was closed to traffic and people were skiing down Broadway. It was a wild day- so quiet and beautiful. Just as the song goes, I was sitting in my apartment at the time which had lots of windows and watching the snow coming down- writing this tune. The words I wrote in 2005 or 2006, but it was so easy to put myself back into the feeling of that day.
“A Fairytale” music was written when I was down in Florida doing a gig in about 1997. I called up my then boyfriend who unfortunately had “some problems” shall we say. Anyway, I could tell by the way he was talking that I was going to have to end the relationship with him. And, it made me so sad because I really cared about him. So, the song had this feeling to it of “It’ll be alright. No, it won’t be alright”….back and forth until I was left in kind of a state of confusion. The words, again written in 2005 or 2006, really took me back to those moments where I was trying to grapple with doing what I had to do because of the reality of the situation, as opposed to having wishful thinking.
“The ‘I Do’ Song” was originally called “Easy” which is kind of funny given the connotations of the term "easy" and the fact that the tune was and is anything but easy to play. It does have a super happy feeling to it and the words are all about my wonderful hubby and my relationship which has been so incredible. I hope this tune gets played for lots of happy couples. One of the lines in it that I like refers to ‘the match that I always dreamed of.’ Well folks, my hubby and I met online on Match.com. So, nutty things can happen. We used this song on the back of our homemade wedding invitations. My friend and vocalist, Judi Silvano, also wrote lyrics for this tune which she then called “Easy to Love.” It will be released in the fall of 2007 on the CD Women’s Work.
You ‘n’ Me I wrote while so darned happy in this present relationship. My husband David really liked the tune. I was playing it a lot as it took shape. He asked me to put the song on tape and give him music, which I did. To my utter amazement, when I came home from the gig a few nights later, he had written the lyric to this song. Many folks have said that this is their favorite song of mine (ours) and I love that we wrote it together.
So that’s the story of the tunes on the “Swingin’ for the Ride” CD. Thanks for reading. I hope you’ll feel free to play the songs and/or sing them. It would really be an honor. If you record them, they are all registered with ASCAP. Please pardon me if the dates that I’ve cited are slightly off. That’s not one of my strong suits. I will add more of my tunes onto this website as I record them. It is my goal now, after putting so many of my tunes in the drawer, to take them out and let them be heard (along with other many piles of arrangements, favorite songs and projects that I’ve been collecting for a looooooong time).
Charts of my tunes:
Manuscript Paper the way you need it: 32 bar no pick 1 meas 1st-2nd end 32 bar, w-pick, 1 meas. 1st-2nd end
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This site was last updated 04/05/07