A couple of months ago, I got the incredible opportunity to talk with one of my heroes, Jasper Sloan Yip, as part of this project. I've learned a lot from Jasper and his music (and you can hear his influence in my songs) -- one of his recommendations to me was that I begin keeping a journal to write down thoughts and ideas that pop into my head. Everywhere that I go, that notebook will go too. Wallet, keys, and notebook.
It's been a couple of months now and keeping this journal has definitely affected my songwriting for the better. It's amazing how much slips by. Little ideas about songs or lyrics that pop into my head that I might otherwise forget, suddenly all recorded in this little black notebook I keep.
I have so many ideas about the album and what I want to say -- that's important to me, that I have something to say rather than just saying things -- but I've been struggling to write the music. It takes discipline. I just need to sit down and force myself to write, and I've been trying to do that a whole lot more lately. It's funny, although I've written very little music, I feel as though I've made incredible progress on the iceberg of the album. At this point I am probably about halfway through the album as far as actual song goes. It is tough to say.
Another piece of advice Jasper had for me was not to try and shape the music too consciously, but rather to just follow the ideas and see where they lead me. I can always go back later and refine things if necessary.
Writing music is hard, but I'm making progress. The goal is to have all the songs written in some form by the beginning of the fall term, and then to sit down with some friends, tear those songs apart and put them back together again.
It's been a couple of months now and keeping this journal has definitely affected my songwriting for the better. It's amazing how much slips by. Little ideas about songs or lyrics that pop into my head that I might otherwise forget, suddenly all recorded in this little black notebook I keep.
I have so many ideas about the album and what I want to say -- that's important to me, that I have something to say rather than just saying things -- but I've been struggling to write the music. It takes discipline. I just need to sit down and force myself to write, and I've been trying to do that a whole lot more lately. It's funny, although I've written very little music, I feel as though I've made incredible progress on the iceberg of the album. At this point I am probably about halfway through the album as far as actual song goes. It is tough to say.
Another piece of advice Jasper had for me was not to try and shape the music too consciously, but rather to just follow the ideas and see where they lead me. I can always go back later and refine things if necessary.
Writing music is hard, but I'm making progress. The goal is to have all the songs written in some form by the beginning of the fall term, and then to sit down with some friends, tear those songs apart and put them back together again.