This is what I did
Mar 09 '01
The Bottom Line If you sing about this moment, it will last. If you sing it to the right person at the right time, it will last forever.
I started listening to music and taking an interest in 1993 when I watched "Sound of Music." I loved this movie and the music in it. The song, "Favorite Things" really gave me that good feeling when I listened to it. At the time I was 11 years old and didn't know much about music. I only knew what sounded good to me.
When I was 12, I started learning the guitar. I played and played it in my bedroom for hours every single day. I couldn't sing but that didn't stop me from trying.
When I reached the age of 13, I decided to write a song and see how I would get on. I took the words from Psalm 34 and changed them around a little and then sat down with my guitar and wrote the music. I thought I did quite well, but it is only now that I realize my music was really good. That song was called, "He Delivered Me."
Between 1993 and 1996 I wrote about 16 songs. I kept them to myself though because I didn't think they were very good. Back then I decided that I would never be a good music writer. There goes a small dream.
Well, in 1997 I wrote a song called "Spablessness," a silly song about my baby sparrow that died. My music teacher thought it was such a great song with a very catchy melody. That inspired me to write another song called, "Tiger's Song." Yeah, ok, so they are kiddie type songs, but my music teacher was blown away. He even said at one stage that one day I would rise above Elton John's talent, but even now I highly doubt it.
In 1998 I wrote a song called “My Tuning Head Keeps Falling Off.” This song became a real hit with everyone that heard it. Actually, I became known as the guy who wrote ‘the tuning head song.’ After that song came many others, most being as good or even better.
Luck changed during 1999 when I started getting criticism from people who didn’t like me. Even though these people were only putting my music down to get at me, it did affect my music writing ability. During the first 8 months of that year I only wrote about 20 songs. Toward the end of the year I met a girl who has an awesome talent in song writing and she gave me a lot of encouragement which inspired me to write good music once again. The last song I wrote that year was “I’m So Grateful You Did.” That song was so wonderfully put together and it only took me about 3 hours from looking for a pen and paper to finishing a recording of that song.
Up to this date I have written over 100 songs. I write songs fast, just like Elton John, and the songs I write in under half an hour are usually my best ones.
For you people who write music, keep going. The biggest rule in music writing is that there are no rules. If someone says to you, “but you can’t use that chord after using this one…” don’t listen. If it sounds good, do it.
Here are some tips:
· If it doesn’t sound good, experiment for a while before throwing it away.
· Keep a recorder handy because it is usually the first idea that is the best.
· If you spend more than an hour on an idea, set it aside and come back to it later, don’t keep trying or your end result will be bad.
· When you are writing music to pre-written lyrics, read the lyrics and try to imagine the way they would sound in a real life situation. For example, if you have some lyrics that write, “And she came to me with open arms,” you may think they sound emotional, so therefore you will want to write strong, powerful, but not to severe music.
· If you don’t like some music you wrote, don’t throw it away too soon. Set it aside and come back to it the next day and listen to it again. You may find that you hear it a different way. Remember, some of the better songs are the ones that grow on you.
· If someone says, “Hey! That music sounds familiar,” take it as a compliment. Familiarity is a sign of good music writing. That is only if you haven’t actually copied someone.
· When writing music, don’t compile clichéd music. Use your imagination. Even if you go to the extreme and use notes that clash, they may sound good if used the right way and in the right place.
· Complicated music may sound good, but simple is better. Take the John Lennon song, “Imagine” for example. The verse is about as simple as it gets using only two chords, but even so, it was one of his greatest songs.
I hope I can help someone with what I have written about me and my techniques of music writing. Not everyone is the same so don’t take my methods and rules as gospel. Try different methods and techniques and don’t be afraid to try something that seems silly.
It just might work!
(before anyone attempts to give their opinion on what I have just said, you have to listen to my music to make any complaint or appraisal fair. You can hear some of my music here – http://www.geocities.com/masontorrey/index.htm )
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Epinions.com ID:
ikat_knows
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Member: Mason Torrey
Location: Whangarei, New Zealand
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
I am Mason J Torrey. Entrepreneur, writer, publisher, ideas specialist. Born 6th May, 1981.
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