7-in-7 [Day 8]April 26, 2010 / 6 Comments I finished this song at 2:30am this morning. It was my last one. I’ve been wanting/needing/trying to write a song for Jamie for a LONG time. This one is WAYYY overdue. But I think she’ll like it. It’s called “Try.” Here are lyrics to “Try” I want to write a song to tell of all my love I want to write a play about a girl who finds, There’s no way to understand, no way to comprehend But I will try. Close your eyes and dream of our future, There’s no way to understand, no way to comprehend But I will try. 7-in-7 [Day 7]April 26, 2010 / No Comments Yesterday was day 7! And I actually wrote 2 songs. I was really excited about how things were flowing throughout the day. After Jamie’s family left Sunday afternoon, we went to the 5pm at our church (The Stone). It was an amazing night and I came home and wrote a song “O Wonderful Love!” It was inspired from Halim’s sermon. Here are the lyrics for “O Wonderful Love!” King of Glory, forever worthy We confess You’re all we need; O Wonderful Love! Wonderful Love! We were in darkness ’til beauty rescued We confess You’re all we need; O Wonderful Love! Wonderful Love! 7-in-7 [Day 6]April 25, 2010 / 3 Comments Yesterday was Day 6. I didn’t get a chance to blog about it. It was a long, but really productive day. I started fairly early yesterday. It was Saturday, so that meant we had a few soccer games in the afternoon. I was surprised how quickly song #5 came! Within a few hours I had a working verse and chorus. Then, the rest just kinda came together after that. It was encouraging, because until then it was taking me 8-10 hours for each song. I’ve figured it up…I’ve spent about 8 hours nearly every day this week on writing. Typically, I’ll spend a few weeks on starting & finishing a song. So, doing all of that within one day has been a big stretch for me. It’s forced me to stop meddling and make a firm decision on lyric and melody, then move on. I like the movement it’s forced me to keep. I tend to wallow in a song for weeks…this has forced me to approach the process with less pressure of making something “amazing” and simply write what’s on my heart and in my head. Day 6 song is titled “Trust Me.” I think I might demo all of these songs (even if it’s just piano/vocals) and post them on here for you guys to listen to. Here’s the lyrics to “Trust Me” The mighty wind that moves the ocean waves From the time you were born, you ran away from Me, Oh, won’t you trust Me. Etched within a tree I wrote me love for you, Oh, you can trust Me. May all the stars within the sky 7-in-7 [Day 4]April 22, 2010 / No Comments Most difficult thing in this 7-in-7 challenge… walking away from a song and labeling it “FINISHED.” It feels totally unnatural to do that. I’m used to spending weeks on a song, so to write one and consider it instantly done is so hard. But I absolutely see the benefit of this challenge. It forces you to find a starting point and a stopping point. My friend Austin and I were talking (he’s also doing this 7-in-7) about how hard it is to balance being a perfectionist with completing an artistic task. They seem to fight each other. I told him that I had to make a conscious choice to approach today MUCH differently. I had to release myself from self-imposed pressure to write 7 GREAT songs this week. Instead the only pressure was to start and finish 7 song ideas. Then, if an absolutely terrible song is started…AT LEAST that thought is forever thrown away and you don’t have to deal with it anymore. I just finished song #3. ”Surrender.” Hands-down the most poppy song I’ve ever written. Jamie says I’ve been listening to too much hip-hop lately. Fair. Now, I’m starting song #4. Late night for me. 7-in-7 [Day 3]April 21, 2010 / 3 Comments As some of you know, I’m voluntarily putting myself through the torture of something we’ve titled “7-in-7.” It’s basically a songwriting challenge/exercise to write 7 songs in 7 days. I’m joining with some friends here in ATX that are also songwriters and committing themselves to long days/nights of frustration, ripped pages, and melody-searching. It’s drawing near to the end of Day 3, and I have 2 completed songs. (yes, I know…I’m behind). This challenge has been really difficult for me. Honestly, without discipline, I can go days without sitting at a piano or guitar. For me, this challenge is forcing me to work on creativity, not just wait around for inspiration or creative juice (whatever that is) to flow. The first couple of days were not good. And today has been incredibly long. I worked for a few hours this morning on a couple of melody ideas I had…but no lyrics were to be found. Then, this afternoon from about 3:30-6pm I hashed out some more progressions and melodies, but nothing seemed to work. I was frustrated again around 9pm and decided to get out of the house and go run. After running about 5 miles on a stinking treadmill, I came home and have been determined to see this thing through. It’s now almost midnight, and I’m wrapping up song #2. It’s dark. I didn’t intend for it to be. But it’s a dark song. One no one will probably ever hear. Song therapy maybe? I have a deep respect for songwriters that write a song a day…much-less those that write 15 or so a month. I want to get better. I want to articulate what I’m experiencing in my heart/soul better. And that takes practice. Lots of it. And practice means writing quite a few really bad songs…and trusting that good ones come out once in a while too. Honestly, I’ve learned something about myself in these 3 days. I’m a perfectionist. Actually, I already knew that. But, I didn’t know that my perfectionist approach to everything actually HINDERS my songwriting ability. I never want to write a bad song. Or waste a melody on a potentially mediocre song. So, I just retreat…and wait…and end up paralyzed by my perfectionism. It’s not good. The aim of writing shouldn’t be to craft an excellent song every time…or to write a “hit.” The aim of writing should simply be to write what the heart is experiencing. And the more honest and transparent we are, the better…right? I hope so… Song #1 – “What a Savior” 
|
BETWEEN THE BEAUTY & CHAOSAvailable now!
The new full-length album centers around God’s faithfulness and beauty, and the church's response to injustice, poverty, and orphans. The 10 song album reflects a heart for the Kingdom of God here and now, between the beauty and the chaos.
|
