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Ideas for Music for a Sad Poem

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(@kcfenderfan)
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Okay, so this my first venture into songwriting. I can barely play guitar, so what makes me think I can do this? I was cleaning out a drawer today and found a poem that my Dad had written a few months after my Mom passed away. He has also since passed away.) I want to honor them both by turning this into a simple song. I have played around with some chord progressions that Arjen had posted in another topic in this forum. However, I just can't seem to make it sound how I think it should. I was thinking it should start somewhat somber and then get brighter. Any ideas?

It starts out like this:

I held your hand as you slipped away,
And half of me went with you

The middle is this:

And when my name is called to go
When the angels beckon me

The ending is this:

No tears to take our energy
And no more half a heart

Thanks in advance for even reading my post.
Jim


   
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(@scrybe)
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caveat - its way early here, so gimme a chance to wake up a bit and I'll post more/better later.

an obvious way to go from sombre to upbeat, however, is to use a major key and its relative minor. start with the minor and modulate to the major, so e.g. start in Am then modulate to C major as the piece progresses.

I find with anything other than my general sit-down-and-write-a-song (i.e. anything I'm vaguely 'serious' with) it can help to think about what instruments I'm gonna use and sometimes even do sketches of the piece, marking where it gets busier and where its quieter. the notes I use often depend on those things so much its worth me giving thought to them from the outset.

hth

Ra Er Ga.

Ninjazz have SuperChops.

http://www.blipfoto.com/Scrybe


   
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(@kcfenderfan)
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Thanks for the help, Scrybe. I think I am getting a start on it. We'll see what happens,

Jim


   
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(@scrybe)
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Jim,

kewl, glad I could be of some help. Once I actually get around to posting some of my recordings, I might also post some of these prelim 'sketches' so people can see what I mean. I find a lot of the composing/recording process is helped immensely by some prep work before hand, however vague it is.

Let us know how you get on (or even post it, if its not too sensitive), I'd really like to hear how it develops for you.

Sara

Ra Er Ga.

Ninjazz have SuperChops.

http://www.blipfoto.com/Scrybe


   
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(@kcfenderfan)
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Topic starter  

Thanks Sara, I will. I still can't read it without my eyes tearing up, but I think that I might be able to sing it through. Now my problem is that I have this tune running in my head, but don't know enough about writing music to jot it down. Guess I need to get a cheap recorder.

Thanks again,
Jim


   
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(@scrybe)
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I wrote a few tunes for my pops after he passed away, on the guitar I inherited from him. Kinda benchmarked my 'recovery' by how much (or little) I cried through performing it over time. Even if the songs are crap, they still helped get through a difficult time. There's grooves on the fretboard of that guitar from where he'd played tons - putting my hands where his had been helped me feel like he wasn't really gone. May sound dumb, but it really helped.

Ra Er Ga.

Ninjazz have SuperChops.

http://www.blipfoto.com/Scrybe


   
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(@kcfenderfan)
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Topic starter  

Hey Sara, that doesn't sound dumb at all. I am happy for you that you were able to have the guitar and use it to get you through the tough times. My Mom has been gone for 14 years and my Dad has been gone for about 10 1/2 years and I'm still not over it. I don't know that I ever will be, but I believe this song will really help. I am going to visit my sisters in Denver next month and hope to be able to surprise them with the song, or at least a pretty good work-in-progress.

I really appreciate your support and as soon as I can get it down and recorded, I will post it.

Jim


   
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 geoo
(@geoo)
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Jim

Just the little of it you posted, was beautiful. My mom died when I was around 12 or 13 and I have always wanted to write something for her but have found it too difficult to put down something that I think fits and is appropriate. Its almost like I am too close to the situation.

I understand what you mean about a tune floating around in your head and not being able to get it out on guitar. I dont have a lot of advice on that, its hard for me too, but one thing I have learned is to let go of that, kind of, preconcieved idea in my head and allow the music to mutate a little. That is why generally I write to the chord progression instead of writing the lyrics and then coming up with the song.

I'd love to hear this too when you get it going. If I think of some better advice, I'll post back.

Jim

“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” - David Russell (Scottish classical Guitarist. b.1942)


   
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(@kcfenderfan)
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Topic starter  

Thanks for the kind words, Jim. I hope that someday soon you will be able to find a way to find the words that fit to honor your Mom and if it's not too late, to say that I am sorry for your loss. Before I lost my parents, I thought I knew what heartache was.

Thanks for the idea about letting the preconcieved tune go and let the music mutate. I think I am trying to hard now to find the way that fits. I still want to record the way I "see" it now and be able to look back and see what I did right or wrong. I sang the rough draft to my wife (no guitar) and she thought that it had a country western flavor. Not that it's a bad thing, just her observation.

Jim


   
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(@scrybe)
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Jim(kc),

Yeah, my pops passed away a little over a year ago, but he'd been ill a long time. I was fortunate I made an effort to spend as much time with him as possible while he was around. Heidegger (german philosopher) wrote that you experience the world as a life-world, everything in relation to you and yourself in relation to the world. You take features of this life-world for granted and sort of 'absorb' them, until they break or fail for some reason, and then you become painfully aware of the disconnect. The example he used was of a hammer - its like an extension of you until it breaks and then has no purpose. I notice my pops' absence a lot, often when I have questions I'd take to him, the sort of stuff I knew he was the best guy I knew to answer them. Other times, I'll be doing something like playing guitar, and really nail a performance of a tune, and I can see him grinning about it in my mind, like he never left. But I know I'd rather suffer the pain of losing him than the ignorance of never knowing him. He was genuinely wise, humble and very principled; gave me a lot to live to up to.

As Jim(geoo) said, don't be afraid to stray from what's in your head, music-wise.Often, I'll think I'm really clear on what I want to do for a piece, but in trying to formulate that, I stray from my oiginal vision. Composing's a bit like trying to draw a map giving directions to a location you're not entirely sure of. But when it works, the satisfaction is an amazing high. I look forward to hearing your progress with this journey of yours.

Ra Er Ga.

Ninjazz have SuperChops.

http://www.blipfoto.com/Scrybe


   
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(@kcfenderfan)
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Topic starter  

Thanks for the encouragement, Sara. I guess that one of the problems I have is trying to find a progression that I can sing along with. I don't have a real strong voice, but I haven't worked at it for years other than singing along with the radio or CDs. I used to sing first tenor in my high school choir. However lately, in my mind anyway, I would be a second tenor or baritone. This crazy tune I have running in my head 24x7 (have I said I might have OCD?) seems to start on a G note. That is the closest thing I could find on my guitar that matches. I know I should quit trying to fit the tune, but it has become so engrained I don't know if I could sing it any other way now.

Any advice beside getting stronger meds (LOL!)??

Jim


   
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(@scrybe)
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Alas, my only advice would be "be a rubbish singer." Since I am, and I don't even know my range properly, when guitar and voice don't match as I think they should, it's pretty easy for me to blame it on my voice being crap and then attempt to adjust (my vocals) accordingly. :roll:

Ra Er Ga.

Ninjazz have SuperChops.

http://www.blipfoto.com/Scrybe


   
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(@kcfenderfan)
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Alas, my only advice would be "be a rubbish singer." quote]

Now that I can do! Thanks again, Sara!

Jim


   
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