Composition

Number three in my little series of how I use music for my own therapy is composition. I'm not going to lie to you, I'm very glad that this one happened when it did. Why? Because I can do a shameless plug! I'll be playing an acoustic show with a friend and opening up for another band, call Mike Mains and The Branches. We'll be doing some covers, but more exciting will be a few of my original compositions. The show is the 19th of July (this Tuesday) and, if you're in or around Mason City, IA this week, you should check it out. Free show and Mike Mains and the Branches are fast becoming one of my favorite summer bands.

Now to the task at hand. Composition is a hard subject to write about because you can take it in so many directions. You can write about the technical aspects, such as chord progressions, rhyming schemes, or melodic contour and dynamics. You can discuss the benefits of releasing emotions through positive means, such as music. The area that I think means the most to my personal compositions, though, the emotional content of music and how I attempt to convey them. This may sound like a mix of the technical and emotional aspects, and in a sense you'd be correct.

When I write music, I always want it to accomplish something. One song may be extroverted and written to tell a story. Another may be introverted and more about personal revelations. Believe it or not, I've even got a song that is meant to be humorous (gasp!). The main current behind all my music, however, is that I wanted the songs to say something. I usually start with an idea, what I want the main point to be. Many times, the song will take on a new meaning when it's done, but I always start with a focus. After that, I try to come up with a few key phrases that I can base at least one verse and a chorus on. My songs don't push any boundaries and are all pretty basic, so I usually write the chorus and first verse. After that, I usually have a pretty good idea if the song is worth finishing, reworking, or if I should just toss it (I've tossed more songs that I care to admit). After a song has made it through the process of writing the lyrics, I usually put it away for a little while so I can come back to it. If, when I sing it again, I still like it, I'll let others hear it. It may seem like a long process, but I've always been one who wants what I say to mean something and I want to say things right. I think too often people write prolifically, putting out dozens, even hundreds of songs, but never actually say anything. I may only have a handful of songs that people will ever hear, but they will all be a piece of me that others can hear.

You may be thinking that this post is starting to get a little long, so I'll start trying to make more sense and wrap it up. I believe that all music should say something. I try to get my music to say something. That's how I use composition as my therapy.

If you want to hear some of my songs (recorded very cheaply on a home computer), check out this site: http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/bryanodeen#!/bryanodeen