Performance based on emotion

Thinking about the previous post, I really think that Sara Bareilles does this fantastically well in this version of Gravity. Simple, effective.

Ok, so maybe I do have a bit of a crush on her. She's got the greatest voice ever!

Performance based on song

Juliana gave me an interesting assignment this week: to take a song, and to go through it, section by section, and identify the emotion that is being portrayed. And once you've done that, identify physical states which can be used in performance to portray those emotions. I think that I've always thought about performance, but never from an emotional point of view, only from a "That would be cool onstage" point of view. But thinking about it, none of the great shows that I've seen were great because of the flash that they did; it was the small, emotional cues in the music and body language that did it. Dave Matthews and Eddie Vedder I think both do this extremely well. They really sink their entire beings into each line, and that's what makes a good performer.

Choruses? Try not to be too preachy

As I've been seriously engaged in some songwriting for the past few weeks, I'm finding that I have no trouble really writing the lyrics for a verse. Come up with a concept, tell a story, use neat metaphors; that's all easy stuff. The hard part of songs is writing choruses. The problem is, everything that I write comes out like I'm a pretentious, preachy ass, which maybe I am. But that's not what I want to be. And I guess that's not entirely true. I'm ok at writing choruses for songs that are self analytical, or told in the first person, because then the chorus can become a part of the story. The problem occurs when a song tells more than one story. Then the job of the chorus would be to bring together the themes that carry through all of the stories. But it's difficult to do that without being preachy.

Why are people so engaged by a catchy, few word chorus anyway? I guess I can't talk, because I am too. I just can't write them very well. They sound so juvenile. Either my chorus has too many words in it and is therefore difficult to remember, or there aren't enough and I sound two. *sigh* Ah well. Keep plugging away at it, I suppose.

Do you think anyone would like a song about waiting for a plane and observing the people? I don't care; I want to write it. I've even got a chorus in mind for it...

Santana at Woodstock

This is probably old news for most people (It's been viewed two and half million times), but this is one of the best jams ever. I'm not even close to old enough to remember Woodstock (hell, my parents are too young to remember Woodstock), but kind of wish I'd been there.

I can't believe that drummer was 20.

Santana Rocks



Thanks Justin_Bobby on Twitter!

Pink Floyd never again

Apparently David Gilmore has decided that he won't have fun playing with Pink Floyd anymore, which means no more reunions. This is of course a little disappointing, since I'd love to see the band play again (I've seen both Gilmore and Roger Waters), but I have to respect the guy. Whatever his reasons, which he claims aren't because of his tiff with Roger, he's not caving into any sort of pressure, either from fans or from money. I understand he was offered a lot to do a reunion.

Here's a guy who knows what he wants to do, and is sticking to it. There's nothing wrong with not reliving the past; he's ready to move on, and is happy doing that.

Negligence

Yes, I've been negligent (not that anyone reads this blog yet). I haven't posted in weeks. IT almost makes me feel better that in that time I've launched a new blog (which I do update daily) and a YouTube Contest, which is already more of a success than I ever thought it would me. But that's no excuse for neglecting my personal blog. I'm going to be better about it.

Right now I'm watching Pan's Labyrinth and playing with my Twitter account, which I am going to use a lot more. The music in this movie is great. It's subtle, but really impacts the movie in certain points. I think it would be a great deal of fun to score a movie. I wonder how Ben Folds did it with over the hedge?

I learned how to play Mamma Kin on the guitar yesterday. Twasn't terribly hard, but it's a great deal of fun. Go Joe Perry!



Time to find some more music to listen to and play!