Wednesday, December 23, 2015

the last dance at the prom (underwater)

It had been too long, so today I pulled out my old electric guitar and wrote some music with my sister. Typically, I'll start by creating the chords and music, then my sister will make the melody and opening lyrics, and I'll follow with more lyrics and harmony.

Today was no different, but for some reason, we both became so fixated by one riff in particular that we ended up playing it over and over again, just listening. It can only be described as the last mournful dance at a prom thrown underwater. And that is how it sounded, at least to us. It was so grungy! This is how I feel today. Also, I decided that my next dream guitar is this bad boy right here.

Sometimes I feel like music is something of a third entity in the room, pushing forward from my fingertips and desiring to tell me something I don't already know. Sounds and songs I never knew I had in me come scratching out onto the surface in the most beautiful way. It's such a wonderful gift that God has given people, this gift of music. It is my entire life.

Do you play an instrument? What is your relationship with music like?

6 comments:

  1. I heard your song and it is beautiful and I love the name. :) I like what you said about music being a third entity too. I feel it.

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    1. Thanks, Sophie! :) It's definitely a work in progress, still just the bare bones, but it was so much fun to write.

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  2. I love this so much, Erin! I play piano, but I could never describe it as beautifully as you do <3

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    1. Thank you so much! I have always wanted to learn to play piano proficiently. It is the most beautiful, haunting instrument!

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  3. "Sometimes I feel like music is something of a third entity in the room, pushing forward from my fingertips and desiring to tell me something I don't already know."

    My goodness. So well-said.

    I've only recently gotten brave enough to "jam." I played in band and orchestra, which is very structured and doesn't involve any improvisation. For this reason, coming up with melodies and such on the fly has always terrified me. My husband is much better and just letting it happen and figuring stuff out as we go. I'm still really horrible at it, and I still let my perfectionistic tendencies get in the way too often. But it really is an amazing thing, an entirely separate force in the room.

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    1. Ooh, improvising is still not something I'm comfortable with, either. I'm not good enough to just come up with stuff on the fly in front of other musicians! But I love that music is something you and your husband share. Playing in an orchestra also sounds amazing!!

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Go with grace.