Songwriting

So you finally have a few tunes under your belt. Now it is time for a process or creation of a method for a maintenance program of your ever-developing library of music. I have been able to maintain about a five-hour repertoire in standard and multiple tunings this way and for me it seems to work quite well.

Once a piece of music is established in my hands, probably the most fun I can ever have with a tune is when I can enhance it. This is the stage when I can actually play the tune AND play with it.   It’s almost like decorating in a sense as I now have the freedom to accessorize - trying out all sorts of things. As I navigate through some of the passages, little things tend to pop up, sometimes seemingly on their own. I might leave out a note that was normally there, create a more intense (or softer) vibrato, or apply a right hand palm mute.   I might get a bend to bite a little more or apply a more subtle double bend with a release in between…and so on.  

Remembering a tune is an important aspect of my career, because I genuinely like to do more than just learn or compose a piece of music and then just maintain it.  I like to further develop each tune to a higher level of its potential - enhance it, color it, play with the movements within the phrasing, and ultimately understand the tune's contribution to the world's musical repertoire.

So you want to write a tune, or learn a tune, or remember a tune, or enhance a tune? 

The creation of a tune is what I would like to finally address, as it happens to be one of my favorite topics.  I’ll begin with the first question that has to do with the creative process as well as the subconscious thoughts that can derail the effort before it even gets off the ground.