Song

Song

 

I have just stopped taking voice lessons with my esteemed teacher Nicole, after two and a half years. She took me from lamentable singer to not-too-bad performer, even if I say so myself. After a year of intense coaching and practice I achieved my goals, rather to my surprise. We then formed a duo named The Duetones and together have recorded about 200 videos (about 150 different songs—there are repeats of some). They range from ballads to blues to rock to pop and everything in between—all my favorite songs basically. That means I had to learn all those songs, from top to bottom. I could expatiate on each of them at some length. In addition, at Nicole’s prompting, I began writing songs and now have about 60 of my own compositions. Let me tell you, this isn’t easy: it’s a completely different way of writing. This is an object lesson in what you can do if you try, even at the age of 70.

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4 replies
  1. paul reinicke
    paul reinicke says:

    Been spending months organizing thousands of pages of notes. And your website popped up again on one of them. That’s what led me here. Good luck to you. On your songwriting and “retirement” from blogging about philosophy (I read your previous post as well). You might like my http://www.ecoideaman.com/bookmark-this-page page on my website. On it, I include a few links to podcasts pertaining to songwriting. I’m always finding more things to add to that page. Going through my aforementioned notes, I just came across another gem. An Omnia song titled “Earth Warrior.” It has over 12 million views on YouTube. I’m not surprised. It’s actually quite good. Again, good luck to you! May the song be with you.

    Reply
  2. paul reinicke
    paul reinicke says:

    Great. Looking forward to hearing some of your songs (if you do that). I often give Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” as a perfect illustration of how you don’t necessarily need much. That song is just six really short, simple lines, plus one metaphor. That’s it! And it’s been covered by over 150 artists.

    Reply
    • Colin McGinn
      Colin McGinn says:

      You are quite right; I usually need to restrict my vocabulary. You do need a catchy line, however. Gary Glitter’s Rock n’ Roll must be the simplest of all, consisting only of “Hey” much repeated.

      Reply

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