Songwriting is a strange pastime. I tend to have melodies pop into my head, pick up the iPad to access the MOTIV audio app and either sing very badly into the iPad microphone to capture the melody. Or pick up the guitar and play strumming enquiries to see if a song can develop. I can easily forget the little nuances of what develops at times. So if they are there and present in even the worst form, warts and crashed notes do not bother me. I know the results will change as progression of an idea gathers pace. Hopefully to see better days down the line.

I have been watching The Beatles ‘Get Back’ film on Disney (6 hours length made in 3 two hour blocks). Seen it three times now. Lots of insights in how they were rushing to get their ‘Let it Be’ album out. It is a fascinating watch. Inspirational too. I also have The three double CD releases of The Beatles anthology albums too. Their songs stripped down to basics when being written. Also listen to YouTube ‘Bass and Drums only’ recordings of their albums.

I like to exchange the whole process of how songwriting works for myself to others. Also, not bothered in presenting the ugly process at times. I am a Bass player with a small amount of skill. I am also pretty basic on the acoustic guitar too. I can provide rhythmic skills to how I play though. That helps enormously. I play the guitars as I would play the djembe drum. Patterns develop of a ‘beat’ nature. Whatever the recordings outcome when capturing an idea? It doesn’t matter. It is so pleasurable to be able to ‘have a go’ at this interest.

I have a very old cassette recording I found of a song called ‘Judy’. From 1978. Dave, the guitarist, was singing main verse. The XCerts, having just written this over the day, got it down on one of those old four track tape machines. The cassette is really ropy. But it shows how a song comes together over a day when there were three of us involved. Wish I had people around me now. Flying solo is so frustrating at times!

JUDY by the XCerts. A cassette recording found recently.

Also, even though truly basic and rough as houses, I have included below a couple of ‘muck about’s’ of simple strumming for ideas from end of November, last year. They are a nice example of songs that are currently revisited and being changed. I have a new verse tune for ‘Always so Blue’. The ‘And you….Always so Blue’ bit stays the same, but more controlled melodically. I do tend to drop in and use old lyrics at times just to give words to tune ideas. ‘There’s a million with shotguns’ is a very old lyric from the 1970s. They can be nuanced vocally. A word adds a treasure for emotional inclusion. ‘Giving it Time’ came out of the blue here. I’ll keep that. But I haven’t worked on anything more with it yet. When singing La La tunes because of lack of ideas, it become very tedious. They only sound like a thought for an instrument inclusion tune like a saxophone, guitar lead/riff or similar.

‘GIVING IT TIME’ AND OTHER STRUMMED MEANDERINGS.

‘ALWAYS SO BLUE’ IN ITS INFANCY.

A TINY LITTLE IDEA LAST WEEK TO GET AT A BASS RIFF WITH A LITTLE TUNE WHISTLE.

An add to:

You get the picture when you have a song finished and just blister into the song for real and the energy explodes.

SATISFIED.

Afterthought:

Thank the stars for a Bass Guitar and a bunch of self written songs. Ongoing dipping in and out of various lyrics and melodies to get at completion of the new songs.

The rain over the last few months means hunkering down indoors mostly. So songwriting, listening to others’ music and reading books have been essential pastimes.

The weather is changing now hopefully. A bit more sunshine developing in the sky. So suddenly a new adventure can spring from this.