Singin’ the Blues: “A Few Magic Words”

Songwriting is a process. The perfect song does not just instantly appear on paper or in a recording without working through flaws. Just as the lyrics of a 12-bar blues song typically lay out all the negative statements before stating something that is hopeful in the fourth line, each week I will share the struggles I may have faced when preparing each week’s New Tune Tuesday. I will also share some of the lessons I have learned both in the songwriting and recording process.I will put the struggles and lesson learned in a 4 line stanza that could be used with the 12-blues musical format.

If I were sinign’ the blues, the stanza for this week’s New Tune Tuesday would be:

Can’t find the meter of this new song

Is it 4/4, 3/4, or simply 6/8?

Notating it 3 times takes so much time!

Now it matches my original improv

While writing “A Few Magic Words” I struggled the most with notating the melodic line. I just could not determine the meter (time signature of pulse) of the song. It started out in a standard 4/4, but it didn’t have quite enough pep in its step. I then switched over to a ¾ meter, and I felt the melodic line had a little more bounce to it. But I finally settled when I switched the meter to 6/8 time signature. I know 3/4 and 6/8 have very similar feels, but 6/8 was just how I heard in my head. I don’t know why I had such a hard time matching the notes on the paper to what I was singing, but it all turned out well in the end. I now have a great song with a lot of adaptability and functionality. I used it for the first time the other day, and it provided a very successful verbal interaction for my client.

As I am working on the notation of the next installment of New Tune Tuesday, I have already been faced with another time signature woe. I was able to recognize it more quickly this time around, and did not need to notate the song 3 times! Which is good because it is a more lengthy song!

Make sure to stop by next Tuesday for my next song release! I can't wait to begin recording it this weekend!