Performance Announcement

Since the last open mic at The Post and Lintel was such a success, I have been invited and enthusiastically accepted the invitation to return for another appearance! 

What: Open Mic Night
Where: The Post and Lintel - 34 S. Market Street (Across from I.T. Pizza), Selinsgrove
When: May 6 - 6:30 p.m.

Songwriting

Lately I've been stressing because I can't seem to write another song that I feel really connected to and proud of. I know I have plenty to say, my issue is I don't know how to successfully pinpoint those words/feelings and I'm not altogether sure what exactly I want to say or convey through a song. I have come up with different chord progressions and riffs, but no words seemed to fit quite right.

That's when I went back to the basics of songwriting. I came to remember that you can only sing about what you know. So I began to allow myself to think freely so I could figure that out. I then began to think about what I want out of life now and how I'm feeling about where my life is going, and even thinking about where I am as a person. What do I have to improve upon? What am I doing well? What are my current goals?

I began this self-proclaimed form of meditation and began writing a stream of conciousness, anything that came to my mind I would write down. Eventually it led me to realizing that I'm fairly content with where I am in life because I'm finally happy with who and where I am. And so the idea was born, to write a song about coming out of a struggle, surviving a struggle.

So, it begins, the official songwriting process. It's a tough one and can be incredibly frustrating, especially when you feel like nothing's working and you can't seem to find peace in any lines you write. But, keep writing and taking note of everything around you and soon enough, a song will come to you.

Performance Announcement

I will be performing my first ever solo open mic tonight!! I will be singing and playing guitar (something I have never done before. I will be performing an original song along with 2 covers: Beyonce & Kara DioGuardi.

What: Open Mic Night
Where: The Post and Lintel - 34 S. Market Street (Across from I.T. Pizza), Selinsgrove
When: 6 p.m.

New Triumphs, Bring New Challenges

I'm happy to say that after countless hours of practicing over the past 2-3 months, I am officially able to play the guitar comfortably. This may not seem like much of a triumph, but I should explain what I mean. I am at a point in playing where my fingers know the chords well enough to be able to look at a song's chords/tabs and play it without a problem. This is not something I have ever been able to do.

In the past, it would take me days to get a song down, but now my brain and my fingers know the chords so well that I can play it without practicing all that much. For example, I was practicing a song for my open mic yesterday and I went through the song and realized I didn't think much about guitar the whole time I was singing, it just sort of...happened. It's a very cool pay-off.

However, now my new challenge is getting too wrapped up in the vocals of the song and losing my strumming pattern. This seems to happen to me quite a bit. I think some of it has to do with the fact that I am so used to only being concerned with vocals that I am still getting used to splitting my attention. But, I figure that is something that will also come with time, just as my recent triumph did!

"Actions Speak Louder"

I recorded this song using my Mac, so it's a bit choppy and not perfect. But, I had a few friends who really wanted to hear it so I just recorded it rough so people could hear it and will perfect it later. So, here is my original song, "Actions Speak Louder":

Songwriting

Typically when I write a song, it only takes me about 20 minutes to write. Then I'll go back and make changes where I need to so it fits the music or change a word. But, generally speaking, a song doesn't take me long to write when inspiration strikes.

However, my first original song that I released 2 weeks ago, took me much longer to write. The first line of my song, "He said I looked beautiful wrapped in the sunrise," comes from a poem that my roommate, Staci Eckenroth, wrote. As soon as she read the line I was hit with a song. What made this song different is that I wrote several different versions of it before I was satisfied.

I finally came upon the version I loved about 3 weeks ago. Then I realized that the guitar didn't fit so I started over, yet again, to find the right chords. Frustrated, I began playing a different song, "Basket Case" by Sara Bareilles and a chord in the song struck me with inspiration, Bm7. In 10 minutes, my song was finally finished.

Check back for the recording, I'll post it later today. Hope you like it!

We Are Egypt

I announced that I was performing at an Egyptian vigil/information session that was being held on campus. The performance happened in February, but I haven't been able to upload the video until now. The camera angle is not incredibly flattering and I was supposed to have background music and a microphone, but both shorted out and wouldn't work so I had to go completely a cappella.  So, without further adieu, here is the video of my performance of "Stand Up For Love" by Destiny's Child.

Mutefish

In the past few weeks, I have been experiencing traditional college senior stress when it comes to life after college. While I have always been sure that music is what I have wanted to do, I'm wondering if I have the stamina to do it. Then I began thinking about a band I saw playing in the streets of Dublin, Ireland: Mutefish.

Mutefish is a band that is fairly popular, I guess you could say, but if you were to look them up you would see that many of their videos feature them playing on the street. I remembered noticing that they all were having such a great time and they weren't in a studio or recording their next big hit. They were playing music for the love of it. Therefore, helping me realize that even if I decide not to become the next Carrie Underwood, I can still enjoy music as I always have...like Mutefish.

Performance Announcement

I am performing tonight at the university's Egyptian Crisis Information Session and Vigil in Isaac's Auditorium at 7 p.m. I will be singing "Stand Up For Love" by Destiny's Child in honor of all those affected by this situation in the Middle East. Please stop by if you're around. I will be posting a video of the performance tomorrow so look for that!

"Falling Slowly"

My latest obstacle on the guitar? Fingerpicking. Personally, I think fingerpicking is the most beautiful method of playing the guitar. The greatest thing I have experienced in practicing fingerpicking happened monday night.

I was practicing the song, "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, and all the sudden I was moving through the progression without watching my fingers. It sounds trivial but it was a big deal for me. Hopefully I will get better and be able to play this song fluently and comfortably enough to begin performing it. Here's the song I've been practicing to play:

Another triumph for me came on the next night where I finally had a breakthrough with a song I had been writing for a while.

I got the inspiration for the lyrics from my roommate who is a Creative Writing major. I had written the lyrics but could not come up with a guitar part that worked well with it. Sure enough, I found the guitar progression to fit it perfectly and have begun practicing that. So, I'm finally on my way with an original song and working on perfecting a guitar skill (fingerpicking). I'm really excited and hopefully soon I will be able to perform on and/or off campus and really get on my way!

Musical Inspirations

I thought I should clue you all in on my top 10 musical inspirations. All of these musicians inspire me either through their own journey, their expressive lyrics or just their overall energy and presence. So, without further adieu, my top 10 inspirations:

1. Zach Hurd - My cousin and biggest inspiration, Zach has been a musician for as long as I can remember and has worked so hard to get where he is now and working even harder to get further. I can only hope to be half the guitarist and songwriter he is one day. Everyone should check out his music, www.zachhurd.com!
2. Bonnie Raitt
3. India.Arie
4. Jennifer Hudson
5. Taylor Swift
6. John Mayer
7. Priscilla Ahn
8. Adele
9. Meshell Ndegeocello
10. Sugarland

Practice Makes Perfect, But It Takes a While

Over this winter break I finally admitted to myself and my family that my only choice after graduation is to indeed move to Nashville, TN and give music a shot as a career. It has taken me a while to admit this is what I want to do because of the caliber of risk it involves.

I know no one in that region of the country so I would be going completely on my own and working my way alone. This is why I have found it incredibly necessary to polish my musical talents while I have the overwhelming support of my family and friends.

While my singing has always been a source of pride for me, my guitar skills have never been strong enough for me to feel confident performing while accompanying myself. So, needless to say this will be my greatest struggle: battling the guitar, one string at a time.

So I tuned my Fender, grabbed my pick and got to work on the guitar by proceeding to play the same four chords over, and over, and over, and..yes..over again until I thought I would never enjoy hearing the progression again.

Yes, my fingers are borderline numb. Yes, I am aware that my left hand has nubs for fingernails and my right hand nails are normal length. But that's two more "Yes's" toward being able to say, "Yes, I performed my own song tonight and accompanied myself."

Adding a Challenge

So as I mentioned previously, this blog is thanks to a class assignment, specifically, my New Media class. Here we are hard at work on our blogs:

While we are indeed, hard at work, I have been thinking of a way to make this blog assignment more challenging on myself. 

As my friends and family know, I have no problem giving my opinion and speaking as long as my breath will hold, so I have decided my challenge will be including songs I have written, are working on and even quotes I have decided to use as inspiration while writing songs. 

The difficulty with sharing my musical works is that any successful musician/songwriter only becomes successful by exposing a part of their innermost secrets and feelings. This can be especially difficult because it means you have to put words and music to feelings or situations you may not understand.

Writing songs is a lot more difficult than it may seem, but half the battle is getting over your own fear of admitting everything you are or believe in your music. So maybe that will become more of my challenge. I guess we'll find out.

About Me

Hello world and welcome to my blog. I am currently a senior at a university in Pennsylvania and getting ready to enter the world lacking direction or even preparation. However, the plan I do have is to take my chance in the music industry as a singer/songwriter. I will use my blog to update you all on my own struggles and successes at my first official recordings of original songs, practicing and attempting to master the guitar and finally culminating in my move to Nashville, TN. There are several aspects of this goal that are incredibly difficult so never fear that I won't have plenty of stories down the road. I hope you enjoy!