In my mind, more music in the world is a wonderful thing. Combining music with the sharing of stories from real people and their lives is even better. The more songs I write from the stories of human lives, the more I want to spread those songs far, wide, and everywhere in between. This is…
Category: career
Growing pains
I recently attempted Story-to-Song (STS) in a new forum. I had spent a week learning about an education technique called Facilitated Dialogue, a new realm the National Park Service is exploring for expanding beyond the formal interpretation techniques that have been employed for many years. Rather than the park ranger speaking as the authority on…
Demonstrating Story-to-Song
This third video in the “What is Story-to-Song” series is a live demonstration of the songwriting process. I share an original story and create a song on the spot. Join me in writing a song and then try your hand at writing your own! I hope you will share your thoughts, feedback, and songs with…
How I found Story to Song
The second in a mini series about writing a song from a spoken story.
What is Story-to-Song?
Curious how a song is written? I am starting a film series on how I write songs using the Story-to-Song method. Here is the introduction! Stay tuned for more…
All by myself
It can feel pretty lonely up there at the mic, and I have found ways to avoid direct contact with the audience while I am performing. I often sing with my eyes closed. It helps me to feel the rhythm and to focus on the story of the song. Somehow, with my eyes closed I…
Inner critic, be damned!
My inner critic and I have known each other for a long time. As much as I would like to send it packing, I know that we are a part of each other. A gift from my inner critic is when I discover its limitations. Without fail, after each low moment when I let that…
Where nearly no one knows my name
For much of my life, I have felt like an anomaly. These past few years of moving around, I thought I had found peace with this feeling. Tonight, I went to my second ever open mic in Lowell at the Back Page. All day, I had felt in a bit of a funk, not myself….
Make the audience your friend
In my experience performing with ukulele in hand, I have found that befriending the audience helps alleviate much of the stress from being vulnerable on the stage. When I befriend the audience, I am no longer standing up there in front of a bunch of strangers. I can create a temporary community with everyone in…
Performance do’s and don’ts
In my last post, I began a dialogue about musical performance. This dialogue was inspired by a fellow musician, who wrote to me recently with questions on the subject. One her questions was how to remember music when you are in front of an audience. I reflected on this question. Remembering lyrics has always come…
Guiding Song 