Songs Are A Human Thing

Pack your backpack for SONG CAMP WEEK 1

Songs are a human thing. They’re the music for the voice. Paleoanthropologists believe that our prehistoric ancestors developed singing before language. Singing shaped the way our brains evolved and helped us develop the ability to bond and communicate with each other. Singing is deeply a part of being human, our original way to express feeling. All cultures have singing. (PRE-HISTORIC VOCALISM)

Songs have carried our history and stories for WAY longer than the printed word. They find their way into our consciousness in a way nothing else does, following paths that have existed since before we were even aware of that consciousness.

All musical development comes from singing, and writing a new song taps into that vast history. I love thinking about things like this, I always find a little temporal awe motivating.

Over the next few weeks, we will write some songs. Together. Because that thing in you that wants to write something new to sing isn’t a trivial thing. It’s part of being human. We’ll explore and unite two practices, music and writing, and make something that combines them both.

Welcome to SONG CAMP.

We’re going to climb a mountain. We won’t be the same when we come back. A trip into the wilderness always changes us.

And while it would be great to get right on the trail, we do have to pack the backpack.

It’s a ritual that usually happens the night before. All the gear gets spread out. We check the stove and make sure it works. We get trash compactor bags and line everything against rain. (A down sleeping bag is about as warm as lumpy oatmeal when it’s wet) We borrow our roommate’s water filter. We bag up all our food. We focus on the essentials, the things that we need to survive, should the elements turn against us first. Then we debate the pros and cons of everything else- how much joy and comfort will it bring at camp vs how much it will weigh on us to carry it. When I hiked the Wonderland Trail, I didn’t bring a tent. I brought a super lightweight tarp that I used with my trekking poles. There were a couple of nights when it snowed a little on me, and I questioned that decision, but in the end, the lighter backpack was worth it, and meant I could bring my folding camp chair, which was worth its 1 lb 10 ounces. Plan for disaster, bring everything you need, and nothing you don’t. There is nothing worse than bringing food back from the mountains. Make that pack as light as possible.

But of course, the mountain is in our minds here, and our expedition is into the wilderness of creation and expression, so our packing list is going to look a little different.

What do we need in this backpack that we’re going to carry on this SONG CAMP trail? What are we going to leave at home this time, or maybe under the seat of the car, when we make that last-minute decision to ditch it?

If you had to pack your creative practice into a backpack, What would you bring?

I know it’s really hard for all of us multi-hyphenate creatives, but I have found over and over, if I bring a penny whistle, and a watercolor set, a notebook, and a book to read at night…if I bring them all, I use none of them. I carry all that weight only to be paralyzed by the options. We aren’t going to do that. We are packing light here, folks. We have to leave some things at home, so that we can go deeper with the things we actually strap to our back.

Again, imagine you are packing your creative practice into a backpack, and know that you want to create something with depth, not just fiddle with creative activity. What are you bringing? What are the bare bones that you need to practice? What is staying home on this trip?

Here is my packing list:

1. The tools I need to practice music and writing.

At its most basic, this is my notebook and my voice. You could do this trip like that, but I’m going to have some other things too. An instrument. A rhyming dictionary. A way to record my ideas.

2. Songs that I love.

The tools are there to help us make something that we love. To make something we love, we have to know what we love. The kinds of songs that move you, that light you up, that help you dance like a wild child, or cry when you need to. We can and we should spend a whole lifetime exploring and expanding what we love. In this camp, we’re going to use songs that we love to teach us how to write better lyrics, melodies, harmonies, and grooves. Out here in the wilderness, the songs we love are our map and compass.

So once you have that backpack packed, it’s time to lock the car, clip the key into the top of that pack, and come to the trailhead. The place we go in. The place we’ll come out. No one wants to hang out in the parking lot. Let’s go. The songs are calling.

WORKSHOP

These SONG CAMP workshops will be for paid subscribers, but because I’d like to get everyone started on the same foot, today is for everyone!

This week is all bout getting that bag packed!

We are going to wake up our practices of music and writing so that we can bring them together to play.

We are going to identify our own special brew of inspiration.

We are going to gather our tools and ideas.

MUSIC

This week, we are getting things flowing with some LONG TONES. My first formal instrument training was on the trumpet, and long tones are what it’s all about for early brass players. My whole musical practice has been shaped by the way I was taught to practice, and long tones are my jam. They work for all instruments, and are kind of a no-brainer for singing.

Long tones are the free weights of music practice. Long tones build your ear(intonation), your internal sense of rhythm, and your breath support. No matter what your instrument, they build your focus, control, and stability. They’re also where so much expression comes into music-making.

My favorite long tone exercise is very simple. Make a lip trill on a comfortable note and hold it as long as you can, listening to the sounds you are making. Become the sound you are making. Be present in it until the very end. Listen as deeply as you can until there is no sound, and then listen to the silence.

It’s an exercise. It’s also a meditation. It’s also a doorway to the zone.

If you don’t know what a lip trill is, here is a helpful video:

If it’s new- just give yourself 10 or so passes on any comfortable note. Take a deep breath and keep it going as long as you can. It can super helpful to do these against a drone. I love a cello drone like these:

If you are already a lip trill pro- add some weight. Harmonize with the drone. Keep trying to hold it a little longer. Scan for any tension and try to let it go. TRY DOING IT WITH A TUNER!

Folks- I love the lip trill for so many reasons.

You really can’t do it if you are tense. It forces you to release tension, which is good for all musicians. It requires more breath than just singing, and so it builds your breath capacity and control. Mostly though, I love it because it’s silly and you can’t take yourself too seriously while you do it. It’s never going to “sound good” so you can focus instead on how it feels to make that sound, and what happens in your body to make it happen. It helps you warm up, tune in, and let go.

WRITING

Just like with the Long tones practice, this week is about making sure the tap is on and our writing is flowing.

If you are new to a writing practice, you might want to try some of the exercises in my PRACTICE of ATTENTION workshop. If you are more practiced, try some freewriting that explores what you would like to write a song about.

“What am I really trying to say?”

Josh Ritter once told me that songs are either about a love, a mystery, or a fight. Something in your life hits on those points. There is something that you love. A mystery that has you. Something makes you want to fight. Find that something. Take this idea, and turn it into what I call a hook stone. Your job this week is just to put that love, mystery or fight in your pocket like a smooth pebble, and just keep messing with it. Keep running your fingers over it, flipping it around, and taking it out to play with. Just keep trying to find new ways to say it. Fun ways to say it. Groovy ways to say it. Try to imagine it as a title. It might come to you right away and be super obvious. It might come to you in sleep or just after waking. Straight at you or sideways, if you know what you’re looking for, you’ll catch it.

WHAT YOU ARE MADE OF

What you love is your map, your compass, and your north star.

When it comes to music, everyone has their own brew of what they love and what they have been seeped in.

I want us to write the recipe for our brew.

Name at least 5 songs that are mandatory in the brew that is YOU. When I did this, I found 5 totally frustrating and needed a bucket of 20, but I eventually paired it down to 10 I can work with. Think back through different eras of your life, and choose 5-10 songs that are a major part of forming your taste, and that still ring your bell. Include at least one from your childhood and teenage years. Imagine you are mixing up a musical potion that will help you write songs that make you feel the way these songs do, because in fact, that is exactly what we will be doing with those.

Share YOUR BREW! Tell us what your BREW is! Make a playlist and LISTEN TO YOUR BREW! If you are the type who always looks ahead to the next chapter, then try to identify the exact PARTS of each song that get you. Where is the place that you feel something? Note that. Start to notice what WORDS and SOUNDS really get you.

WAKE IT ALL UP

The idea here is that when you practice these things separately, they start playing with each other in your subconscious. If you notice you want to play with your hook over the cello drone, play with it. If you want to stretch out and sing a long note in the hook, go for it. In the coming weeks, I’m going to keep giving you pieces of armature ways of experimenting with your ideas. I will show you several trails up the mountain and do my best to help you find your way to your songs, but PLEASE REMEMBER - you have permission to play any way you want. This is YOUR SONGWRITING PRACTICE. You have permission to write songs before you know what you are doing. You have permission to try something different than what I am suggesting. It’s different than learning to play an instrument; I’m not worried about you forming bad habits if you do it wrong. Play away. See what comes of just trying to wake it all up.