Daily Essay

I practiced the piano for several hours today. Slowly the bass clef is unraveling its mysteries to me. I have a CD that I can play along with that takes away the monotony of the repetitive chords. My oldest son told me today that I am obsessed with the piano. I told him and his brothers that practice and study are how you learn and progress. I am glad they are taking notice of the effort I am putting into my education. I am seeing the fruits of my labors as my kids sit with books for hours each day. They each have their areas that they are 'into'. I am enjoying helping them find materials to learn more about their interests.
I also read for quite a while in my Craft of Lyric Writing book. It is a harder book to read than I had first thought it would be. There is a lot of information to assimilate. I am taking notes and trying to picture how I will use each new idea. I also bought the workbook that goes along with the book and I am looking forward to getting into that as well.
I have learned that it is effective to put the title into the songs lyrics at the beginning or even more effectively into each chorus. The title needs to be memorable and can be made that way by things like each word starting with the same letter, or using a day of the week, color, or month. The more memorable the title the better, and the more it can be repeated in the lyrics the better.
A poem and a lyric are different animals. Poems can be round about, use fancy well though out words, and convey a message without ever getting to the point definitely. A lyric needs to get to the point within the first 30 seconds. It needs to be clear from the beginning what it is about, and it needs to build up to something definite with words that clearly convey the message without the listener having to guess.
I am now going over the way songs are put together. There are several different styles, some dating back to the 1700's, and some much more new and modern. I am learning the optimal placement for verses(stanzas), chords, musical interludes, and bridges. I hope that when I put this information to use it will be made more clear to me. I have always used those same componants in songs but there are tried and true ways to use them. I am thinking after today's study that when I am through reading this book, it will be a great source to look to when putting songs together. I am not confident that all of the information is going to stick in my head the first go-round. It is much like reading through a math text. Without the practice, the words and figures on the page make some sense, but the information can't be thoroughly processed until you try it.
My boy Cody and I took turns reading aloud out of his spy novel today. I was impressed with his grown speed and fluency. He has hit the love of reading stage that I have been waiting for for him. Now he can learn anything his heart desires. His big brother Ben does not like his little brother reading so much. It cuts into their playtime together. Ben was diagnosed with a learning disability in that one year of public school that he attended. I have found that he learns just fine if it is hands on. Baking, science experiments, building, working, games, and anything physical are the things that Ben excels at so he can't stand it when his partner-in-crime wants to sit and read when they could be 'doing' something.
Tyler, my 7 year old, is already showing signs that he will be a great scholar. He loves learning to read and is very confident with it. He practices his writing daily and is making marked improvement.