Right before the pandemic I took a songwriting class with Steve Dawson at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, where I also volunteered as a Music Librarian. This is a song I wrote during that class, recorded as a simple voice memo since, at the time, I knew little about microphones, audio interfaces, and even less about mixing or producing.
1.
At the end of 2024, I signed up for Brian Eno’s songrwriting course through the School of Song. The opportunity to learn directly from Brian Eno felt and still feels like a dream come true—especially since I also come to music from a non-traditional path, with a background in Art, experience working with archives, and training from a Software Engineering bootcamp. The first class we were greeted with a big surprise: we had to write a song...right then and there, in just 20 minutes! Below is a video of the inspiration behind the chord progression. The lyrics were “harvested” from the class’ zoom chat combined with a phrase from a poem called Samadhi by Paramhansa Yogananda:
“[...] extends my conscious realm
Beyond limits of the mortal frame
To farthest boundary of eternity
Where I, the Cosmic Sea,
Watch the little ego floating in me.”
Beyond limits of the mortal frame
To farthest boundary of eternity
Where I, the Cosmic Sea,
Watch the little ego floating in me.”
smeared like the wind
blue yellow green
I am still
rolled like oats
flat on a screen
watch the little ego floating in me
2.
After the in-class assignment, the homework invited us to “start with a scape–a scape as in ‘landscape’, ‘seascape’, ‘moonscape’, etc”. The prompt was to take ~15min minutes to relax, sink in, observe our surroundings, and take notes of our observations of the scape. The scape I chose was the acupuncture session I had the next day. I love the idea of “sonic acupuncture” and creating a scape that feels like sonic needles going in, unblocking pathways, and allowing energy to flow through with ease.
This is the view from the waiting area at Sound View Acupuncture, where I see Dr. Iris Cutler in West Seattle. I LOVE coming here and highly, highly recommend it. Every session has brought profound improvements in my physical, spiritual, and emotional wellbeing.
3.
The next homework invited us to try:
- an “uneven” time-signature
- lyrics from a book called “Spanish in Three Months”
- a chord progression randomly generated by tossing a coin or a cow (I used a guitar pick 🙃)
For the lyrics I ended up combining some words from the “Spanish in Three Months” book with the paragraph below from an interview-style text called “Who am I? The teachings of Ramana Maharishi”:
go near the edge
get on the train
know you can count on it
the train carries all loads
all anxieties
so why
after getting on it
should you carry your pain
up on your head
instead of laying it down
feeling at ease
get on the train
know you can count on it
the train carries all loads
all anxieties
so why
after getting on it
should you carry your pain
up on your head
instead of laying it down
feeling at ease
4.
The last homework invited us to “reclaim our attention and write a song of revolution.” 🫥 The first step required a “digital detox” to take a break from all digital devices, which nowadays are mostly a source of endless distraction and exploitation of our attention. Then, we were invited to freewrite on the question: what future do I want for the world?
This was my first time making a beat and recording a song with 2 different tempos in Ableton 🙃. The last 3 lines of the first verse come from a poem by Rumi.
5.
The last homework invited us to “reclaim our attention and write a song of revolution.” 🫥 The first step required a “digital detox” to take a break from all digital devices, which nowadays are mostly a source of endless distraction and exploitation of our attention. Then, we were invited to freewrite on the question: what future do I want for the world?
This was my first time making a beat and recording a song with 2 different tempos in Ableton 🙃. The last 3 lines of the first verse come from a poem by Rumi.
what kind of being are you?
we are the mirror and the face in it
we are pain and what cures pain, both
we are the sweet cold water and the jar that pours
we are aware
we are aware now now
now now now
we are aware
we are aware now now
now now now
bing bing bing bang boom
look look look at me
check check new
new new new
do that and this and this
multitask
follow, subscribe
how to cure everything and get rich in under 2 minutes
stay and pay
pay with your attention
pulled in all directions
each breath like a thread
weaves a blanket of sanity
to lay in
now now now
we are awareness now
now now now
we are aware
we are awareness now
you are too
you are too
you are too5.