Moderators Lee Knight Posted July 28, 2014 Moderators Share Posted July 28, 2014 Writing with your current emotion? My dad instilled in me an ability to control emotion. A very handy trait. My mom, a Scot, well... Emotions were a part of life. I learned to cry in front of people. Eff dad and all his control. Grandpa is dead. Eff control. That was at 19. When my mom died a few years ago... I saw my dad in a new light. He was, and is, devastated. He controlled it like any good Col. would, but man, he was a ****************ing wreck. But that balance, that effing balance, has allowed him to be a phoenix. Now at 89 and with 1 leg. He's a stud, no denying. So the whole concept of controlling emotions, for me, this mixed up bag of emotions is all, eff it all and get it together man. I get torn when it comes to showing my emotion. At the end of a long week of tough work, tough bosses, tough financial issues... That poor Direct TV cable guy. First off, he was a slacker and a loser. From Romania, he offered up the language barrier as an excuse. He's been here 26 years. Without detailing the nonsense; he was not capable of comprehending my needs. After an 8 am till 3:30 in the afternoon dance of protecting his job and me getting what I agreed upon with customer service... I read him the riot act and told him to gather up his his equipment and get the eff out of my house. His ineptitude was verified by the customer service agent after her trying to explain what was required for my installation. Whew. I swear, I almost decked the guy. My issue there and not at my best. Just being honest. His issue was truly, at that point, being a viable influence to the world in general. I'm still pissed at his incompetence. So I decided to turn that ANGER into something in this song I've had nary a chance to work on by OGP and I. Ravenhurst Road. Well... ...let me tell you. All of a sudden my too tame sprinkling of ear candy, intended to have an angry edge... well... eff it! There it is. THAT'S HOW IT FEELS! Beside my silly and inconsequential "happens everyday" story, have you had the chance to channel a real, RIGHT NOW, emotion into a song or production? I'm curious if any of you have had a chance to really get some raw, unfiltered emotion into a current work. 'Remembering' is what it is all about, but sometimes living in it RIGHT NOW, no matter the trivial reason, is worth its weight in gold. Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oldgitplayer Posted July 28, 2014 Members Share Posted July 28, 2014 Nice post. I can't remember ever being taught not to be emotional, but it's a national characteristic of my parents generation in Britain to contain their emotions. So I couldn't help but imbibe a few bucketloads of that. Fortunately my mother did show her emotions but I can't remember my father ever showing any. Obviously there are positive constructive emotions and negative destructive emotions. But also there is that strange disconcerting crossover where sometimes a bad result comes from a good action and conversely a good result sometimes comes out of a bad action. So we are entitled to remain confused about some of these events of life that defy reason schmeason. I write some lyrics from memories of feelings and events (Ravenhurst Road), but also sometimes I write at the time of experiencing certain emotions. I get thoroughly pissed off with politicians and bankers and corporations who knowingly destroy people and the environment and generally drive millions into a life of almost slavery. So I get that off my chest by writing scathing lyrics about such stuff. Circa 1970 we thought we were going to save the world. That went well didn't it? My only consolation is that it may have deteriorated a lot quicker had we not tempered the system with a bit of peace and love. I rarely play an instrument driven by emotion, but when I do it mainly affects my right arm and hand – a lot of attack and light and shade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted July 28, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted July 28, 2014 I must say first! Thank you! I now think I might be driven a bit more by raw emotion then I've realized. Anyway... here is the latest. Lost in a sea of emotion and lyric not changed just yet... first things first... https://soundcloud.com/albert-s-j-lee-knight-3/raven-phase2-no-lyric-chng Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bee3 Posted July 28, 2014 Members Share Posted July 28, 2014 Your spelling emotion is broken. I'm not sure what I do... there was a song that I posted early in my career here on HC called Easier Said Than Done, which was written shortly after my best friend was killed in a car accident. I remember I was sitting at the piano with my son on my lap when I came up with it... kind of a memorable moment for me. (I need to finish that song). I'd say generally, no... I don't write from emotion... words don't flow for me like that. But... when I sit down at the piano and improvise, then yes... I play from emotion. (Although, most times... whatever the emotion I started with usually turns to frustration as I sit there and can't physically play what I hear in my head). Still loving that song... can't wait to hear the next iteration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bee3 Posted July 28, 2014 Members Share Posted July 28, 2014 And if you're looking to understand where it comes from... http://www.philly.com/philly/news/science/Everyones_brain_generates_emotions_the_same_way.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted July 28, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted July 28, 2014 Your spelling emotion is broken. thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhino55 Posted July 28, 2014 Members Share Posted July 28, 2014 Hell yes! It's the only way I know how to do it. Good songs connect with people because they are able to relate to them in some way. Not all people are alike but we all share emotions, most everybody anyway. When you open yourself up as a writer and allow emotion to come through, that's what allows others to relate to the songs in a real way. Emotion is what makes fiction real. I think what becomes problematic for the output of most songwriter types, is a tendency to write when feeling down because that's when we sit still and are reflective long enough to actually write something. There are other emotions too... happy, excited, tender, scared, angry... Check this out How do we use this without being too melodramatic? I think the most effective way is to show a situation that makes the listener feel whichever emotion you're trying to convey and back that up with music that supports the emotions as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bee3 Posted July 28, 2014 Members Share Posted July 28, 2014 Oooh... I need to amend my response. What I meant to say was that I don't actively sit down and write when I'm feeling a certain emotion. It's not like I'm feeling angry, and I sit down right then and there and write an Alice in Chains song. Certainly, I reflect and draw from emotions when I write... or try and portray what I think other's are feeling... Rhino's post made me realize that what I wrote above was a little... off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mbfrancis Posted July 28, 2014 Members Share Posted July 28, 2014 I have not written from emotion in a long time, and to be honest my songs are better for it. When I was younger I wrote stuff that came from somewhere and I didn't question it but it ultimately lacked coherence. I find if I can nail the goal/theme - what the song is about - and the characters, the song writes itself. But that's really hard to do. Someday I might post the song I wrote for my wife for Valentines Day when we were long distance, 5000 miles apart (pre-Internet!), *that's* emotional. "Someday, I'll see you everyday" - makes me cry when I hear it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhino55 Posted July 28, 2014 Members Share Posted July 28, 2014 There is a difference in writing from emotion and writing with emotion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mbfrancis Posted July 28, 2014 Members Share Posted July 28, 2014 There is a difference in writing from emotion and writing with emotion. Yeah I guess I meant *with*, not from. I tap into (mostly old) emotions all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LCK Posted July 28, 2014 Members Share Posted July 28, 2014 Yeah, the real question is how do you get the listener to feel the emotion you're trying to convey. It's like acting. If you're emoting, the audience is disinterested, they pull back. But if you let the emotions flow through you, they're right there with you all the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted July 29, 2014 Members Share Posted July 29, 2014 Performance puts the sizzle on it, but the steak, the original experiences and feelings, usually has to age a bit. locked away. At least most of the time it seems like that's how it works from experience and what your hear people say. How close can the root moment of feeling get to the moment of artistic creation? Not a new question. The abstract expressionists - people like Jackson Pollock, were often trying to create out of a total, random immediacy. Or at least that was their concept - whether or not they were toying with myths is another question. Closer to song writing would be slam poetry, which is the most hit and miss (and miss and miss and miss and miss) format for taking art straight out of the flame of immediate feeling, or at least immediate response. John Lennon's primal-therapy type screaming in his Plastic Ono Band album was along these lines. You decide if the songs would have been better without all that screaming or not... Usually there's an inverse correlation between good artistic creation and strong immediate feelings. Stress and tension from emotion lock up the nerves and mess up the fine motor control. Personally, I tend to freeze up and get tongue-tied when I'm very angry (probably because I don't want to be the one who explodes.) Decision-making is notoriously bad in moments of high emotion. Why else do we praise people with cool heads under stress or danger? But I've had moments of profound feeling in the midst of song-creation. But it's a welling-up sort of experience, rather than a flash anger thing. Seems more of a response to memory than response to an immediate situation. In fact, it's a bit of a touchstone with me regarding my more weighty-emotional songs - if one of my songs gets me choked up from time to time, it's got a better chance of being a strong song. Bad for performance situations, tho! On the other hand, you can definitely get too distant from the fire, and you can't make up for the lack of emotional fire with mannerisms and gestures and artificial constructions. You know how to tell when the charcoal grill is ready by holding your hand over it and you can take it for at least 3 seconds. Not too close, not too far away, but just the right distance where you can tell that it's perfect for making something delicious. nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LCK Posted July 29, 2014 Members Share Posted July 29, 2014 Yeah' date=' the real question is how do you get the listener to feel the emotion you're trying to convey. It's like acting. If you're emoting, the audience is disinterested, they pull back. But if you let the emotions flow through you, they're right there with you all the way.[/quote'] I should offer a caveat to this idea. Laurence Olivier might say something like, "How can the audience feel what I'm feeling? I'm not feeling anything, I'm just acting..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oldgitplayer Posted July 29, 2014 Members Share Posted July 29, 2014 Whether we write in a state of passion or at a distance from it, a general rule of thumb is to write with your heart and edit with your head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oldgitplayer Posted July 29, 2014 Members Share Posted July 29, 2014 I should offer a caveat to this idea. Laurence Olivier might say something like, "How can the audience feel what I'm feeling? I'm not feeling anything, I'm just acting..." Mick Jagger said something similar about his stage performance extravaganzas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rsadasiv Posted July 29, 2014 Members Share Posted July 29, 2014 LeeK - Raven phase2 sounds great. Bee3 - Sorry to hear about your friend. OP - I write about emotions, but I don't write from emotion. Sometimes I write it well enough that I feel something when I'm playing it or I'm listening to it, but writing isn't an outlet for an emotional state for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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