Friday, April 02, 2010

trust and music



There’s a lot of trust involved in making music. Musicians launching their ideas out into the deep, as it were, and listeners following on to see and hear what happens next, what they take in and make own. Each side of the equation learning what may be learned.

Trust goes into creating music, as well. Songwriter Gretchen Peters commented on one aspect of that. “I’m a big believer that there’s an internal mechanism, a gut, a truth bone -- call it what you want -- and your job as a writer is listening to it when it tells you this song or this line or this melody needs to be this way, this is the way this goes. If it needs to be changed, you know what needs to be changed. That comes from within.”

Cathie Ryan has a vivid analogy on the idea of trust in one of her songs, which she talks about here.

Emotion, logic, or something else altogether, trust is perhaps a good aspect of creative work to consider this Good Friday and Easter Eve.

Music to go along with these ideas
Music Road: easter eve: rani arbo & daisy mayhem: house be blessed
Music Road: Gretchen Peters: Northern Lights
The comment above is from a story I did on Peters’ work for 2010 Songwriter's Market
Music Road: Songs for an Easter weekend

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posted by Kerry Dexter at

6 Comments:

Blogger Anjuli said...

The issue of trust and of truth in making music really does define a song. I think this is why there are some songs which - although musically 'correct'- just don't click- and others which may not have all the trimmings or frills- but they strike the right chord in our souls. They sing to us right in the depths of our being.

4:28 AM  
Anonymous jessiev said...

and, trust in listening - that the songwriter/singer won't do something to disturb that trust, as well. great article!

10:45 AM  
Anonymous v said...

Great thought. Anybody who does creative work has to trust that someone will care about what is in fact a very personal act of creation.

4:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's really interesting. I think she's right. I feel that way about writing.

11:13 AM  
Blogger Alexandra Grabbe said...

I was fortunate enough to interview Roger Hodgson of Supertramp once. While I realize this is not the same type of music you are talking about, it is also on the Music Road, right? I remember how he said Fool's Overture, 14 minutes of amazing music, just came to him out of the blue. He simply tuned in to what he was receiving so to speak and wrote it all down. I think creation is similar for writers who use words, not notes, when inspiration strikes, sometimes all you have to do is trust and listen and write it all down....

7:42 PM  
Blogger Kerry Dexter said...

great conversation. thanks, Anjuli, Jessie, V, Brette, and Alexandra.

5:55 AM  

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