As a singer/songwriter, it seems odd to be writing about music as a listening tool. Radio stations recognized this phenomenon long ago — that’s why they refer to their customer base as “listeners.” When people listen to your music – you have their attention as they take your music with them wherever they go on whatever mobile device du jour they are using. They actually LISTEN to what you are saying in a way that can’t be accomplished by mere conversation or professorial lecture. Not only do they listen, but if the song can get them to relate to the topic, they will actually listen again and again eventually learning the words and singing along.
As more and more listeners are turned on by your song, airplay increases and sales of MP3 versions escalate. – which makes most musicians do the “happy dance.” There’s always the possibility that the song will be selected as a theme song for a TV show (like Black Road Gold’s use of Audie Blaylock’s tune “The Road That Winds”) or a grassroots movement as happened to me with my song “Hills of My County.”
For myself, I believe that songwriting is a way for me to support others’ commitments for the world while pursuing my own. And so I set out to identify an issue that I connected with on a number of levels. Come to find out, it was closer to home than I thought. Recently, Arizona and Texas have received a lot of press regarding the immigration of over 50,000 unaccompanied minors fleeing from oppression, gang violence, and certain death in their own countries in South America. These children (most ranging in ages from 6 to 16) took incredible risks to cross thousands of miles with just the clothes on their backs. That any of them actually made it to the US border is amazing – an heroic feat that under other circumstances would be heralded by our government and lauded in our newspapers. But they are regarded as illegal aliens instead of escapees seeking asylum and so they are met with detention centers, eventual deportation and possible death upon their return.
As I read numerous articles and watched news program after news program on TV, my heart went out to these kids. That’s when I realized that I had something in common with these truly homeless children because I spent time as a homeless young man early in my career as I followed my dream of becoming a musician. I’m not particularly proud of that period of my life, but these life experiences provide a “realness” that musicians consider essential in order to reach the listener.
It was this common denominator that inspired me to dedicate my next album to songs that would raise awareness about the plight of these children as well as the homeless in general. My own personal experience will allow me to write and deliver these songs with a depth of emotion that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. And I wanted to make a difference in the lives of others so I decided to donate a portion of the proceeds from sales of the album to a charitable organization, “Save the Family Foundation.”
And that’s what I set out to do. The process of songwriting involves finding the right inspiration, capturing a moment in life using very few words in a lyrical fashion, and relating the emotion of the story through the melody. I now had my inspiration. Next step was to immerse myself in the situation. Though I was unable to actually visit the detention centers, I was able to speak with those who did. Listening is a key factor in songwriting. Without the voices of those who had been there and done that, I would not have been able to imagine myself making that journey.
As ideas for songs poured out onto my computer screen, melodies began playing around in my head. My fingers started itching to pick up my guitar and start picking out the tunes that would eventually match up with the emotions that I wanted to convey. Bridges and rests, notes and chords vied for attention and sorting them out can be a nightmare at times but when they all come together it’s like a dream.
Throughout the entire process from idea to songwriting to performance, listening plays an ongoing role ? you just can’t make music without it. It starts with listening first to the voice of the world and my inner voice. Then moves on to listening to others more familiar with the topic and first hand stories by those directly involved if possible. Next the words and the melody are married requiring intense listening skills to make sure the notes accurately convey the emotion of the words. And finally, the song is ready to be listened to by the general public. Hopefully it will touch them as it touched me.
I hope you’ll tune in when the new album is released! Better yet, take a listen to “Hills of My County” from my album Troubled Times and send me an email james@jamesreams.com. I’d like to know what you think!