SnowGhost Music

Here is an example of a typical conversation that might occur between a new acquaintance and me. We will pick up just after the new acquaintance has learned, usually through a third party because third parties love to do this, that I am a musician.

NA: Oh cool. What intsrument do you play?

Me: Mostly guitar, but I try to play whatever instrument I can get my hands on.

3rd Party: He also sings. He’s got a great voice. (3rd Party always has something nice to day at some point so that you can’t get annoyed for them putting you in this conversation, but this also where the conversation’s path becomes inevitable.)

NA: So what kind of music do you play?

Me: Mostly my own stuff, I guess, but I try to play some songs that people might know.

NA: So you’re a singer songwriter.

Bingo, new acquaintance, you have successfully labeled me. I am indeed a singer/songwriter (I prefer the slash because it provides that can’t have one without the other balance of importance). It is true that I sing. It is equally true that I write most of the songs that I sing. Thus, I am a singer/songwriter, a singer of songs that I write, and a singing songster. But as with most labelees, I feel confined by this label. I know plenty of singer/songwriters who are simply that. They write songs and they sing them, and they probably know their way around a PA system. But there is a vast majority of us who also enjoy recording our songs. And then there are those of us like me who actually prefer the writing and recording of the song as a process more than anything else about the creation of music.

So I guess if 3rd party really wanted to make me happy, they would tell new acquaintance that I was a Songineer. Since this is a new term, it would require a bit of explaining, which is fine with me, because explaining that the part of music that makes me feel the most comfortable is when I’m sitting alone in my room, someone’s garage, or an echo-friendly bathroom simply adding a new part to a song I’m writing as I record it. I’ve certainly written a decent amount of songs by just plucking a guitar and putting some words down on paper, but if I have access to recording equipment, the process of crafting a song becomes completely different, and in my opinion, much more intriguing. Instead of strumming a few chords and thinking of a story that rhymes and fits into the rhythm, I can record a simple bass line, add a piano part, goof around with some sound effect I just uncovered, and just keep layering.

Were I a permanent resident at Snowghost Studios, I would undoubtedly be doing an obscene amount of layering. I would also probably be getting a bit of help from people who really know how to play the instruments that I try to incorporate into my songs. I have in fact done this, and while I’m always impressed by collaboration, the songs of mine that usually resonate the most with me are the ones that I do alone. It’s almost like the musical equivalent of a journal entry because you can remember each addition you made and how you felt while you were doing it. And you have no one to thank or blame for how it turns out other than yourself.

So it’s probably no surprise that some or most of my favorite albums of late have been those recorded mostly by one person. These albums strike a chord with me not just because they were crafted in possibly the same type of way I craft my own, but also because their sound, structure, and make up all have that personal touch. The person who writes a song is indeed the songwriter, and it is in their mind where the song is at its most pure. This is obviously improved upon by like-minded musicians who can add parts that the writer cannot, like in most collaborative bands, but there is something special about an artist doing it all in their own way, coming as close as they can to get the sounds in their head out in the open and into your ears.

It’s a sonic painting created from one brush, albeit with many different colors. It’s a process that I’ve been doing for years, and few things have come close to giving me quite as much fulfillment. It’s also a process I am involved in right now as I have a lot of recession-inspired down time, so I’m going to catalog the experience a little bit here. If you’ve done it yourself, it might be interesting to see what kind of practices or habits we share, or how completely different the approach is. Or maybe you’ve never done it at all, but you’ve always wanted to know what goes on in the mind and actions of the songineer. Regardless, I’m going to do it, because it will be neat to catalog the process, especially if I ever have grandkids, and especially if those grandkids rock. Which they will, of course.