Saturday, December 17, 2011

Emotional Expression in Songs -- Buddy Holly style

Buddy Holly   (Sept. 7,1936--Feb. 3, 1959)
My favourite definition of a song  is an emotion put into words and music. 


I'm sure we have all experienced all kinds of emotions throughout our lives -- some emotions can feel really good, others can feel not so good, or maybe even really awful! However whatever the emotion we have experienced, it is pretty likely a song has been written about it. I find it really interesting to notice what particular songs and singers I am drawn to at various times in my life. Always I prefer songs and singers that move me emotionally or somehow touch my heart by expressing feelings or emotions that might be buried away in the depths of my heart (or wherever else we bury emotion). My current musical passion is for Buddy Holly's music. I really love what Buddy does with lyrics that, by themselves, are pretty sad -- tragic even. His song, "It Doesn't Matter Anymore", especially with that final line of  'You Don't Matter Anymore' is, in my experience of it, heart wrenching. But in the way that Buddy does it, with such a fast, bouncy and upbeat tempo, I find that I am left feeling energized. It is almost like a catharsis. It takes me into that deep, heart broken place and right through it into a place that is rhythmic and energized and, in a way, renewed. It is like experiencing heartbreak and joy at the same time. It is very powerful and brings in a real sense of wholeness, the complete picture. 
Rob Brezsny
For  Buddy's rendition of "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" click on the link below.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q80vPeejm7k

Just as I was thinking about all of this, I received my weekly horoscope reading from Rob Brezsny (author of "PRONOIA -- the antidote to Paranoia" Actually I find that reading and doing the exercises  offered in the book, PRONOIA also really help me to see the Whole Picture -- not just the sad side, not just the happy side. It is all there in us, and it is all there in some of Buddy Holly's songs and his performance of those songs).

It was amazing for me to read this week's horoscope and I think there is wonderful wisdom in this for all of us of any astrological sign! And there just  may be some wisdom in this for those of us that want to connect more deeply with the emotion of our songs that also takes in the Whole Picture. How amazing would it be for a singer to perform one of the many heart wrenching songs that are so popular, in a way the leaves people, the audience, deeply touched, not only by the sadness or heart break of the song, but also deeply touched by the beauty and the power of the song, the absolute joy of the music and the rhythm and, maybe most importantly, the freedom of the voice to express what is so close to the heart.

Here is my awesome horoscope for all to share!!

: Capricorn: Emotion is the resource we treasure when we're young, says poet Naomi Shihab Nye, but eventually what we thrive on even more is energy. "Energy is everything," she says, "not emotion." And where does energy come from?Often from juxtaposition, says Nye. "Rubbing happy and sad together creates energy, rubbing one image against another." That's what she loves about being a poet. Her specialty is to conjure magic through juxtaposition. "Our brains are desperate for that kind of energy," she concludes. I mention this, Capricorn, because the coming weeks will be prime time for you to drum up the vigor and vitality that come from mixing and melding and merging, particularly in unexpected or uncommon ways.


One Added Note:


Michael Goodrich, an LA based singing teacher with a background in Speech Level Singing, has come up with an interesting way of connecting more deeply with the emotion of a song. Check out the "Singing" video.
http://www.goodrichvocal.com/videos/weekly-tools-week-9.html

I think I have to go practice some more Buddy Holly songs!!

Take care til next time.    Barbara