the story of “hum”
“hum” is my newest song. and it has a special story behind it.
what you will hear is what i thought would be just a rough version of the song to figure out how it would go. i had come up with the verse and chorus melody and an idea for the keyboard part in the 5 minutes preceding this recording...but this is what you call a song writing itself. i had never before played through the whole song and really had no idea how it would go after the first chorus!
the lyrics come from Ursula Kowcun. we went to university together and got in contact again through facebook (where else). over the last several months i had noticed the notes she was posting and really liked her writing. i eventually told her so. to my surprise, she informed me that they were lyrics and that she always has had trouble finding melodies. well, i could help with that, couldn’t i? i told her that i’d like to try to make music for her lyrics, for either her or me to sing, but that i didn’t know exactly when i could because i was at the start of my 3 weeks of serious studio time, with a deadline for finishing my album.
it was the last day of my 3 weeks in the studio. i’d been editing like crazy over the last weeks - which can be a bit of a cerebral and less creative kind of job, riding the fine line of perfectionism (i.e. making things the best they possibly can be without obsessing too much over details most people will never hear). i was leaving for winnipeg the next day and was bouncing down some tracks to be able to work with them while there. i had printed out a copy of the lyrics to hum and while i was waiting for the tracks to bounce, i thought i’d play around a little with them.
within a few minutes, i came up with a verse melody that i liked and a keyboard part that seemed to work. my recording program was still busy bouncing tracks so i quickly called myself to be able to record what i was doing into my voice mail. when the bounces were done i was able to record what i had come up with into my recording program. even though i hadn’t ever sung the 2nd verse and had no idea how it would go after that, i decided to keep going.
when i finished playing, i pressed stop and sat in stunned silence for a moment or two. then i called my boyfriend in to listen and said, “i think i just finished a song.” while listening to it back for the first time, i felt such a strong connection to the words and felt so moved by the experience i had just had in creating the song that i sat there crying!
it was so nice, after weeks of working so hard, to be given such a gift, that i’ve decided to release it "as is" - no editing, exactly as it came to be. no it’s not the best vocal performance. no it’s not the best keyboard performance. no it’s probably not even the best arrangement. but what you are hearing is a moment of creation. and that is beautiful and rare.
thanks for the incredibly inspiring lyrics, Ursula!!
i'm performing "hum" live for the first time tonight on synclive.com at 10PM Eastern time. But the show will be archived if you don't make it online tonight.
what you will hear is what i thought would be just a rough version of the song to figure out how it would go. i had come up with the verse and chorus melody and an idea for the keyboard part in the 5 minutes preceding this recording...but this is what you call a song writing itself. i had never before played through the whole song and really had no idea how it would go after the first chorus!
the lyrics come from Ursula Kowcun. we went to university together and got in contact again through facebook (where else). over the last several months i had noticed the notes she was posting and really liked her writing. i eventually told her so. to my surprise, she informed me that they were lyrics and that she always has had trouble finding melodies. well, i could help with that, couldn’t i? i told her that i’d like to try to make music for her lyrics, for either her or me to sing, but that i didn’t know exactly when i could because i was at the start of my 3 weeks of serious studio time, with a deadline for finishing my album.
it was the last day of my 3 weeks in the studio. i’d been editing like crazy over the last weeks - which can be a bit of a cerebral and less creative kind of job, riding the fine line of perfectionism (i.e. making things the best they possibly can be without obsessing too much over details most people will never hear). i was leaving for winnipeg the next day and was bouncing down some tracks to be able to work with them while there. i had printed out a copy of the lyrics to hum and while i was waiting for the tracks to bounce, i thought i’d play around a little with them.
within a few minutes, i came up with a verse melody that i liked and a keyboard part that seemed to work. my recording program was still busy bouncing tracks so i quickly called myself to be able to record what i was doing into my voice mail. when the bounces were done i was able to record what i had come up with into my recording program. even though i hadn’t ever sung the 2nd verse and had no idea how it would go after that, i decided to keep going.
when i finished playing, i pressed stop and sat in stunned silence for a moment or two. then i called my boyfriend in to listen and said, “i think i just finished a song.” while listening to it back for the first time, i felt such a strong connection to the words and felt so moved by the experience i had just had in creating the song that i sat there crying!
it was so nice, after weeks of working so hard, to be given such a gift, that i’ve decided to release it "as is" - no editing, exactly as it came to be. no it’s not the best vocal performance. no it’s not the best keyboard performance. no it’s probably not even the best arrangement. but what you are hearing is a moment of creation. and that is beautiful and rare.
thanks for the incredibly inspiring lyrics, Ursula!!
i'm performing "hum" live for the first time tonight on synclive.com at 10PM Eastern time. But the show will be archived if you don't make it online tonight.
posted by jennijen at
10:28 PM
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