A friend and I went to a concert together earlier this summer, and she expressed that she enjoyed singing and had picked up the guitar to learn to accompany herself. As a casual musician myself, it made me very happy to learn that my friend had taken an interest in making music.
I had been thinking lately that I would like to write another song, and that I would like to spend more time with this friend – a fellow musician. I reached out and asked her if she would like to jam sometime and maybe write a song together.
She expressed both curiosity and discomfort. She admitted she didn’t feel very strongly about her musicianship and didn’t know a lot about music. The thing with songwriting is that you don’t need to know anything about music or music theory to come up with a tune and a message. She was doubtful, but agreed.
We had to reschedule twice, but finally we got to meet with our guitars and make something up. At first she seemed a little nervous. She didn’t know a lot of chords or much about music theory. It’s disheartening how much perfectionism can drive someone away from creating. You don’t become an expert and then try. It is in the consistent trying that you become an expert.
I asked her what chords she did know, and honestly it was all the important ones. Almost every cowboy chord, and she wasn’t too hesitant about transitioning them either – very capable. We chose a couple we felt sounded good together and played around with words and phrases until one came to mind that jived with both of us.
Creating with a friend is different from creating alone. Having a shared vision and negotiating on phrasing and melodies was inspiring and led me to think outside the realm of how I might write independently. We spent a couple hours challenging one another and rephrasing verses until we had our initial product – a full set of lyrics with chords.
We recorded an initial sample, without any strumming patterns, intros, outros, or instrumental solos. It’s a really fun piece. I feel so lucky to have a friend I can create with and grow with together as a musician. We need to meet again soon to refine our work.
I hope you’re spending time creating, too.
Love always,
Rachel
Uncommon Rachel 