1 February 2001
Translation

Songs have been arriving at this station from unusual directions lately. I finished the first draft of a set of lyrics today based on a title alone ("Flying Dream" -- the aforementioned first draft is hiding in songscraps), and there's another song that centers on a series of high-pitched notes meant to simulate a scream. No melodic hints at all for either, but I already have ideas for the drum and bass parts. It's amazing how much just jamming with other musicians will affect the way I approach writing.

Communicating these ideas to the players is another challenge entirely, of course. I'll probably be rather shy about it at first, since most initial experiments with a new method are downright embarrassing things, as are my attempts to translate the sounds in my head. But I'm at a phase where a lot of what I do is mildly silly anyhow ("Just pretend you're drooling," says my voice teacher. "Let your tongue hang out. You're too tense in the shoulders -- here, flap your arms a little, like a chicken. That's better..."), so trying to teach a drummer my imaginary grooves will fit right in. All about losing one's inhibitions.

- VT