Melting Crayons

Melted Crayons
Melted Crayons

I’m trying to finish writing a song. I’ve got a beautiful melody, some really cool sounding chords and about half the lyrics. Lyrics… something to say… for me is sometimes the most difficult part of the songwriting process. I love writing. I love writing poetry, but sometimes that flow doesn’t happen for me with words. So, I go to my old journals…

I’m struck by the way art is so often formed in my world. I used collect rocks and metal bits that I would find on the street and in the woods to make found object art. I would keep odd items in coffee cans, saved for future creative projects involving glue and melting crayons, soldering irons and wire. I still have some of those objects waiting for their art project to call them. I guess that’s the way I form songs as well. I little piece of melody here, a tiny chord progression here, a thought drafted onto paper and a form to make it fit into.

Off I go to the flip through old journals…

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A Little Song in D Minor

The creative process is a strange and mysterious one, even to those of us who do it every day. I wrote this song a couple of days ago, or maybe it was a couple of weeks ago. It’s hard to remember these things. Little tiny ideas floating around in my head finally make it to the piano and page and then to the form of an mp3.

I was feeling particularly pensive and intense and the music seems to reflect that. I wanted to make something that had a driving rhythm to it and yet convey poignant longing. It started in G minor, but it soon became apparent that it wanted to live in D minor instead. I’m okay with that. The music often tells me where to go, sometimes where to shove it and often deservedly so.

I hope you enjoy part of this little song that I wrote in the very near past. Let me know what you think!

Click to Listen:[sc_embed_player_template1 fileurl=”http://www.katekohler.com/sounds/dminor.mp3″]

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My Other Office

On Fridays and Saturdays, I teach private piano lessons at Boulevard Music on the corner Sepulveda and Culver. Come by the store and say HI! It’s pretty awesome, for all musicians but especially for guitar players. I knew right away that I would like it at this store and then I saw the piano. I grew up next to a Baldwin Acrosonic, the same piano that now sits in my home office also sits in my other office at Boulevard. That piano has been in my life since I was born. A nice bright tone with an even feel across the keys, I’m happy to be playing and teaching on this piano.

The Baldwin Acrosonic
My Other Office
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