When the thought comes sometimes I ask people, "What do you look for in a song?"
From my social circle, most of the guys would talk about the rhythm, beat or how hyped up they get from the song. While girls would talk about the meaning behind the song, the lyrics and how it makes them feel. Regardless of gender, both guys and girls experience the beat and what the song is saying in some shape or form. However, as we all know, there's always more to something than what we see and this applies to any song we've ever listened to. You hear that beat, that note change, the words, but do you hear the emotions that make you feel something, the voice of the artist, the story that manifested this song, the quiet instruments in the background which brightens what we mainly hear? Most importantly, do you hear how all this, melts into one word? Authentic.
Whenever we ask someone what genre of music they like, how many times have you heard people tell you they're open to all kinds of music? Regardless of what type of song it is, if it's authentic and someone's heart pours over the song, it'll somehow be heard. What made me love Ashley Frangipane, known as Halsey, is the authenticity in her voice, in her music, in her words, and most importantly in her work. As she said in an interview with Zach, "Authenticity always wins." Unheard music surfaces naturally, meaningless songs crumble, real lyrics resonate through everyone.
Listening to artist interviews at the Zach Sang Show and watching artists demonstrate the process to their music, made me realize that every song the artist releases is a gift to us. Maybe it was unintentional, but somehow, somewhere it was placed in our hands. When we receive a song, we should take it as if we were receiving an actual gift from a stranger or from someone you know.
An artist just gave you a vulnerable part of themselves in the form of a song, "You might judge me, but this is who I am." We have deep gratitude and we're comforted by the thought of the gift, so we appreciate every aspect of the song up to its individual note. The next time you listen to a song, try listening for the subtle sounds in the back and the different tones in the artist's voice. Listen carefully to the individual layers. To demonstrate the sum of my article, please watch this short video of how one of my favorite artists developed paris in the rain. I think you'll enjoy it.
how i made paris in the rain www.youtube.com
