Lisa Gates

Hey Symph! Nice see your name popping back up. I like this. God has a way of helping when you ask (and sometimes when you don't ask too!) I don't do mixes but can relate this to my songwriting on many of the points you've brought up here. Fear, striving for perfection, writing from the heart, knowing when to quit, being honest, and always grow and learn! See you around! Lisa

Mahesh, loved walking with you through the sunset. The crickets were singing but I couldn't tell if their song was sad or not. :-) sending massive hugs to you! chat soon!

Ah yes, I see your point. It is out of my control. I forgot that SM Techs are sneaky bastards. I have yet to figure out what's in it for them but my common psychopathy syndrome may not want to know. For now, I'll just not let it affect me. I have in the past told at myself to "just put the phone down!"(my email, FB, and Twitter are all on it) I've even taken to turning it off in the evenings... Be proud of me David!

Am I the only one who follows and likes people who follow and like me? I can be picky with my twitter page but it is because i want to network and get a feel for the music industry. So I will follow anyone on my twitter page if they have music mentioned in their profile. I follow every single artist that follows me on my Soundcloud. But I see some folks don't have the same common courtesy. It baffles my mind. Should I even bother asking if this is normal social media behavior?

What happened? Have I really been too tired to write? Ugh! Maybe it's because I've been busy, distracted, and uninspired. Perhaps the few projects I've been working on have been enough...but I really do want to write. There's a song on the tip of my pencil just waiting for me to find the time to get it to paper. I wrote three songs for a specific project. I'd like to do two more for it. Somehow writing for someone else isn't as rewarding to me. When I write for me my brain goes on this journey like nothing else! It's hard to explain. I've noticed that when I help with other people's songs my brain functions much more structured. or hesitant. maybe uncertain? I wonder if anyone else has every had this happen? Ah well, in time it will all be worth it.

Hey Timbre, yes, my writing is part of my healing process. It just keeps going and changing. So I'm not sure when I'll get on the other side of it. I'm hopeful my lyrics I create then will be different for sure. I have a lot of lyrics from my grief that I cannot share or that are just fragments of thoughts not appropriate for songs anyway. I like how you say that I am writing about my loss but also exposing and giving voice to their loss too. I hope my words can comfort others. Although I will always need my lyrics from this time to stay as they are to remind me. I can (as you said) "recast them into a broader context" I think then, my original lyrics would have to stay in the shadows and let the recast lyrics shine as a new song...maybe that's what I need to do. If my lyrics from a grief related song gets attention for another reason, I could just write around the new purpose. Anyway, thanks for the input. It helps more than you know. :-)

I can imagine that song about your friend would be an unhappy reminder especially on a night out. Not being able to play your song is understandable. I can barely read the song I wrote the night before Paul passed away. But I am proud of it. I think it has good structure and a great hook. Maybe I'll present to a Christian band/singer sometime. I do have a melody for it too. It's all about timing...

LOL Peggy! thanks for noticing. :-)

Thanks Plaid! (I think Ilike using "Plaid" instead of "PP") It takes a lot to release my lyrics but I'm learning. They are not meant to sit in my lyrics book ya know?! I want to be a songwriter not a song horder! LOL chat soon, Lisa

Working with a licensing publisher by shear chance has opened my eyes to the uses of all lyrics. My current grief has all these poems, thoughts, and full fledge lyrics pouring out of me. I kept thinking there is no way they can be of any use. They are dark and personal. Can anyone really identify with this? (enough to make it worthwhile?) When I write, I try to make it a timeless scene. One that young and old, present and future can all identify with. Grief can be so specific and then it changes as time goes on. It never dawned on me that my lyrics about grief could be taken out of context and actually be used! Take for example this verse from "This Road": V1 This road No telling where or when it will end All I know is nothing Looking round for the next bend It was written about my grief, my path, my road. But my licensing publisher thinks it might make a great jingle for a car commercial. Hmmmm my grief a car commercial? or perhaps in one of those "destination vacation" advertisements? movie trailer?... It's all relative at this point... I don't think I will ever hold any lyrics back again. The possibilities are endless and if I'm willing to release them to the Lady Luck of Music.

Teri, ah yes, I see you haven't posted anything yet! It's hard to give advice because I capture words and make them a hook (which I usually put in the chorus or make it the last line of every verse in a song that will not have a chorus.) I have so many one liners in my phone memo section that if Shane McAnally called me and said do you want to co-write? I'd say yea, I've got a hundred hooks, which one do you want!? LOL. So I suggest to pick your genre of music. Then look up the lyrics of your favorite songs and look for the pattern: of how many lines in a verse, what is the rhyme scheme, how many verses, where does the chorus fall into place and is there a bridge? You can base your structure on what's being done. This is good because your audience will be familiar with the structure and be drawn to your song more easily. Usually my chorus will have a different count of lines than the verses and always a different rhyme scheme. I tend to repeat the hook (which generally adds two more lines) It's ok to not start with the chorus when writing. This actually will give you an edge if you co-write with someone who writes the chorus first. Co-writing might be a great way for you to get your feet wet, because the chorus is historically the answer to the verses, so it'd be easy for you! Once you get the basics down, you can start creating your own way of writing so you don't become one of those "cookie cutter writers" that write the same stuff over and over and over again! I've got tons more advice! BUT I've got tons more to learn so I'm not trying to be snarky at you LOL.

So how's it going? Are you excercising and taking it easy? Great story about your teacher. Lisa

I was thrilled to have a week off to go visit friends up North and take a jaunt to Nashville. Yes, it was colder than Florida by a long shot. The warmth came from visiting with friends and moving toward my goal to move to Nashville this year. It amazes me what we will put with just to see friends and visit new places. All well worth it. Nashville was as expected. A big city with more crime than I want to live with and tons of traffic. On the positive side, the cost of living in the area is much better than where I am now, I love the weather, and well it's "Nashville"! What songwriter doesn't want to live there?! So I start the new year wishing all of you the very best and looking forward to what may come. God Bless!

Welcome Terri! I did visit Nashville for two days and got a good feel for where I'd like to live. As John mentioned it was COLD! Thanx for reading my lyrics. A lot of them have no melody yet. I seem to create some lyrics with a melody and then sometimes just the words come with no music. No method to my maddness! LOL I try to write lyrics that people will identify with and make them relatable to many circumstances. It's difficult but my goal is to write timeless lyrics that will last and be around for a long time. I'll pop over to your profile and check out some of your stuff too! Lisa

John, you crack me up! Yes I brought all warm clothes and a sweater for my dog too!! The lady I went up to visit kept her house freezing... but I have to say, I did not miss the oppressive heat of Floriday. There must be a happy medium somewhere!!

Ah the smell of coffee! The empty page looking at me. The pen in my hand, patiently waiting for inspiration. Then WHAM! My Twitter lights up with some new followers from Nashville! YES! Love it! That starts the conversation with a co-worker (yup, the day job scenario...) who used to live in Nashville, has contacts there, and knows a realtor there! If you could only see my happy dance. (OK maybe you shouldn't see it! LOL I'm a writer not a dancer!) James, my co-woker, is on board to help me get the heck out of Florida. He personally has a two month plan, four month plan, and six month plan. Add me to the six month plan please! I've done some basic research and I can survive in Nashville. I can get a decent paying day job. The rents are lower than here in FL. I'd be around musicians and much happier. hmmm this is sounding more and more like a "No Brainer" June 2017 sounds like a good month to start!

Hi Alexandria, I love what you have started here. I moved this over to the correct forum section so you can maybe get some better critiques. Please join our community and critique others (which in turn helps you learn too!) I have to say your rhyming words are very fresh. One nit for me is the line about Jesus being lowly. I know that He was treated lowly but that's not what you seem to be saying. I would look at that and make it more clear and less derogatory towards Jesus. My opinion... All the best, Lisa