Fundamental Tools For Musicians

– written by W.N. Vincent

Have you ever gotten a good melody with some beautiful lyric and two days later you tried to write down what you got only to discover, after twenty (20) minutes of battling, that all you could remember was the first two (2) lines of that idea?

Then you begin to write out fresh lyrics with new melodies which, to you, are not as beautiful as what you got two (2) days ago?

If you have, you’re not alone! I have as well.

This alone is frustrating enough, that it has led to many totally discarding an idea because they could only remember Lines 1 & 2 of the initial idea.

As a Musician (vocalist and instrumentalists alike), your pen, notepad, and recorder should be with you as often as possible!

Let me share a short experience with you.

One Saturday evening, I attended Home cell (a small fellowship where members of the church gather together to share God’s word and commune together) without a Pen, book or my Phone.

In the midst of the teaching, BOOM! I got an idea! Some fresh words and new melodies were just playing in my head like I was listening to a song that was being played near by!

I began to scramble around, looking for a Pen! Truth be told, I created a scene that day.

The moment I got one, I tore a sheet of paper from a book close to me (till today, I don’t know who had that book) and I ran outside the Church.

Then I began to write down the words. I didn’t have a phone to record my voice, so I wrote down the solfège of the melody underneath each word (thank God for the knowledge of music theory).

Today, that song I wrote hurriedly is one of my favorites! It affects me everyday! “A Man Like Me”.

It would have been easy to say, I’ll remember later, but I didn’t want to take chances.
Remember,

It doesn’t take 24hours to forget an idea! It only takes five (5) minutes without a Pen, a notepad and a recorder.

You can’t outgrow them!

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