Change and Grow

It's nearly the end of the week and we have another song to share with you from the new collection we are working on. In the process of songwriting, we have always found that what works best for us is to start with the melody. We have this in common with Roger Radcliffe - fictional composer of 'Cruella De Ville' from Disney's '101 Dalmatians'. ("Melody first. Always the melody first!"). We tend to find that creating the tune, chords and structure is the relatively quick bit! The next part of the process is to interpret what the tune itself is saying - the melody has to be given time to tell us who he, or she, is. Then follows the sometimes mind-numbingly difficult task of crafting the lyrics to suit the shape and emotion of the tune.

We were pleasantly surprised how effortlessly the lyrics fell into place for this new song 'Change and Grow'. We wanted it to be useful for a number of different occasions in the school year - including moving onto a new year, or leaving in years 2 or 6. We're aware that sadly there are many unwelcome changes in our lives as well as the more positive ones, so perhaps this song will be resonate on many levels.

With the help of our well-thumbed 'Rhyming Dictionary', and the obligatory cups of coffee, we were able to write and demo this song in a day. In writing this song, we had a bit of a smile when we inadvertently found ourselves giving a 'nod' to some other lyrics from old favourites in the 'EVERY' series. (So, to those faithful users of our songs, if you liked 'Time for Everything', 'Leavers' Song' and 'Memories', we think you'll like this new one).

Blue Skies and Chocolate

Funny thing, songwriting. You find yourself writing songs for Christmas when it's Easter, and summery songs when it's snowing! The last few days I've had a song called 'Blue Skies' going round my head - I have to admit we're rather pleased with it! It's one of a few new 'Mark and Helen' songs that will feature in a long-awaited collection to be published sometime later in the year - "Here Comes Summer". It was written in December, of course! 


I can't say the skies are especially blue around here at the moment - but the scenery is stunning! I've taken a few precious days 'out' to work and walk in the Lake District. I know, it's a long way to come for a walk, but well worth it! Nothing like a battle against the wind and the rain on the hills to clear the cobwebs (and find muscles you didn't know you had, in the fight to stay on the hill). 


Walking and creativity are definitely best of companions. One of the first songs we ever published (remember "There Is A Song For Every Season"?), that was the product of a short walk. Better still, it was a short walk to the sweet shop to buy a bar of chocolate - that was many years ago now - and the whole 'Songs For EVERY...' series was born out of that one song. A bar of chocolate with a calorie-content surpassed only by the creativity it generated  -  that's some chocolate - and that's an occasion I've cited on many occasions since to justify buying another one!   

A Healthy Life!

Just finished writing the first song for our next publication, due out later in the year. So, there we were, sat round the piano writing lyrics that promote a healthy lifestyle -eg- a good night's sleep, sufficient rest, exercise and a balanced diet. The irony of course is that we're stuck indoors, sat on our backsides most of the day, snacking out as we work our way through an endless supply of tea and coffee! The biggest challenge is staying awake during the day, and at night-times trying to erase the melodies from your head when you're wanting to sleep!

Song-writing is a strange beast. There are never any guarantees that you'll be able to do it again, and melodies appear from the strangest of places and at most inconvenient times. We both sleep with digital recorders by the bed. We have set ourselves just ten weeks to produce fifteen songs for the next title.

Watch this space...