From the Heart

I've been listening to a lot of smooth jazz lately and I had a moment of realization; no matter what genre of music you listen to, you will eventually be able to predict how songs will end up sounding. It's hard for me to admit this, but IT EVEN HAPPENS IN JAZZ! 


There are very few musicians out there that that can come out with a fresh sound every time, while holding on to their identity. I've seen too many artists who have an amazing first album or breakout album, that seem to lose what makes them special by the time they are ready to release their next one. 


If you study any artist, you may be amazed by their style and the nuances that make them unique; but after you have consumed their style, you may find nothing left to love about their music. Why is this? It's because many artists run out of ideas and end up writing formulaically so that they can quickly and easily dish out more of their product.


But the artists that will leave their audience in awe every time are the ones that create the music in their hearts and simply allow it to come out.


As Michael Jackson put it, they didn't write the music, they "let the music write itself." This is my personal lifeline when it comes to writing music. As soon as music becomes your science, you better be careful, because it is passion that holds on to audiences. 


Have you noticed that every great artist has at least one epic song? The one that you could never forget, these songs are life-changers, they tell a story, and they could only come from life-changing experiences in the artist's life. In my opinion, sax player Kirk Whalum's epic song is "All I do;" if you haven't heard the song, take a listen to it right now. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFcg8O_P02M]. This is one of my all-time favourite songs because of how amazingly it was performed by the young, but legendary Kirk Walum on that night.


So artists, musicians, from now on, the music that you write should come from somewhere on your heart; if it doesn't, maybe it isn't worth writing.

- The Artist