What People Are Saying.

You don’t have to spend much time talking to a musician before the conversation turns toward favorite bands and best songs and such.  And, if you keep talking long enough, there’s a good chance that musician might begin trying to describe music in ways that, frankly, are just difficult to do with words.  At some point, the idea of music being the “universal language” might even get mentioned – the concept that music can sometimes express feelings and emotions that spoken words alone, as eloquent and articulate as they can be, just can’t compete with.  Sometimes music can just say it better, can express the inexpressible, and perhaps most importantly, can be felt by the listener in ways that words alone can’t.  No wonder the combination of words and music is so powerful. 

I’d certainly be in the music-as-international-language camp.  I’m naturally introverted, and sometimes have a hard time accurately expressing myself when talking to others.  Maybe that’s why I’m so drawn to the idea of expressing myself through music.  So, when Mark asked me to help on some songs, I jumped right in.  After Mark and Otto shared the lyrics and chord structures for their songs, I was instantly inspired to create textures, tones, lines and phrases that would help bring the story (in the case of Ron’s song) and the expressions of praise (in the case of Otto’s song) to life.  Those moments of collaboration, when one person’s lyric or chord sequence sparks another person’s riff or melodic phrase, those offer such an amazing sense of joy, fulfillment, satisfaction… words can’t describe it!

— Chris Kidd, Guitarist

As a teacher and a father, the clock is a constant foe. It seems everything needs to get on the calendar, or it doesn’t stand a chance of living any sort of life. In my mind, music is always bouncing around...lyrics and song ideas; chord changes, melodies. I take out the voice memo and hum something, words get jotted down, but sinking into a deep dive of music rarely happens. I think Ringo said something- or maybe it was Charlie Watts- that a drummer needs a band. It’s true. All of that wood-shedding and practice needs to eventually take flight and find fuel with some group collaboration and camaraderie. I think it is because of this that I’ve always jumped when asked to participate in any recording project. 

In the beginning, I knew nothing about what Mark was up to in the beginning. Hey guys, I have this song. Want to help? It could have been any project on any level. I was in, simply on the idea of being a part of making music with Mark and the other guys. I think any musician feels the same. If the time is carved out, then we all want to do it. Mark didn’t bring too much of the initial theme or inspiration at the beginning. I think he went with that same notion: I have a song. I need help with collaboration. I think, for me, at least, it wasn’t until the first recording session and after I had sat more with the lyrics and understood what he had crafted, that I saw the power of his premise. I also never have been a part of a project where the individuals in the songs are people I know...or people I can meet. In my own songwriting, the characters are composites of the real and imaginary. So The Giving Notes Project has been unique in that way. We truly know the point of view of the voice in the song. The songs also don’t get too abstract, but rather exist as truth. There is a similar truth in saying that everyone involved wants to play music. That passion and feeling that comes from a shared experience never loses its power. However, for Otto’s song, it was a new venture for me to watch an individual see his own song take shape and morph into a verse, chorus, and bridge. Selfishly, I’d love to have some sort of documentation when I first sat down at a drum stool and felt that thing ---that power---that wizardry and magic--that music pushes through our fingertips and into our bones. I saw it happen with Otto, and that might have been the grandest part of my entire involvement. He made a song. Mark shepherded him in the process, and now it is this incredible living thing. Otto didn’t only watch it happen, he was a part of it, and helped in its DNA. Giving this away simply seems like the best idea.

— John Morgan, Percussionist & Songwriter

1:1

 As a lifelong musician, I’ve played music for groups of people in a wide variety of ratios. I’ve driven hours in a van to play for a dirty dozen in a tiny dark bar. I’ve played for thousands on Easter Sunday in the glorious Altria Theater in RVA. What I’ve learned along that spectrum is that it’s not the number of people but the sense of meaningful connection with the people that kept me going.

 Recently my longtime friend and bandmate Mark Brown invited me to be a part of the Giving Notes Project. It’s based on this crazy idea that telling someone’s story through song and giving it to them for free can change lives. It changes the life of the recipient because we all have a deep need to be heard and known — for someone to bear witness to our story. To have a songwriter leverage their craft to bear witness to your story through the powerful medium of music is a cathartic experience of being known. That song is forever yours — a unique expression of your life in musical form.

 It changes the life of the writer, too. It helps us find the purity of our craft again. It reminds us that our art matters when the focus shifts from a faceless audience to a single sacred life. To do justice to a person’s story and capture the feel and nuance of it musically to the best of our ability is a songwriting challenge that can awaken our deepest potential.

 I’m really liking the ratio of 1:1.

- Tyler Crowley, Song Team & Guitarist