Hello
people, I am back again with another one of my crazy theories about life. In
this case, I want to write about how to harness your soul when it comes to
music. Like I always say this is not a real scientific research that I
conducted but it is something I have observed. We have heard hits like “Hello”
by Adele, “Hello” by Lionel Richie, “Flashlight” by Jessie J, “All of Me” by
John Legend and so many others. I believe these people tapped into their souls
to write such ground breaking, soul reviving lyrics. This article states my
reason for this assumption.
William
Shakespeare (God bless his soul) in the novel “Twelfth Night” said that “if
Music is the food of love, play on”. Music when played from the soul can have
therapeutic effects on any man. Even tyrants and sociopaths from the movies
listen to certain genres of music to give them inspiration or calm them down.
Let us get biblical here. 1Samuel 16:17-23, tells the story of how King Saul
was possessed by an evil spirit and his advisers recommended that they should
look for someone who was skilful in music and as the story goes, David, on
ordinary shepherd was chosen. He played the harp skilfully and from his inner
being because he was said to be a man after God’s heart and as Christians we
have read that God is the personification of love. Every time the king had one
of his “episodes”, David played the harp and it calmed the raging storm in King
Saul’s heart.
These
days, I am ashamed to say, that there are songs that are composed and sung
without any feeling in them. As human beings we are more than just flesh and
blood. We have a soul that needs to be fed and nurtured. What you listen to can
make or mar your soul. And what you write from your soul can affect others.
Take for instance, songs like “Unbreak my Heart” by Toni Braxton, is a song of
heartbreak, although she is not the writer of that song, she sang with so much
passion which has an effect on someone who has just gotten the bad end of a
breakup or who have lost someone. It is a song about the utter hopelessness of
an individual without her partner and people especially girls (not trying to
sound like a jerk), binge drink to this song. Others include “Bleeding Love” by
Leona Lewis, “Can you stop the rain” by Peabo Bryson.
When
I hear fast paced songs which have little lyrical significance, it sickens my
soul and I lose concentration. Like I said it is what you feed your soul that
defines you and what you write from your soul that affects others. People, who
write “whack” songs, are people who may have written songs under some ludicrous
circumstances like, under the influence of recreational drugs like (Marijuana,
cocaine and so on). Songs like that could have commercial value for the now but
in the future, they lose their substance. If you ask anyone what inspired them
to write these songs, they will give you some story like “I was in the studio
listening to a beat and all of a sudden, I stared scribbling lyrics”. Wiz Kid
(Nigerian Artist) in a freestyle video clip, mentioned how he spends his time in
the studio, he mentioned that he “smokes weed”. Marijuana being a
hallucinogenic brings up songs like “Expensive Sh*T” which I personally detest.
Songs like “Time na Money” by Mike Okri is being sung up till tomorrow.
As
a writer, I would recommend that you tap into your inner being to find
inspiration for whatever you want to write on whether it is a book, song or
poems. The greatest poems come from someone who has experienced life and the
experiences are etched into their souls. Like every dam, it needs an outlet.
Singing and writing your experiences can make for great materials when used.
Songs like “My Destiny” by Lionel Richie is one of the great love songs which I
think is based on his love for his wife. Others like Michael Jackson’s
“Childhood” tells the story of how the artist grew up and how we should not
judge him for his seemingly crazy behaviour like building an amusement park in
his house.
I
am sure you might be asking “how can I tap into my soul to write good and
meaningful lyrics?” Well here is the first step; you have to have a passion for
writing songs and singing. Secondly, you have to admit that you are more than
flesh and blood; that you are a spirit, you have a soul and you live inside a
body. If you are an atheist, I am afraid this article is not for you. You have
to believe there is more to me than me. Thirdly, do not be afraid to unleash
your hidden man on your Pen, Paper or Keyboard. You might be saying, I am not a
writer. If you know who I am, you will not believe it is me writing this
article. I had to unleash myself by deciding to share what I have within me.
Break out of your comfort zone and make the decision to write. The next step is
reading; read other books to know how it is done. You can read to increase your
arsenal of words you want to use to express yourself. If you can afford it, get
a thesaurus dictionary. Eminem has one as well as a rhyming dictionary to get
the right rhyming words for your songs. Finally, get a role model for your
passion. I was watching an anime series “History’s Strongest Disciple” and one
of the characters said that “every habit or art starts by imitation”. You
cannot be original if you have not had experience with that art of song writing
and singing. I am not saying you should totally imitate the role model but let
he or she be the catalyst that will jump start you in your quest for your own
style of song writing and singing.
As
you can see, you don’t need to indulge yourself in ridiculous acts like the
intake of recreational drugs to find inspiration. You have to only look within
you to find what you are looking for.
I
will love to read your comments for this piece. So live long and excel.
I look forward to reading your comments.
If you want to reach me on facebook, follow this linkwww.facebook.com/iexcel360
E-Mail: johnnyogah2000@gmail.com
So everyone, LIVE LONG AND EXCEL.
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