Member-only story
How Important Are Certificates? How Important Is Art?
The artistic gift is more widespread than we think, and it doesn’t need proof. Here’s to the convergence of all art forms!
Spanish musician Enrique Bunbury once expressed he felt more closely related to a chair-maker than he did to a classical composer.
The sentence had a profound impact on me because it made sense. It wasn’t something I had been able to explain after years of songwriting until I heard the comparison with craftsmanship. I never learned music theory but I’ve written hundreds of songs ever since I was a kid. When somebody describes something you haven’t been able to explain for yourself despite having carried the feeling with you for years, the epiphany is inevitable.
When I first dared to show my songs to other musicians (it took a long time) something everyone seemed to report back was how well structured my songs were. Later I’ve been criticised for making songs that are too structured, but hey, you can’t please everybody all the time. The reality is I leaned songwriting like I learned to speak (and if you allow me to exaggerate, not too long after): by listening to others and by blabbing my way line after line. Thus, song structure was part of songwriting for me: that’s what makes a song a song and not…