Listen to this song, and join me on a song-writing
journey:
It has been a few weeks since I wrote the lyrics for this
Psalm. As I was considering the musical style to accompany the words, I focused
in on the word “mystery.” God is beyond my understanding, and his ways are not
my ways. How will things will play out on
the final day of Earth’s history? This
seemed like a good musical theme to base this Psalm around. I came up with a
“mysterious” acoustic guitar riff that felt like a good fit.
The next phase of songwriting was to try and match the
lyrics to the music, both rhythmically and melodically. The particular
challenge in this piece is that I intentionally mismatched the number of syllables
to create a sense of imbalance. I played through my chords and hummed a melody
until I was satisfied. I added just a touch of harmony at the end for effect.
The final step was to play and sing the piece into my
computer. I have to admit, it took several attempts on both the vocals and the
guitar. I then adjusted the guitar and vocal levels in the mix to balance out
the parts. I finally uploaded the file to my Soundcloud account.
I learned many things in my first attempt at writing a
Psalm. My first hope is that this Psalm is a fragrant offering to God.
Secondly, I would hope that anyone reading this might get out their pen, accordion,
paint brush, or computer and put into action that thing that God has put into
your heart for his glory. If I can make a first attempt in my mid-40s, you can
do it!
Blessings,
Richard Hickam
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