Guest Post - An Honest Word by Regan Aarons Part 2

Quick note from Buffy before continuing: just as I write this the blog is on 3999 pageviews! Pretty exciting. Thanks for all the support, and enjoy this second half to yesterday's post.
 

 

 

Only half the song was completed when I played it (incredibly hesitantly) in company for the first time – for me, the person to hear it first is always my mum. I was happy with what I had, but after I finished my mini recital, and a couple of small tears were shed (from both parties), I got a feeling of accomplishment– ‘When you know, you know’ – and from that point, the song snowballed. I finally had that definite direction in which to take the lyrics. 

So, I found myself up on stage at my next gig, two weeks later, feeling more terrified than usual when it was time to play this particular song. Though I had approval from my ‘inner circle’ (that is, my parents, sisters, a couple of friends and my Number 1 Fan), I was seriously doubting whether I should even be performing it, or whether it would be received well by the rest of the audience. I felt it was the best song I had written, but I’m not used to being so open and personal about myself in a performance setting – after all, this song had such strong and private significance, was it even suitable for a public forum?

 

But apparently the audience appreciated honesty more than I initially gave them credit for. When a one of my closest friends came up to me afterwards and said “I really get it, Regs. I completely get it,” that was what really sealed the deal in my mind – that by putting the truth out there, and by presenting people with a side of me that perhaps they haven’t seen before, I was able to elicit an emotional response through my music. And if I thought the feeling of finishing a song was a high in itself, the moment where someone is explaining how they connected to and empathised with the content of a song that you’ve created for yourself is a hundred thousand times more gratifying.

To me, music is honesty. It has purpose, whether we are conscious of it or not. And as cliché as this is going to sound, I truly feel as though every time I sing ‘Ode to Honesty’, regardless of whether it’s in front of others or just for myself, I find a little more conviction in the words I’m sharing. A little more passion for music in that I am able to show what I’m feeling. That I am taking small steps towards being a better person – a more open and honest individual, who’s a little more prepared and equipped to deal with what life wishes to throw down the line. I’m learning how to be more confident in myself and my song writing, and the more I realise that there is a chance that I have the smallest possible fraction of ability, and the more people seem to enjoy and react to my songs, I begin get the feeling that one day I could actually do this properly. But for now, I’m happy to wait and see.

Regan will be posting a video of the song in the next week, so check back here for a link!

Guest Post - An Honest Word by Regan Aarons Part 1

Buffy here - I just want to give a short introduction. I've asked Regan Aarons to do a guest post because she is an amazing up and coming singer/song-writer. She is listed on Triple J's Unearthed, an initiative to discover the best Australian new music. So, don't believe her when she becomes super modest!

The relationship and differences between novel writing and song writing is fascinating. I've had to split it into two parts because there is so much great stuff in there, so stay tuned for the next half!

 

 

Sitting down to write this post, I thought I knew what I wanted to share with you – I wanted to talk about my musical idols, my sources of inspiration and the process of partnering rhetoric and rhythm that leads to the creation of a song. But for the sake of honesty I have an admission to make– I’m really nervous about the whole thing.

I’m just another person that loves music. I have minimal performing experience, no credentials, and yet I’m meant to provide you guys with some minute glimpse into the world of song writing. What credibility do I have in doing that? But then I also have to wonder, who really needs such credibility? Music need not follow logic, or reason or rule. There is no single formula or equation to produce a song. The focus is instead on breaking down barriers that allow freedom of expression – think of the process as being a wonderfully cheap, self-medicated alternative to group therapy. 

As ridiculous as this may sound, the fact of the matter is that I’ve never actually discussed my relationship with music with anyone at length. I find it difficult to convey how intimate an experience it is for me to write a song, to adequately describe the effect that the construction of my own little melody has on me.  I can’t put it down to a single word or sentence – hence why my song writing creed is simply “When you know, you know.”  You just continue to ride that feeling as far as it wants to take you.  I know I can turn a phrase or two once in a while (if I may say so myself) but the ability to emphasise the profound effect that creating music has on me, as a person, always appears to lie beyond the bounds of my lyrical aptitude.

Though I don’t have an extensive list of original compositions that I would be comfortable enough to play in front of an audience, my most recent piece of material, ‘Ode to Honesty’ , is the one of which I am most proud, and also best illustrates my connection to music. What I believed would become another failed attempt at a much more personal style of song writing eventually turned into a scrutinising examination of my own insecurities and fears about who I am as an individual, how I am perceived by the wider world, and how I perceive myself. It was never intended for anyone’s ears but mine, as a method for coping with a variety of issues that were, and in some cases, still are present in my life. 

In recent months, I’ve taken to using our garage as a practice/writing space. Detached from the house, it’s a little more private than my bedroom where my family can still hear me practicing, and I was surprised how much difference it made as I was able to get off my chest the random little thoughts that I wasn’t particularly keen on anyone hearing me sing aloud. I found the soft chord structure and picking pattern that I settled on was incredibly simple, but that this simplicity moved me. I don’t like to overcomplicate things, and this had a genuinely poignant mood about it, without being dramatic or overstated.

I put my success in completing the lyrics of ‘Ode to Honesty’ down to the fact that this time around I was writing with a clearer sense of purpose than I ever had in the past. I knew exactly what my problems were, and I didn’t like the thought that my hang-ups about problems I was facing had the potential to become problematic for the people round me as well. I wanted to take a really honest approach to the lyrics, and so that became the theme for the song.

(Don't forget to see Part 2!)