Writing a song from our own life can be powerful, and that’s today’s assignment in my learning to play guitar journey. My song is called “Soulmates Never Apart” and is a love story about my husband and me.
If you’re on this adventure with me, will you try this challenge (writing a song about your own life)? I used only 5 chords in my song (G, C, Dm, A and Em), so there weren’t any difficult ones to make me lose the connection and flow of storytelling, which is the main focus of this guitar practice.
I did try to also pay attention to my chord shapes, and there were a few sloppy moments that I hope to have less of in the future. I added extra sounds by finger strumming as I was playing chords, which is more of an improvisational exercise than mastering a technique. A balance between natural rhythmic movements and structured chords is something I’d like to achieve.
Another thing to take note of, use a capo if your vocal range is higher than the basic beginner chords you’d like to use in your song.
I found my song writing experience to be not only powerful, but cathartic and therapeutic. I didn’t know until now which life events I’d use to summarize my relationship with my husband if I could only name a few things in the short space of a song. Those are the things that define us the most (at least at this point in time), although it’s only a condensed version of who we are, and what we’ve lived through together.
Even if you don’t want to write a song, I hope you consider thinking about what life events you’d choose if you were asked which ones define your special relationships those you love. Taking some time to be mindful of where we’ve been is such a healing experience and gives us a heavy dose of gratitude for what we’ve overcome – all of which leads to hope for the future. The same God who was with us then, is with us now, and will be there again tomorrow.
If you do write a song, try not to overthink it, go with the first thoughts that come to mind. You can always tweak it later. It’s those first things that spring to mind that can represent so many other things that we can’t fit into a song. Music can fill in the gaps of what’s left unsaid.
If you like my song, please share it – either from this page, or directly from my YouTube channel. Thank you. For those of you who benefit from a long weekend (it’s Labor Day weekend here in the United States), enjoy! And for all of you, may the change of seasons bring you time of rest and play. God bless you and yours. xoxo
