melodic intuition.

music is the breath of my soul.
through it i see the world through someone elses' eyes, and it fits. there is many a time when i am feeling (insert anything feely like), that i will put on a favorite track and like the perfect wine pairing, it compliments the moment. i love the variety and the ever increasing amount of beautiful souls who wail a lovely tune on my play list. when i have no words, they already have written it, put a melody to it, recorded it and it is now in my ears, helping me define this.

today i was playing (if you can even define it as such, how about i say attempting to play) my guitar. i discovered this: it is so much harder to play, because i sing harmony. i sound so terrible with no melody line to even me out. i sing the sharps and the flats, the highs and the lows, but there is no simple, steady, even resolution to my chord. melody is, as dictionary.com defines it: "the linear aspect to music". melody must also be understood in conjunction with rhythm. there is no direction to the song if those two aspects are not addressed.

melody
rhythm

up until around the 16th century these were the only things one would think about when writing music. then one bright sun shining day in italy the explosive power of chordal integration emerged like a overwhelming sunrise that changed the way we think about music. the day of polyphonic superposition trending in horizontal melodic lines was over. bach even caught the vision and began adding harmonic structure to his polyphonic, (melody entrenched tones) concertos.

harmony.

harmony is so detailed and there are many rules that govern this art form. the simple technical explanation is not good enough. did you know that depending on the notes you sing you can infer a note? you can make people hear something that is not there! most of our western music is completely reliant on the underlying harmony.

so, if the majority of music is built on a foundation of harmony, and the majority of people in america listen to it, you might come to the conclusion that harmony is widely understood. that would be a mistake. i have spent many years of my life in choirs and chorals and something that comes naturally to me (harmonizing) is complete agony to others. i have seen girls put to tears, because they cannot understand the nuance of this powerful integration of sound.

the reality is this is not something you can just pick up, unless you hear it. this is not something you can sing, unless you understand it. it is not something that sounds phenomenal on its own, however, without the melody. the melody is so sweet, but is intensified when the two work together. there is nothing better to hear than the ear candy a duet brings to my senses.

i am realising that for a very long time i have tried to sing the melody in the rhythm of my life. instead of making sweet music, i sound like a mountain goat bleating up a hill. affronted with this unpleasantness, i tried so hard to make it sound smooth. fit into the mold of the "normal", the linear, the melody.

I DO NOT SING MELODY!

ha! in every area of my life i do not fit into the melody. i am different. a minor chord. just because i am different, doesn't mean it is bad. it only means i need to not drown out the melody. the chord of stephanie needs to be resolved. if i am overshadowing the melody, or if i am off playing my own song then it will sound TERRIBLE, but if i let the Melody take over and compliment it terrifically then music will be made.

sweet music, truly becoming the breath of my soul, for i have found my Melody.

simple. i know. how much better would our day go if we were not all trying to sing the solo? how much simpler would it be if we embraced our parts and sang them well? all i can see in my head right now is overstressed baritones going for the kill of the high note. red faced and stretching beyond our reach, why can't we just let the sopranos do it, because they can rock it!? i cannot! i have been over reaching, trying to increase my range instead of becoming the best harmonious alto i can be. the solo is not mine. the melody is so beautiful, but the Authour of this song deems me worthy to compliment, and compliment i shall. for the less make this song about me and let it be what it was intended, the more beauty will come forth and worship will arise.

...i'm gonna go practice now.

inhale

inspiration comes like a tornado storm, a force to be reckoned with and mostly unexpected. it comes suddenly for the majority and i too have been surprised; for i did not wake up this morning expecting the world to inspire me.


but it did.


the way the coffee tasted, the way our company spoke, the color the hair became, the way the movie ended, the turn our walk took, the simple words on a page begging for a second glance.

a breath of fresh air, inspiration overcame. anticipation beats wildly in my chest for hope and will not be tamed, rhythmically syncopated for the desire of what is to be. today is a surprise package, full of hope and vigor, strength and whimsy.

hope and dreaming become a known reality. breathing steady i see fruits of freedom taking over. hit with solidarity i awake from the murky and dim, to find the world renewed and unity arise. monumental movement becoming common practice. let hope be known and freedom be ours. let life be breathed into these dry bones.