Tag: songwriting

YOUR VOICE by Denise Marsa

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I wrote a song after my London premiere of THE PASS. YOUR VOICE. I had the first line of the chorus and the title, and posted that line on Facebook. It was there almost a year. “Your voice is the loudest.”

After London I was feeling so much, hard to explain. I had finally spoken and shared who I was. It was a very very long journey for me. The song is very special to me. When the song was complete, I thought maybe another voice could record it. Something I hadn’t felt before, especially right after writing a new song.

And I thought, who do I know that could sing it?

In THE PASS at the end of the show, we feature a song from a new artist Tobe Baer. He had contacted me to manage him, to help him with his career. And he sent me a few songs. Light the Way was the 1st song of his I listened to, it hit me and I licensed it. It’s now a part of the show. People hear it as they leave the theater.

And then suddenly I thought– Tobe could sing YOUR VOICE. And he does. We have been working on the recording with his brother JR in Germany for months. It’s in a good place for now. And we have played it for a few BMG labels, since they administer my song catalog it seemed liked a good idea. There seems to be some interest brewing.

I played Leo, the founder of Live Out Loud the song, as I was on the development committee last year. I thought the recording might be a nice addition to the award ceremony, as people were coming in to sit and watch the program. He asked us to perform it live. It was a very cool moment. Here is a photo of Tobe and I, last week at the LIVE OUT LOUD 18th Annual Gala in NYC. I did some back-ups, Tobe played guitar and sang lead. He brought it home.

Me & Tobe Baer at Live Out Loud Gala, NYC

Words

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With two new songs just completed since my return from London, my infatuation with songwriting continues. There is a way I feel before a song comes and then as it arrives and a way I feel when it is done and being heard.

Watching Paul Simon last night on Stephen Colbert and his admitting what may be for the first time to my ears, that he actually updated, changed lyrics in a few of his “older” released songs on his new release The Blue Light. He felt the songs did not get their deserved attention and and he changed what he thought might needed to be changed? Words. Interesting idea, songwriters going back years later and changing their songs. Recording them. Hindsight. “Understanding of a situation or event only after it has happened or developed.” What would you rewrite? What would I rewrite?

He performed one of them live with a very cool music project Why Music. Loved the presentation.  ‘Rene & Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War’

I Dreamt About Taylor Swift Last Night

On By denise marsaIn music, UncategorizedLeave a comment

So I woke up this morning having had a very long dream that I wrote six songs with Taylor Swift for her new album–which of course I didn’t. What was so interesting was that within the dream while I was working with her, I was making sure I was mentally recording the ideas; I was putting them on my iPhone in my dream. As soon as I woke up I was able to record them on my iPhone for real! In the dream everyone loved these songs!!! What does the dream mean?

lucid-dreaming-music

The psychological meaning of dreaming about music is that it’s the opposite of chaos. Music stands for harmony and order. Musical dreams almost always have a positive connotation. Ironically, one song I wrote in my dream is called “Crisis”!  Another one is called “Wonder”. An old legend says that angels can send you messages in your dreams…hmmmm that feels nice and warm. I welcome all angels. 

I wonder if Taylor Swift also dreamt of me last night?

To Weave a Web of Song

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webmusic

Spiders get a bad rap. Consider their fascinating origin according to Greek mythology: Arachne, a talented but mortal weaver, challenged the goddess Athena to a weaving contest. When Athena, who rules over crafts as well as wisdom, won the content hands-down she decided to punish Arachne by turning her into nature’s first spider. So spiders spend their days weaving endless beautiful and intricate webs, but are not always appreciated for their artistry!

As a songwriter, I also weave webs–from music and words not thread. This week I have been crafting a new song for “The Pass”, LIFEBOAT. It will be the penultimate song in the show, the second-to-the-last, an important position. I have been playing it for friends, whose comments have helped me to take it to new levels. All of my life I have told stories, in words and music, bringing vocal shape to the world I experienced. At some point I gave this ability a practical application, by using it to write press releases, attract clients and create a PR firm. But the need to use it purely creatively always comes out; throughout my daily life I tend to burst into song. By patient and skillful crafting, I have taken my latest song to a new place, a heightened place of pain and love and soaring emotion. I can only hope that even the goddess Athena would approve!

Fun Fact: According to studies done at the University of Miami, spiders respond to music. They don’t like techno or hip hop but, when Bach was played, the spiders began to spin webs closer to the speakers.