Creativity is Discovery

Hi, I’m Mary. I’m a songwriter and lyricist.

But first and foremost, I’m a storyteller.

That’s mainly why I‘m setting up this blog / article / sharing platform. To share inspirational, creative stories. If you’ve just stumbled across me and my musings, welcome!

I’ve found ways to stay creative during lockdown, completing a ‘100 Days of Songwriting‘ challenge, with my own personal goals. It definitely was a challenge, but worth it to keep the creative cogs turning during this time at my family home in the Essex countryside. This blog is another way of keeping my creativity going, as well as sharing other artist‘s creative, inspiring stories.

So, “why write songs?” you ask.

Writing my first song at 16 for my music GCSE sparked something in me. I didn’t know how to play piano (I still don’t really!!) but I initially based it on the song “For Good” from Wicked. Of course it was cheesy, it was emotional, it was cringey, but I loved it. I was excited by the idea of taking inspiration from something and using it to create something unique. The funny thing about creativity is that we don’t really know how it works. Making something original is always going to take you to unexpected places and the process completely fascinates me.

My passion for music, movement, human expression, storytelling and performing led me to a degree at East 15 Acting School in 2014, where I studied World Performance - a dynamic course designed to develop creators in the arts who aim to explore cross-cultural connections in their work. One of the first things I was taught was “you can’t look at the world without looking at music” - a thought that has always stayed with me since. I wrote a song called “Home” with friends, which featured in a performance about British identity. My classmates might remember the lyrics and bluesy tune: ”scared of what we don’t know, we just wanna go home...scared of what we might lose or what it might cost, but some beautiful paths can’t be found...without getting lost”. It was the way I wanted to make my mark, to write words and melody that would resonate.

During my time at London Music School in the last year, I worked with some of the country’s best writers and musicians. Initially I was attracted to the idea of becoming an artist, making records and building a name for myself. But, as time went on, I realised it wasn’t about me - it was about the MUSIC. Singing and performing is a great buzz, but for me, nothing beats the indescribable feeling of creating a song. The creative act of songwriting which is also an act of discovery - there are no right or wrong choices, only choices that work (or don’t work) together. It’s about the story behind the song. It’s about human expression, experimentation, collaboration, being inspired both by new music and music from the past.

It’s not being afraid to just...begin.

“Write on an instrument you don’t play well”...

Not so long ago, I said to myself “I can’t do this, I don’t play piano or guitar” (I play saxophone but this is not overly helpful when one wants to sing AND play). Yet my songwriting teacher inspired me to keep going and not let my limitations stop me, even in the early days when I refused to show him anything I’d written. We listened to a lot of music in our sessions: 50’s, 60’s, 70’s music, old country and blues including artists like Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson. I remember being told to “write on an instrument you don’t play well”. This was music to my ears - it was time to let go, and discover the freedom and expression that comes with writing. Once I’d got over my fear of playing my songs to people, I loved the process that was to follow. Coming in with a song in its embryonic state, collaborating with musicians, listening to it sung by different voices, allowing it to change, evolve and eventually - naturally - become something. That’s the joy of writing for me; the fact that something literally can come from nothing. One minute it’s an idea in your head, the next it’s a real, living, breathing, constantly developing thing. Once you accept it’s not a journey to write something perfect, it’s a journey of discovery, all you need is the passion to tell the story.

I hope this first post has given you an insight into my process with songwriting!

I‘m aiming to use this platform to share my inspirations, creative stories and processes from people who inspire me.

Until next time!

xx

Photo by Christine Simone