In a Silent Way

What are we listening to? What if we are silent?

I would say most of the time I’m not actually listening to music that’s been made already. If it’s silent, I can hear music that hasn’t been made yet. If I like it, I steal it. 

Silence is often overlooked as a tool for creation. I’ve been in bands with constant pattering, tuning, yapping, and adult activities going on for “writing sessions.” I’ve never been good at writing like that, feels like trying to catch a moment’s rest in a hockey match.

For me, I have to be able to “listen” to my own brain, as if I’m listening to the radio. There’s music in there. A spiral and an acoustic guitar is generally all I need to make something to build from. I like it that way, works for me. I may spend days in silence, forcing my ears to squint to hear what’s going on in the back of my brain. That’s totally okay with me today.

https://thekintners.bandcamp.com/track/my-own-doing-2023 is a song I wrote a while back that makes me think about being silent. I spent a lonely day on it. Not much was said at all. But my brain was playing this tune. It turned out to be about how sad I was. Keri helped me make it, along with my friend bkbirge.

When there’s noise, listening to music isn’t as much fun. Be it on a street corner or at the house. Music isn’t designed to fight for attention, people are. Music is just there if you need it, in a silent way.

More concerning the importance of silence in songwriting: https://vocal.media/art/the-art-of-silence-and-space-in-songwriting

The concern for me is here is that we are losing songwriting by not finding it in our brains. If we find it anywhere else, we are just copycats.

It occurred to me this morning that I should add a pic of Charlie Chaplin to this entry. The opportunity to post a silent film star when you are talking about silence should not be missed. Thanks!

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