An Introduction to my Music

So, I've mentioned (multiple times, geez, you never listen to me) that I am a budding singer-songwriter. The primary reason I started this blog is for my music (and because I like to think that people want to read the things I write, though most people won't).

I've always liked music as a thing but didn't really get into it until I was about fourteen and started bothering to listen to the radio every now and then. Before that it was my dad singing me to sleep every night until I was about nine (I was raised on a diet of  Frank Sinatra, The Eagles and "Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles; my dad had a small repertoir but a very, very good one. I pity the children now growing up with the Justin Beiber influence, *shudder*). 

I liked singing, a trait I inherited from my dad, and although I'm fairly certain I vastly overestimated my abilities, I performed at tennis club children's concerts and every once in a while for my school class (who I annoyed the shit out of with the two songs I knew off by heart). I didn't learn any instruments although my parents made me take piano for first and second year (I was too impatient for it, I couldn't get good fast enough with as little practise as I wanted)

I also vaguely remember experimenting with the recording feature on my CD player aged eight or nine, on casettes might I add (I was such a little hipster) recording some of my dad's CDs and playing them in our "ancient" (made in 1998) Honda Shuttle that still couldn't play those fewfangled compact discs. 

But I'm boring you, I'll get back to the point. I got into music properly in my first year of secondary school (aged bout 13). This year, just before I turned sixteen, I began taking guitar lessons for the beautiful, black with a maroon pickguard, left-handed guitar I'd gotten for christmas the year before. I'd taught myself most og the chords that didn't use bars and had succesfully figured the intro to two songs and (not that badly *cringe*) worked out the chords for "All This Time" by OneRepublic.

Anyway, I finally got round to taking lessons bacause of the president's award "An Gaisce" that the majority of Irish fourth years do because it looks good on a CV and makes your parents happy. Something about bettering yourself too... I took lessons with a girl who's mum is friends with my mum and who had a reputation down at the tennis club (I don't play anymore, I hate the sport almost as much as I hate things that my parents make me do without asking if I have any interest in that thing) for songwriting and guitar playing at musical evenings. 

I started playing December of 2011. I got good quickly (or quick enough for me to keep up interest) because I had a good teacher and wanted to learn. I like to thing there's a certain ammount of natural talent there too, and a knack for picking things up. I tooks songs and changed them a bit to make them my own, posted one or two of the results on my facebook page. Around February 2012, I wrote my first song and things started to get interesting. 

I had tried songwriting many times before that, without being able to play an instrument (proficiently) and it hadn't gone particularly well, I only gained some mediocre poetry that I couldn't quite but to music. I did, however, write a piece that did have a good tune. I tried to made a whole song of it but couldn't; leaving me with only a tuneful couplet about how my third year at an all girls school was making me feel at the time (I changed school the next year and am now in a much better situation).

Thanks for making me feel like I'm invisible;
I'm fine, I'll just blend in with the background like I always do. 

I actually graffitied those words onto the bathroom wall of that school, unbelievable rebel that I am. I'll elaborate on that song later. My point is, that's when my writing took off. After I'd figured out that structure that a song needsand realised that I was able to create a song that sounded halfway like a proper song, my productivity sky-rocketed. I don't know if it was the fact that I didn't want to study for mid term tests (I got straight As except for Irish, without studying, hells yeah) or because I was inspiration struck, but I wrote two more songs in the course of a week. 

Excited by this newfound art form, I slowly began sending videos of my original songs to my friend, Rhona, who seemed somewhat impressed and thoroughly encouraged me to keep it up, proclaiming herself my sponsor. I continued to write songs, which I will be introducing you do at a later date (I'll leave you hanging, muhaha!)

I proceeded to play at a couple of musical events in my school and the tennis club (my dad sings there sometimes and you don't have to actually play) and I'm writing lots this summer. I currently have nine songs and plan on entering a song-writing competition on RTÉ (that's the main Irish tv station, for all you foreigners). 


So in a much longer introduction that I had initially planned, you now know some stuff bout me and my musical history. I'll be posting songs, covers, lyrics and various other stuff soonish. I'll also be setting up a youtube channel at some stage so watch this space. 


Thanks for reading, I'm sorry it's not as interesting as some of my other posts, I apologise and promise lots of silliness to make up for it. Embrace the madness.