Learning and Singing Songs | For many years, I did not frequently learn or play very many songs by other artists. I am not sure why that was the case. I think very early on, I thought I could not play them. Looking back, that just seems silly.
I will say that I learned music writing music. My mom taught me theory and rhythm and all of the core stuff on piano, but once I had acquired a reasonable foundation I started right in on writing.
It is daunting to know that when you play a song by somebody great, you will be compared to that great somebody. Insecurity is a thief. In recent years, I have begun to learn and occasionally play songs by other writers, either those that I stumble across that are just too special not to explore or that are favorites of mine written or shared by my musical heroes.
I have been surprised to see what a good thing this is to do. I had not previously given it a great deal of thought, what benefits might come. Some obvious things, each artist has varied influences and tastes and thus writes and plays differently. They tend to use different chord voicings and progressions, not to mention the melody lines they hear and create.
Yesterday one of my very best friends asked me to send a digital copy of an old song of mine. Funny to me, it was a song I happened to write one day as I sat on the front porch waiting for him. He was late. We were going fishing on some central Texas river, probably the South Bosque. To this day I am glad that his arrival was delayed.
As I was looking for a recording of that song to share with him, I stumbled across a song I learned and recorded a few years ago. It is a song written and recorded by one of my musical heroes, Nanci Griffith. She wrote it with James Hooker, her piano player and bandleader, and Danny Flowers (story).
It is a great song. You should go find her rendition of it. Easy to find on YouTube or your favorite music service. Better yet, find and buy a vinyl of Little Love Affairs off of your favorite auction site. I will share my recording here and choose to not worry about comparisons. I do have a personal preference for the earliest recording of it from her Little Love Affairs record.
Nanci Griffith passed away recently. She is deeply missed by many, me included. The musical treasures she shared will be long appreciated and cherished.