New Keyboard, New Songs!
Celebrating the writing process of a new album, and a new keyboard!
Until April of this year, I had the same keyboard for nearly 13 years. And I loved it. I was attached. This was the keyboard that I wrote my first complete songs with, that traveled to gigs with me, and literally unlocked the key to me being able to express and share my music. It was a silver, like a moonbeam—weighted keys with a full 88 key span, and and an AWESOME piano sound. After a decade, it was starting to wear out—the keys were loosening, and couldn’t spring back fast enough for the pace I often play at. I could hear it clacking. And eventually, I agreed to look at new keyboards with The Grumpy Gnome.
Initially, I felt very resistant to the idea of a new keyboard. I had become so attached to the one I’d played my entire adult life, and didn’t think I’d be able to find another that came comparatively close. The feeling of playing it is what matters the most to me—it has to actually feel like a piano. I am very fond of playing older pianos with loosened keys and a strong resonance, ones that have a lot of character and story. I like working with their quirks. So finding a keyboard that feels right is a difficult task for me…But! I was happily surprised. I did find one that I really liked the keybed on, with the 88-key span and more settings than I will ever be able to master. It’s a Roland Juno DS-88, and we’re becoming closer friends. I love that it’s more of a full composition tool, with soooo many sounds and possibilities! Exciting stuff. I am hoping that it can be my next decade instrument, that will be with me through this new stage of growth and learning as a musician. I was able to gift my old beloved keyboard to my rock star brother and nephew. I love that it has become a family heirloom of sorts, and hope it helps them in their musical journeys.
These new keys are also leading into a new era, with new songs!! Covid-19 has completely uprooted and flipped over everything that was, especially in my working life as a theater artist. But, it has also opened so many possibilities. Ultimately, I am incredibly grateful to have this unprecedented, abundant time to write and explore new ideas through sonic imagination.
The segment of music you’ll hear in the later part of this video is me working on an excerpt from a song-in-progress, “Hiraeth.” The title is a Welsh word without a direct translation in English. “Hiraeth” describes a feeling—a profound longing for home, though that home may be somewhere you’ve never been, from another place and time. I have felt this so strongly throughout my life, and this yearning has been very formative in my passion for travel. ‘Hiraeth’ is remembering that your soul chose this life, and there have been others. A reminder to honor everything you’ve been, appreciate where you’re at, and believe in where you can ascend. It’s a song about stepping into change with empowerment. Ironically, I began writing this a couple of weeks before the coronavirus hit in the US. While we’re not able to travel physically right now, creating this music has been a brilliant way to synthesize the experiences we’ve had and build new journeys—which all begin in the mind.
I’ll wait until it’s completed to share all of the lyrics, but one excerpt is:
“Only you can break your chains
Only you can set you free
And only you can find your way
To the sea.”
-lyrics from “Hiraeth”
