What's it like to write music and release CD's? Find out as we go "Inside the Music" with Amy, and also find out a few other fun facts about her! Just choose a topic, and enjoy reading!
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How do you come up with the songs?I have no idea! I literally just sit down at the piano and play "nothing", and it eventually turns into a song. I tend to write certain parts of a song first (like the introduction or "hook" part), and then write everything else around that. I just try and imagine what I would want a cool song would sound like. Sometimes songs do just pop into my head. I never have the radio or other music playing when I'm in my car or at home... it's too much of a distraction. I like a lot of "quietness" in case I come up with a song.
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How long does it take you to write a song?It varies... lots of times I will write a part of one and then just forget about it for a while... then maybe a year later actually finish it. Some songs only take about a day for me to write... unless I'm inspired to change them... which happens a lot!
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How do you remember them?I have a small cassette tape recorder by the piano and I usually tape whatever I come up with just in case I forget it... and want to remember it. Most of the time I never play back what I tape, though, I figure if I don't remember it then it wasn't worth keeping. Songs that I have already recorded and put on a CD I remember by just listening to them again... and then it all comes back.
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So you never actually write the songs down?No. I don't have the time or patience for that. I hired someone to transcribe sheet music for me, as I don't have the patience for that, either. I know all the "technical" ins and outs of music and can read music... I just don't want to deal with it!
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How do you name the songs?I'm not sure... meaning I never really put that big of an effort into it. Sometimes when I'm playing I "hear" words in my head that might go along with the music and a title might come out of that. Other times, I'll pick a name because it kind of goes with the "theme" of the CD. There are times when I'll have the name of a song before the actual song... just because I hear or come up with a combination of words that are cool... and the song gets written around that. There's no great science to it, just more of how I feel on that particular day and the emotion that I want to bring across through the song. I do like very cool and unique names, so I try and make sure to get as creative as I can.
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Do you perform?At this point, no, I don't perform. I get so much enjoyment out of just creating the music and putting it out there for everyone to enjoy, that I've never felt it's something I NEED to do to feel fulfilled. I believe if I do perform that it will all of a sudden turn into work, which is exactly what I don't want to happen. I consider myself a writer, not a performer, and there's a huge difference between the two. I'm very guarded and protective of my music... it's my soul... and whatever I do with it needs to bring me happiness and enjoyment. There may come a time in the future when I will perform in some fashion... I'll never say never.
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Do you play or practice every day?Not at all! I play when I feel like it... sometimes I'll go as long as a week without playing anything. Most of the time, though, I play in 15-20 min. increments, then do something else, and then sit back down and play some more. Years of playing have been hard on my hands and back... so I try and rest my hands in between "sessions". I will admit, though, sometimes I do get carried away and an hour has gone by!
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How old were you when you started playing and writing?I believe I was 11 or so. I took lessons from a lady in town every Monday after school. I remember she always had the fireplace at her house going in the fall and winter and that was soooooo cool to take lessons by. Crazy part about the whole lesson thing was that I never really practiced. I played... but only fun stuff and not "lesson" stuff. By the time lesson day would come around I usually ended up sight-reading what had been assigned (you know, like Mozart, Bach, Beethoven). If my teacher knew, she never said anything. By the time I was in high school I had started composing and writing, which I considered much more important than playing the "classics"!
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How many songs have you written?A lot. I don't know an exact number... probably well over 150-200. When I first started writing I would tape them all on cassette tapes, which I still have. Now when I record a CD I go back and listen to those songs to see if I want to "bring back" any of those and work them into new material. It's probably my favorite part of doing a new CD, because a lot of those songs bring back sooooo many memories of that time in my life, and it's very meaningful to bring them into the "present".
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Is there a certain time of the year that you tend to write more music?Definitely in the fall. I love everything about that time of year and I've always written my best songs during that time.
