[waspfromipanema]

Hi 

I'm Tone's wife, Cathy. Tone taught me to play guitar, and it's one of the most wonderful things anyone has ever done for me, so thank you again love <3 I was always a difficult student, and he has the patience of a saint. Well, he must have, to have dealt with me so well when I was learning the guitar, I was a nightmare!

I come from a musical family, and I started playing the piano at a very young age, but singing and songwriting were something I just didn't think I could do. After Tone had been teaching me the guitar for long enough that I didn't sound like complete sh*t, I wrote my first song. I was very nervous playing it to Tone, I didn't know what his reaction would be. He surprised me by saying the song was wonderful and he said my voice was beautiful and why hadn't he known? I was chuffed to bits, and told him I didn't know I could sing.

Since then we've written songs together and separately, but I blow hot and cold with music....I find it both a blessing and a curse, and the thing is, I hardly ever write a song any more that I'm happy with. In fact, it's only very recently that I've even been playing and singing again with any kind of enthusiasm, and that's because it's such a battle. I know this sounds very over dramatic, and maybe it is, but it's just the truth....I want to write songs, sing and play, but I seem endlessly stuck and then that does my head in so much so that in the end, I just put the guitar down, think 'forget it' and then don't pick it up again for ages.

My father had a huge amount of success in music and I know now that this is one of the reasons I'm finding it difficult. It's almost like I'm not 'allowed' or something, or the self critical voice, (which I guess is ultimately partly his) gets played on a tape loop in my head, and then naturally nothing I write is going to be any good. I used to write good songs, so I should be able to now, but I can't.

Any thoughts would be so greatly appreciated!

Thank you
Cathy x

[Dutchbeat]

Hi wasp


Cathy,

my reaction would be, sorry for that...
enjoy it!

don't think too much about the why
and when,

it sounds to me you are a songwriter
and yes, you got that from no stranger.....

but go for it,

I would say 
sorry just my first thoughts

[waspfromipanema]

Don't apologise  Thank you for your thoughts

[Schavuitje]

Hi Wasp

My advice would be to write for yourself and not anyone else. Not even Tone
Forget what you think other people will think of what you write... That it's too cheesy. Too simple. To soft. Too wierd or whatever stops you from just being free.
Forget whether it's a chord that sounds nice. Put your fingers in positions you haven't been taught and see what it sounds like.
Record yourself also because sometimes what doesn't come straight away will come later when you hear it again.
I was stuck on the most recent song that I am in the middle of recording for about 3-4 days. Everyday I took it in a different direction and the next day listened back to it and wasn't happy.
Then I tried something else and thought YES!
Writing on your own is always difficult though I find... As I have to do at the moment. When you have someone else to bounce idea's off it really helps.
Have patience and stick at it and it will come. <---- Am sure that's a line in a film :p

[waspfromipanema]

Thank you Schavuitje, (hope I spelt that right!)

I'll keep on keeping on.

[Eltoniobonio]

I know what you mean about songwriting doing your head in, it becomes an obsession once the basic structure is in place. Above all else though i find it very therapeutic and find i'm happier in myself generally at this stage of the process. I'm less prone to worrying about things in general cos i focus so much of my attention in this direction. I'm never happier than when i have a song that i consider nearly there. The search for that last piece of the jigsaw is my favourite part of the process and in my experience quite addictive.

[kip4]

didn't someone say write songs like there were your last
your story is great and if i had the abilty to write songs like you then i'd write a song about this story . say it in a song brilliant im insipered
enjoy