learning.

i love learning!

and it's a good thing, too, because i feel that i have a lot to learn in this season of life that i am in.

one thing major i am learning is how to be a team player. my hubby and i are being very committed to practicing together because our very first show is coming up (which i've mentioned in previous posts) but there is a lot of patience and flexibility that is required when writing music or working creatively with another person. you see, musicians can be pretty set on their own ideas and therefore, pretty temperamental when it comes to any other idea being shared while songwriting/crafting a song. there is a process of getting used to how the other person thinks, understanding how they want to communicate their music and why, how they play their instrument and why, etc. it's a lengthy process, actually, but matt and i are doing pretty well. i think we have settled on a sound that we both like and are comfortable with.

you see, i tend to write (lately) very folk style music on the guitar. i typically write (in the past) very pop/rock-driven or ballad type songs on the piano. i guess there have been phases in my songwriting; after all, i have been making up my own stuff since i was a little girl. i am big on rhyme in my lyrics and i love pretty, flowing melodies that soar and express in raw emotive ways.

now matt, on the other hand, was in a rock band in england for 6 years. yea, he's good. really, really good;) and so stinkin' creative when it comes to color parts on the guitar or piano and arranging the song once it's done. he likes edgy sounds, atmospheric sound-scapes that he can create with all of his tech-y guitar gear. he likes big sounds and big vocals. he is a great singer too.

we are learning how to blend our two completely different stylistic leanings and tendencies together. it's fun. :)

we have to learn and respect what we each are good at, what our strengths are and allow each other to function within those strengths and also be actively supportive and drawing those strengths out of each other.

i always prayed for a man that would be my team-mate. i didn't want to lead such separated lives and only have a few things in common. i wanted to do pretty much everything together, and look, God gave me a crazy-sick musician husband! YAY! we do pretty much do everything together. we are a team:) it's just, sometimes, something you have to learn how to be and we are learning to be a team in music.

go team gainsford!

that is just ONE of the things i am learning at present.

what are YOU learning?

love,

bethany