A Buddhist Songwriter on Buddhist Songwriting

Q1: Why do songwriters write songs?
Q2: Do they write about their problems in life and hope that by doing so something happens and miraculously the problem gets solved?
Q3: I seem to only write Buddhist songs. What is a Buddhist song?

I suppose this blog is a good place as any to write about it. I have written about songwriting in one of the earlier INCOVAR Camp magazines (that I happen to design and edit long ago).

Songwriters write songs, they think about the melody, the build-up, the chord progressions, the meaning of the song, the mood, the genre, the lyrics, the language, the message and emotions BECAUSE they can. Music is a language, with its own written form (like film). Songwriters write because they can project what they know and their experiences in life into song.

I think that unlike film, song touches the heart as soon as it is heard. Of the two parts (lyrics and music), the first thing that touches you is the music. You can perhaps feel what the singer is singing about before you know what they lyrics say. Maybe then, songwriters not only communicate through the words or lyrics, but also on another level, the music or the melody… on the heart level.

Some songwriters want to catch the essence of a time in their lives into music. It is like a snap-shot, a picture and an emotional bookmark of how they use to feel at the time they have written the song. It will not reflect what he feels now, but when you listen to his/her song today, you might just know how he/she felt once upon a time.

I am inspired by bad things that happen in my life. Bad things strike me stronger then good ones. That’s something good about Samsara. Lessons always come to us perhaps endlessly. And sometimes when I am lucky, I find a way through the Buddha Dharma to solve the problem and a melody springs out. Sometimes the melody comes together with words. The words usually come wrapped neatly around the melody. And from that one tuneful sentence, one melodious rift, I begin to guesswork myself around what I think the song will be about and in a day or two (sometimes weeks or months) a song will be complete.

Many a times, finishing a song will not help my problem. I wrote about procrastination in the song “Good Action”. I try to remind myself that good intentions are well, but it is the doing that means everything. I do find myself procrastinating still, but listening to the song reminds me that doing the good that I have intended is fun and very deserving of immediate attention.

In many instances, writing about themes like “being alone but not lonely” (like in the song I Feel At Home) opens up the topic to the understanding of how sometimes being alone is a good thing. It may also lead to the understanding of how being alone is not frightening, but healing.

I am fortunate that I am in the presence of a community of Buddhist songwriters of different age, experiences and expertise. I guess the biggest challenge in writing songs for me is how to continue to write good songs. Each good song, as you would have guessed by now; is always different from the last one you have heard. Each Buddhist song should by some degree, open a discussion about a personal or social lack and try to address that issue in Buddhist terms. Each song should be timeless, evergreen, peaceful, sometimes energetic depending on situations without being loud (because we are Buddhist what, and Buddhists are not loud!). Evergreen Buddhist music that is at the same time fresh. Try not to copycat too much. Sometimes I wonder if I are putting too many restrictions on myself.

But I suppose putting restrictions and being perfect is where the fun part is. And I get to meet and rub shoulders with important Buddhists (like Datuk Dr Victor Wee, Uncle Vijaya, Bro Kenny Chan, Bro Tan Huat Chye and especially Bro Tan Ho Soon) to discuss about my song ideas and lyrics. Sure, by doing so, I experience the reality of change. The song goes through many hands, changes in the lyrics here, grammar there… how does the singer finally interpret the song and what is the original intention of the song. The end result could never be anything less than excellent.

And excellence is the only thing that Buddhism deserves.