tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29692695654365209952024-03-19T04:26:22.660-05:00Sound from the HeartA journal about songwriting, philosophy and heartfelt music by Patrik SiljestamAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-23535823813647385192014-07-26T16:07:00.003-05:002014-07-26T16:18:12.727-05:00Native American Prayer by Greg HigginsI found this prayer with chords on youtube and decided to write down the chords and lyrics so that it would be easier to sing with, since I couldn't find it anywhere else online.<br />
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I find this prayer very profound and beautiful. In my experience, it's not so much the religion that matters as it is the people believing and how they believe. I was very touched by this song.<br />
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<b>Father of the Sky<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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G D<br />
Father of the Sky<o:p></o:p></div>
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C D<br />
Father of the Sun, Moon and Stars<o:p></o:p></div>
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C<br />
Send down your rain<o:p></o:p></div>
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G<br />
Let the rivers flow again<o:p></o:p></div>
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G D<br />
Creator of the mountain<o:p></o:p></div>
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C D<br />
Send your mighty spirit across this land<o:p></o:p></div>
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C<br />
As we walk in dignity<o:p></o:p></div>
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G<br />
Longing to be free again<o:p></o:p></div>
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G Em D<br />
Deliver us from the evil one<o:p></o:p></div>
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Am Em D<br />
Make your victory strong<o:p></o:p></div>
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C D<br />
Let the blood of your only son<o:p></o:p></div>
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F C<br />
Flow throughout our land<o:p></o:p></div>
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G D<br />
As soaring eagles reach the sky<o:p></o:p></div>
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C G<br />
Let our hearts to the heavens rise<o:p></o:p></div>
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D C<br />
Flow mighty spirit within these veins<o:p></o:p></div>
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G<br />
Flow<o:p></o:p></div>
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D C<br />
Make us children of father god<o:p></o:p></div>
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D C<br />
Warriors of Creator<o:p></o:p></div>
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D C<br />
Flow mighty spirit within these veins<o:p></o:p></div>
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G<br />
Flow<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-10354302641848085692014-05-15T11:19:00.003-05:002014-05-15T18:44:46.893-05:00Earning Money on Music through RouteNoteI joined RouteNote 16th June 2012 and have had a good experience with them so far. There have been technical glitches every now and then (such as tracks not uploading properly) but after contacting their customer support I always got a timely reply with a satisfactory solution to my situation.<br />
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<a href="http://www.soundfromtheheart.com/2012/08/find-me-on-spotify-itunes-amazon.html">Read more about how I found RouteNote.</a><br />
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My music is available on Spotify and a number of other music services online. I have uploaded my tracks for free, and in exchange RouteNote takes 15% of my earnings. At any time I could upgrade any song I like to get 100% of the earnings, but that would cost me $10 per single (there are better deals for whole albums).<br />
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I've earned $1 for every 317 Spotify streams on average. Having only 14 tracks uploaded and not marketing myself that much, my total earnings for my own music after almost 2 years amount to only $6.46.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnS0jWdN1FrE54J02mnIjlMmTPsMJkDT-2AcJaJHPii6BsSTvPEyCMI-qZVKTFpQNkN8WtqQQURPhT18CYlJUDTROz2NW40LGuoS_tfNY1GthAMvpxQBpujAPhJuIm-lhQhWwLkBVdS58/s1600/20140418_183915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnS0jWdN1FrE54J02mnIjlMmTPsMJkDT-2AcJaJHPii6BsSTvPEyCMI-qZVKTFpQNkN8WtqQQURPhT18CYlJUDTROz2NW40LGuoS_tfNY1GthAMvpxQBpujAPhJuIm-lhQhWwLkBVdS58/s1600/20140418_183915.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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However, RouteNote recently implemented a referral system where if I get someone else to sign up for RouteNote, they still get 85% for their free tracks, RouteNote gets only 13% and I get 2% for referring them.<br />
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Looking at my referral report, I could calculate how much other people, who are more serious about marketing their music, are earning. Simply take my 2% and turn it into their 85%. Here are the top ten earning months from my 681 referrals. They are all anonymous.<br />
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Feb 2014: $1,332<br />
Mar 2014: $302<br />
Jan 2014: $230<br />
Dec 2013: $118<br />
Jan 2014: $98<br />
Jan 2014: $62<br />
Mar 2014: $44<br />
Jan 2014: $43<br />
Jan 2014: $27<br />
Jan 2014: $23<br />
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So, as you can see, there are a some people out there who became fairly successful! This does not include their tracks that they paid to upgrade to receive 100% of the earnings, since my referral fee is only for the free tracks.<br />
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<a href="http://routenote.com/referral/726fa1c3">Sign up for a RouteNote account here!</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-34182451780504403282013-10-17T20:47:00.000-05:002013-10-18T09:26:42.087-05:00Just Intonation compared to Pythagorean Tuning and Equal tempramentThere have been many different tuning methods throughout time and none of them are perfect for all music. This is because music is based on intervals between notes, and those intervals do not always add up when yous switch key.<br />
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According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemy%27s_intense_diatonic_scale">Ptolemy's intense diatonic scale</a>, which is considered the only tuning that could be reasonably sung, and corresponding with modern just intonation. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_classical_music">Gandharva Veda</a> uses this system of tuning which means that the resonance between all the different notes will be preserved. The C major scale looks like this if we use 528 Hz as the starting note.<br />
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C = 528 Hz<br />
D = 594 Hz (528 x 9 / 8)<br />
E = 660 Hz (528 x 5 / 4)<br />
F = 704 Hz (528 x 4 / 3)<br />
G = 792 Hz (528 x 3 / 2)<br />
A = 880 Hz (528 x 5 / 3)<br />
B = 990 Hz (528 x 15 / 8)<br />
Next octave of C = 1056 Hz (528 x 2)<br />
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All of these frequencies interact harmoniously with each other and all intervals are perfect equations with small . It also works with A minor, since that scale uses the same notes. However, if someone played a C major song and switched to D major, A would be the fifth and should equal 594 Hz x 3 / 2 = 891 Hz, which is quite different from the A = 880 Hz in C major. Your ear can hear difference a difference of 1 Hz between two notes that are sustained, so 11 Hz is a large difference.<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_tuning">Pythagorean tuning</a> is not even harmonious within a single key and uses only perfect fifths (3:2) and octaves (2:1) which creates very large integers, such as 243:128 for a major seventh which comes from five fifths up and two octaves down (3/2)<span style="line-height: 115%; vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">5</span></span> x (1/2)<span style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">2</span></span>. The big downside is that thirds (which form the middle note in chords) are dissonant - they are 81:64 instead of 5:4, which means for the above example E = 668.25 Hz instead of 660 Hz. Those extra 8.25 Hz means that musicians working with Pythagorean tuning can't play regular chords, but have to stick to simpler music using mainly fifths instead.<br />
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With <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_temperament">Equal Temperament</a> musicians figured out a way to play all different keys on the same instrument with a harmonic sound. Even though Equal Temperament is often viewed as a Western invention, it has been historically discovered by a Chinese man in 1584 and a Dutch man in 1585, independent of each other. Instead of working with intervals that relate to each other in mathematical harmony, equal temperament simply divides the octave into 12 equal pieces.<br />
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The downside of Equal Temperament is that some tones are more than 4 Hz higher or lower than their Just counterparts, which is a clear audible difference. This means that a perfect fifth, which is 3:2 in Just Intonation, will instead be 2.996614:2 in Equal Temperament. In Just Intonation the fifth and the unison would resonate with each other every 2 beats for the fifth and 3 beats for the unison. However, in Equal Temperament the fifth will slowly go out of beat with the unison since there is no exact mathematical relationship.<br />
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This means that instead tones strengthening each other, they destructively interfere with each other, as can be seen in the following image from <a href="http://dhrupadmusic.com/gandharva%20veda,%20the%20nature%20of%20music%20and%20equal%20temper.html">a lecture held at Maharishi Vedic University, Vlodrop, Holland, in January 2011</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://dhrupadmusic.com/webgrafikk/gandh-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://dhrupadmusic.com/webgrafikk/gandh-3.png" /></a></div>
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"The two upper waves are the sounds, while the wave under is the combined sound that we hear. The two sounds have the same amplitude. The changing amplitude of the lower wave shows the change in volume of the combined sound. At point A the two sounds are somewhat synchronous, and the combined amplitude is at its largest. Then they become less synchronous and the combined amplitude becomes less. At B they vibrate opposite each other and the combined amplitude becomes zero, making no sound. Then they gradually move back to synchrony, while the combined amplitude gradually increases and reaches its maximum when the two waves again become synchronous, and so on."<br />
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So, even if you have tuned your guitar to A = 432 Hz, the guitar itself does not use Just Intonation and so even if A is the right frequency, no other tones will be. The easiest way is to play a fretless instrument, such as the violin, since you can adjust each note as you please. However, with guitar and keyboard there are no easy solutions to this, unless you want to <a href="http://jsnow.bootlegether.net/cbg/justintonation.html">build your own guitar like this guy did</a>!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-89564534725138189092013-08-12T11:34:00.000-05:002013-08-12T11:34:43.599-05:00Point of Vantage: Guitar vs PianoThis post is inspired by David Hurlin's post <a href="http://drumtheory.blogspot.com/2013/08/vantage-point.html">Vantage Point</a> where he talks about how drumming on unconventional instruments such as mailboxes can unlock innocent creativity. I would recommend you to read the full post!<br />
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This brought to life an idea I've had for a while. In my mind, the guitar is a more creative instrument than the piano. Now, don't get me wrong, pianos are beautiful and great music has been written through playing the piano. However, a piano is linear, whereas a guitar is two dimensional. Each string on a guitar is like a mini piano. In addition to this, a guitar presents all tones as equal since it does not distinguish between black and white keys, whereas a piano tells you which tones you should play for C major and all other keys are played in relation to C major, as far as the black and white piano keys are concerned.<br />
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Sure, the piano has potential for grandiose pieces of music since you can use all ten fingers at the same time, whereas with the guitar you only have six strings and five fingers to play with. In my experience though, the guitar has inspired me to create more original music without referring to music theory. When I first started writing "<a href="http://routenote.com/r/siljestam/5051813606977">The Sound of Rain</a>" I simply took an open C major chord and moved it down on the fret board three steps. This jumbled all the notes somewhat and when I played the different strings there was a new sound that I really liked and started to play around with.<br />
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I also like that my guitar doesn't have marks for the 5th, 7th 9th and 12th fret, because leaving room to make mistakes also means you can find combinations you never would have thought of. As one of my teachers always say, "There are no mistakes, only happy accidents".Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-82537006542017382792013-06-21T16:48:00.001-05:002013-08-12T11:16:35.902-05:00Wholeness is Greater than the Sum of the Parts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When I play music with others, there is an interesting meeting taking place. I started playing music to express myself and to get to know myself better. Playing with others allows me to know myself in terms of how I'm different and unique compared to others. I discover that as a musician, I'm stable and steady. I know a large repertoire of songs. I also grow in unexpected ways from being influenced by the people I play with. I become more fluid and free. I start to improvise songs never written before.</div>
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I recently recorded one of my songs, The Sound of Rain, with my friend Kurtis Kujawski freely improvising to the song. To me, it really shows how the interaction between structure and flow can create a wholeness more beautiful than each part.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='480' height='300' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/sfSdsPqfIgw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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When I play with other people I play less for my own sake and more for the sake of the music itself. Being part of something greater makes me realize what my true talents are and inspires me to develop new ones too.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-26601954588810206042013-06-03T12:28:00.000-05:002013-10-01T10:48:06.013-05:00528 Hz ExperimentA few days ago I did an experiment with my friend Nick Tucco, similar to the previous post where the frequency of 432 Hz created symmetric patterns. This time we are using 528 Hz, which is one of the <a href="http://attunedvibrations.com/solfeggio/">Solfeggio Frequencies</a>.<br />
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We used my guitar amp, his drum, and a bunch of sand. Connecting my amp to a computer, we played the tone 528 Hz on pretty high volume which made the drum vibrate and distribute the sand over its surface in patterns.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/riqJmZsdcfQ" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Initially we had too little sand, which only showed a hole in the middle surrounded by two rings of sand.<br />
Later, when we added more sand to the drum, the hold in the middle didn't show up, but instead seven empty circles around the edge of the drum were seen. Both times we used 528 Hz.<br />
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The sounds we create have an impact on the environment and can create something beautiful. Taking this to a deeper level, our thoughts are nothing but unmanifest sounds and have similar capabilities. Before we can speak, we have to have a thought, even if it is unconscious. If we can fine tune our amplifiers to create sand patterns on a drum, who says we can't fine tune our consciousness to create patterns in our life?<br />
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If you want to delve deeper into the mystery of frequencies, read about the difference between <a href="http://www.soundfromtheheart.com/2012/12/432-hz-compared-to-440-hz.html">440 Hz and 432 Hz here</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com6Fairfield, IA, USA41.0072222 -91.96583329999998640.9592937 -92.046514299999984 41.0551507 -91.885152299999987tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-89401240636452741612012-12-02T14:01:00.000-06:002013-10-04T09:25:54.234-05:00432 Hz compared to 440 HzI've been reading about alternate tuning and done some of my own research into the subject. The standard tuning for instruments is A = 440 Hz This was decided in 1939 and this is the only official standard tuning around the world. My preferred tuning is A = 432 Hz which according to some studies is a more harmonious frequency, in tune with natural law. You can see for yourself with these two water sound images of the two frequencies.<br />
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<a href="http://www.watersoundimages.com/news/432hz.htm"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFIaXRc2sVG7tkIkq5CSdxer2Vx4vmJlRcXlqN8S3G9J27mue_SeDz8VYzO-E6oIbI8YGOX4DrTLpa5h5qqH_blxMqk13-fz5zzphGoPv02FE0ZKYo2A8q_JWy7RZsNHAQk3J-__C1ps/s640/432hz-vs-440hz-water.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.watersoundimages.com/news/432hz.htm">Link to website of original creator of these images, Robert Boerman</a></div>
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Worth to mention is that there are many alternative frequencies for tuning. Some people say 444 Hz is the "sacred frequency" but so far there is no "right" or "wrong" tuning defined. There are claims that 432 Hz was the standard tuning for classical composers, but this is not true. There was no such thing as a standard tuning before electromagnetism was discovered in the 19th century, which enabled the precise measurement of frequencies. Old organ pipes are tuned to a large variety of frequencies. </div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concert_pitch">From Wikipedia</a>:</div>
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"For example, an English pitchpipe from 1720 plays the A above middle C at 380 Hz, while the organs played by Johann Sebastian Bach in Hamburg, Leipzig and Weimar were pitched at A = 480 Hz, a difference of around four semitones. In other words, the A produced by the 1720 pitchpipe would have been at the same frequency as the F on one of Bach's organs."</div>
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With this being said, my own personal experience with the different frequencies has been clear. I feel a lot more relaxed when playing 432 Hz on my guitar, maybe partly because there is less tension on the strings. However, there is also a connection to sacred numbers. An lower octave is half the frequency and a higher octave is double frequency. The A string (second lowest) on a guitar that is the one being tuned is two octaves below the tuning A, which means four times lower frequency. For 440 Hz this becomes 110 Hz, but for 432 Hz it becomes 108 Hz, which is a sacred number. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/108_(number)">See Wikipedia</a>)</div>
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You can also see a practical experiment I did with some friends on the Solfeggio frequency 528 Hz <a href="http://www.soundfromtheheart.com/2013/06/528-hz-experiment.html">in this article.</a><br />
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For a more philosophical article, read about <a href="http://www.soundfromtheheart.com/2012/10/the-source-of-music.html">the Source of Music</a>.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-13204304573737555012012-11-17T12:14:00.000-06:002012-12-16T21:56:24.425-06:00Performing vs Recording<div style="text-align: center;">
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When I started singing my strongest motivation was the chance to perform. Being in front of an audience and meeting them through music has always been a profound experience for me. I want to thank my music teacher <a href="http://www.olovfranzen.se/duofranzen.pdf">Ingeborg Axner Franzén</a> who has a deep and profound philosophy in her teaching.</div>
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I learned that a performance is always a meeting between the audience and the performers. Ingeborg helped me understand that the audience is part of the performance and actively create the music together with me. My song is something I wish to express to them, a gift of myself that I can share, but their attention is an equal gift in return because they create the space that I fill with music. Ingeborg and I would take different angles on every song in preparation of a performance and figure out what the essential message and feeling in the song I wanted to give the audience. This way, I've always been very conscious about the deeper layers of music.</div>
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In this video I'm performing two original songs:</div>
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<a href="http://www.soundfromtheheart.com/p/on-my-own-im-always-here.html">On my own</a> (starts at 1:50)</div>
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<a href="http://www.soundfromtheheart.com/p/unspoken-dialogue.html">Unspoken Dialogue</a> (starts at 5:10)</div>
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I started taking vocal lessons at the age of 13, just as my voice started to deepen. Now that I'm almost 26, it means half of my life I've been singing as a hobby, so it has become an intimate part of who I am. I've known Ingeborg, my music teacher, since I was 6 years old and started taking piano lessons from her. I still meet with Ingeborg whenever I go home to Sweden and continue to have coaching sessions, and we stay in touch through emails as well.<br />
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Ingeborg taught me different song styles, such as classical singing or being more raw and expressive, but always reminded me to go back and sing as Patrik would have done it. This way I could develop a versatile voice while still retaining a strong identity and unique style of singing. She noticed that I put particular attention on the lyrics when I was singing and so she helped me develop my lyrical singing, along with an appreciation for the melody. I am grateful to have a music teacher who never criticized me in a negative way, and instead pointed out something good before making a caring suggestion for improvement.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4KUpIp6b4zP9i4NLTvIoFCbubOb4CmXd9dKHzSzp2GBkMluKZ63A8l-47rESIgyTNnvBVBPa2rMX0chx9gvsIQk6jpck-DbwmGHiMLUbPPqUAGCM_vX_K6O4ROSAh77yLGPdLIeNhhg/s1600/Performing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4KUpIp6b4zP9i4NLTvIoFCbubOb4CmXd9dKHzSzp2GBkMluKZ63A8l-47rESIgyTNnvBVBPa2rMX0chx9gvsIQk6jpck-DbwmGHiMLUbPPqUAGCM_vX_K6O4ROSAh77yLGPdLIeNhhg/s1600/Performing.jpg" height="320" width="315" /></a></div>
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Now I have started to get into a whole different field, which is recording. Compared to a caring music teacher, the microphone can seem cold and critical sometimes, as it picks up any slight mistake I might make and mechanically repeats it to me when I listen to the recording. I've learned to be less self-critical through listening to my own recordings and realized that there is a great advantage to this medium: I can now enjoy my own music and have a self-referral feedback loop.<br />
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This is great for songwriting, as I can sit and fiddle with different chords, song structures and instrumental parts and then listen to the wholeness. Transitions, how different parts fit together and the overall theme of the song becomes clear in a way that isn't possible otherwise when I listen to my recorded self. I can make changes to intonation, smoother transitions between verse and chorus or simply just enjoy the sound of my own music.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-78766268028280342532012-10-22T02:37:00.000-05:002012-10-24T22:55:27.504-05:00The Source of MusicWhere does music come from?<br />
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The source of music is silence. Is this really true or just a poetic statement? I will argue my case through using the language of science. Music is composed of sound, and sound is nothing but waves. Two sound waves of the same frequency and amplitude with opposite phase cancel each other out and together create silence. This may sound really weird, but science confirms it and calls it "destructive interference". Below you can see how two identical waves can either amplify or cancel each other out, depending on their phase. Taking this a quantum leap forward, if all possible sound waves were to exist together, they would all cancel each other out and create... silence.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/demos/superposition/superposition.html"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Demos/superposition/interference.gif" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/demos/superposition/superposition.html">Animation courtesy of Dr. Dan Russell, Grad. Prog. Acoustics, Penn State.</a></td></tr>
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In other words, silence is infinitely dynamic, since it contains all possible sounds. If you listen to the silence, then you have access to all these sounds and can create any piece of music. The natural question that follows is: How do you listen to silence? I would argue that it's not enough to simply be in a silent room, but that you have to also silence your mind while remaining aware. Being asleep, the mind is silent but there isn't any awareness. However, in the morning right before fully waking up (especially without an alarm after a good night's sleep) there can be a brief period where the mind doesn't hold any thoughts but awareness is still there. This can also happen just before falling asleep, when the last thoughts are gone but awareness is still there.<br />
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I experience this state of consciousness through <a href="http://www.tm.org/meditation-techniques">Transcendental Meditation</a>, a technique I've practiced for almost twenty years (since I was six years old). It takes twenty minutes in the morning and twenty minutes in the evening. I've found this technique to be the major source of inspiration for my music and songwriting.<br />
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When I perform, the silence just before the performance is what creates the connection between me and the audience, and from there the music is born. When I write music, I spend months and sometimes years taking in experiences of the world and soaking up impressions that in a short moment of inspirations gets compiled into a song. To respect and recognize this silent phase of songwriting, is to realize that spending two hours every week writing songs is only the tip of an iceberg for a dedicated musician. Being a musician is a calling that permeates my whole life.<br />
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Silence is not just the source of music, but is also an intimate part of any song. Without silence in between notes and words, music would just be noise. Imagine a good song you like with no pauses in between words or notes, and it all suddenly seems very jumbled together and not as enjoyable. A skilled musician can use the silence between words to accentuate what will come next and build up anticipation within the audience, making them wonder and long for what they are about to hear.<br />
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To further explain what happens between two sounds I'm going to use a model from Maharishi Vedic Science, called the Fourfold Structure of the Gap. (<a href="http://www.mum.edu/pdf_msvs/v07/vediclit.pdf">You can read more on page 9 in Dr. William Sand's Ph.D. dissertation.</a>)<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNZuD5TGN0ne5X4iD6aXOIeOy4mB3FioBqx9jqgc6jrmXlPe_Us6qRB8RE6aTXm5lrR7f7_HWz0ey_lKlYUG2cgZ2W2oJ9R5aZ8mjkuOTbi12wYTkZgpQ6-DgFabiW_Q4YPOuMWXvKPw/s1600/Fourfold+Structure+of+the+Gap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNZuD5TGN0ne5X4iD6aXOIeOy4mB3FioBqx9jqgc6jrmXlPe_Us6qRB8RE6aTXm5lrR7f7_HWz0ey_lKlYUG2cgZ2W2oJ9R5aZ8mjkuOTbi12wYTkZgpQ6-DgFabiW_Q4YPOuMWXvKPw/s1600/Fourfold+Structure+of+the+Gap.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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The first sound fades away into nothingness of all sounds existing simultaneously in a state of silence, and from this state the next sound starts to manifest. What makes this perspective even more interesting is that what goes into the gap - the first sound - is the exact cause of what comes next.<br />
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I have had this experience several times when I write music. A song starts in silence with infinite possibilities of what it could become. Then, I have a subtle impulse that makes me sing that first word, strum that first chord or play that first note, and from there the rest of the song flows effortlessly, like a stream bursting out from its spring. There is no doubt about what chord I shall play next, or which word shall follow the previous. They are all connected, and each one is unfolding from what came before.<br />
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What is your experience of the silence in music, and the music in silence?<br />
(Comments are appreciated!)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-49628110758410997062012-10-13T15:38:00.000-05:002013-09-24T10:33:27.217-05:00Featured musician: Nick TuccoNick Tucco is a great drummer and composer of electronic music. I've been playing in a band with him for about a year. Here you find an interview with him and you can listen to one of his drum solos as well as video game style electronic music he composed.<br />
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<b>What is your relationship with music?</b><br />
I’d say on the practical level I play every day for about an hour, more or less. I’m always thinking about music and I always have a song stuck in my head. Not necessarily because I want to, but because it’s always been that way. It feels like music chose me, and forced me to play music, rather than me wanting to play music. I feel like this because the only way to get rid of the song stuck in my head is to play it.<br />
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<b>How long have you been a musician?</b><br />
This is my forth year playing. I started playing music during my junior year in high school. In the very beginning I started off playing Rock Band, the video game, on the drums, and I liked that a lot. But when I was able to do expert on the game I wanted to do more. Now I think it was stupid because I got really good at the game and if I had spent the same time on a real instrument it would have been something productive.<br />
Around the same time I went to my first concert and saw Slipknot with a friend. It’s the best concert I've ever been to. It was so intense. I love their drummer, even before I went to their concert. After that it became an obsession listening to everything and memorizing everything in my head. I wanted to figure out how he played drums like he did and how he even had enough hands to do it.<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:user:silyestam:playlist:3MWQ3VDlA2f1kw2rseZA3Y" width="300"></iframe>
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<b>How have you grown in your journey with music?</b><br />
My physical skills grow slowly. Speed, creativity and everything like that comes with time. I want to get to the point where if I can think it, I can also do it. Complete mind-body coordination, just being one. I’ll never even get there, but I can just get closer and closer. It develops slowly.<br />
Music has always been an outward picture of an inward condition, representing what’s going on within me. In high school I loved Slipknot and I felt like… I mean I didn't feel that angry all the time, but being stuck in high school and all there was some element of anger.<br />
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<b>Who has been your greatest musical influence? </b><br />
My favorite musician nowadays is Dream Theater Not many people are into them, but people who are into them are totally obsessed. They make very long, detailed, epic music. I feel like that has a parallel to me because I like things that no one else has the patience for but yet if you invest the time into it it’s worth it in the long run, for sure. Their music inspires absolute chaos while at the same time being totally controlled. I think that’s a good skill.<br />
When I watch drummers in videos, and watch these super ridiculous metal drummers, their face is always so bored and calm and into it. I always imagined them in my head crazy and sweating and their whole body moving. When you actually watch them they’re very efficient and it’s just their fingertips doing all the work, and not their full body. In order to have that controlled chaos, you have to be able to keep your calm no matter how ridiculous or intense the music becomes.<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Vamatron/videos?flow=grid&view=0">Go to Nick Tucco's YouTube Channel for more videos!</a></div>
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<b>What is it that you want to convey with the music you play?</b><br />
It’s hard to answer because I want to convey what I couldn't convey with words. It’s communicating with a different language. It’s deeper and more direct. It’s sharing some of my inner thoughts and experiences. For some reason, I don’t know why, when I translate that into a series of noises and if someone else hears that, it makes them have that same feeling too. I don’t know why it is that way, but it is. It’s a way of communicating my inner feelings.<br />
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<b>Describe your best experience with music</b><br />
It was at the variety show in Fairfield, Iowa April 2012. It was in front of two or three hundred people. I’m still surprised that I wasn't nervous for that show at all and it was my third show ever. I think it was because the two before. The first one I was nervous because it was my first one and the second because I had no idea what I was doing. I came up to you ten minutes before and asked if you wanted a drummer and I just improvised the song, without knowing what you were going to play. I think it was because I did that ridiculous thing that the variety show was so easy, plus that we were so well prepared. I envisioned that moment for so long and I was more than ready for it for a long time. I had the feeling on stage that this is my shot at glory and I can take it and nothing can stop me.<br />
The lights were really bright, so I couldn't see anyone. I didn't feel like I was in front of a bunch of people. That helped. Everyone had to pay attention to me and they had no choice, so I could do exactly what I wanted on stage and they would have to listen. That was the first time I've truly been myself, because I had the space to express anything and all these people would listen, no matter what I did.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-19041251298058834102012-10-04T16:37:00.002-05:002013-10-21T12:15:55.280-05:00Muse: Time is Running Out Song Structure<u>Measures Guitar Drums</u><br />
1 Interlude<br />
2 Verse 1 Simple beat<br />
2 Riff (Single) Sidestick<br />
2 Bridge Tom build<br />
2 Chorus Crash<br />
1 Riff (Double) Bell or splash<br />
2 Verse 2 High pitched<br />
1 Riff (Single) Quiet<br />
2 Bridge Tom build 16ths<br />
2 Chorus Crash<br />
2 Post-Chorus China<br />
1 Interlude Simple beat<br />
1 Riff (Single) Open hi-hat<br />
2 Solo Square to round<br />
2 Bridge Tom build 16ths<br />
2 Chorus Crash<br />
2 Post-Chorus China<br />
1 (pause) Outro Heavy tom<br />
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Now you may wonder what this is all about. I'm playing with Nick Tucco and this is a song we've played for half a year and continued to improve. After a while we realized that it would be nice to get a clear picture of the structure of the song. As you can see, there are 18 different sections in the song with a maximum length of two measures. This means something new happens, musically speaking, very often and it can be challenging to keep up with. Seeing the structure makes it easier to come up with something creative for each part that fits with the wholeness of the song.<br />
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The best place to learn this song (according to me) is Songsterr.<br />
<a href="http://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/muse-time-is-running-out-tab-s87577t4">Click here to get to the tab!</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-25746037658321054632012-09-26T14:51:00.001-05:002013-09-24T10:49:00.494-05:00Recording with Big Brother!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Praise the Good (Rock Version)</span></b></div>
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Vocals & Songwriting: Patrik Siljestam</div>
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Electric Guitar: Andreas Siljestam</div>
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Drums: Nick Tucco</div>
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<a href="http://siljestam.blogspot.com/p/praise-good.html">You can find the chords and lyrics for this song right here!</a></div>
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This song was recorded on September 1, 2012, when my older brother Andreas was in Fairfield to visit me. He had his own electric guitar as a teenager and got really good at that time, but after a while he sold it and stopped playing. This was a chance for my brother to dust off his old guitar skills and play in a band once again, borrowing my electric guitar Angel <a href="http://siljestam.blogspot.com/2012/08/my-companions.html">(read more about her here)</a>. <br />
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I wrote the song originally, and when I showed the chords and song structure to Andreas he immediately came up with an awesome strumming pattern. I was surprised at how easily he could hear how the guitar would fit with the rest of the song. He also had some great suggestions in the song structure - a pause before the higher pitched verses, silent guitar during the last verse etc. Seeing the wholeness of a song like this and grasping in one's consciousness how a song could develop is what differs a great musician from someone who just plays music, at least to me.<br />
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"What is meant to be heard in music<br />
Must be heard within you<br />
Before anyone else can hear it."<br />
- Nadia Boulanger<br />
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We recorded using a <a href="http://www.bluemic.com/yetipro/">Blue Yeti Pro</a> recording microphone that plugs straight into the computer. It's a great mic that I recently got so I hope to be uploading more content soon.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com181390-1898 Granville Ave, Fairfield, IA 52556, USA41.022035045788385 -91.96402072906494141.019040045788387 -91.968956229064943 41.025030045788384 -91.959085229064939tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-6712771665221239692012-08-19T01:48:00.001-05:002012-08-19T01:57:25.612-05:00My Companions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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These two beauties are my loyal companions and I've even named them! As a musician I definitely have a relationship with my instruments, kind of like having a pet. I need to make sure I spend time with them, take care of them and take them out onto stage as well, and in return I get their unconditional love and support.<br />
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The classic acoustic guitar I call Brownie because she is more of an earthy, homey guitar and has a very warm, soothing sound. I got her as a birthday present seven years ago, when I was 18. I've played her at least a couple of times every week since then, sometimes several hours a day. Whenever I travel somewhere for at least a week I bring her with me and she's been with me through Europe, Africa and America. I really feel like she is a troubadour's guitar and perfect for the campfire. Her sound has developed over time and become more full, as the wood gets more in tune and adapt to her musical vibrations.<br />
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In the town where I live and study, Fairfield, Iowa, there is a quirky music store scrambled with instruments, called Field of Dreams. I looked at various guitars the man was selling, while wearing my blue suit with belonging vest. As I saw her and tried playing a little bit, I fell in love. She was larger than the other guitars with a color that matched my outfit perfectly. Although she was the most expensive guitar he had, I could not settle for less.<br />
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Angel, as I named my electric acoustic guitar due to her celestial color and ethereal sound, had been waiting for me for 16 years when I bought her. I looked up her serial number and found out that she was made in Korea in May of 1996. I was the first owner so the original strings and stickers were still on. She had been played by many people, but no one had been willing to pay the price until I came.<br />
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A friend of mine told me that starting with a classic guitar is the best. The reason is that the strings are higher off the fretboard, the neck is thicker and the strings are further apart so your fingers have to learn precision in order to play clean. Brownie doesn't have any dots on the fretboard either to indicate where the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 12th fret are so I had to learn that intuitively instead. Now that I play both guitars, Brownie is great to practice difficult riffs and licks in order to really get to know them.</div>
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The reason I got Angel was because I started to play with a drummer, <a href="http://open.spotify.com/artist/4feY7cZZtDzZkwp2dmq3lt"><b>Nick Tucco</b></a>, and amplifying Brownie with a microphone just wasn't working. Until then I had mostly played ballads, folk, pop and a little bit of classical rock but with a real good drummer I was inspired to get myself into hard rock, metal and other types of music that require an electric guitar. </div>
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Angel has inspired me to play the guitar like a voice, instead of just a backup instrument for my vocals. I've learned a lot during the almost 6 months I've been playing her and recently got a recording microphone which will allow me to upload music where Nick and I are playing together. The main reason I used to play music was because I wanted to express, but now my consciousness has shifted and instead I mainly play music because I want to explore, although the value of expression still remains.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-60533867528234096202012-08-12T12:48:00.001-05:002015-10-31T10:24:42.045-05:00Find me on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon & RouteNote!<br />
Yes, I'm available on Spotify now which has surprised some of my friends. You can do it too, by simply <a href="http://routenote.com/referral/726fa1c3">clicking here!</a> I'll explain more in this post. Somehow it is easy to feel that it's a big step from playing in small venues, but anyone with original content can easily publish their music on Spotify. <br />
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"It's not a Fairytale" is one of my songs that I've uploaded to Spotify, and you can also listen to the music video on YouTube.<span style="color: white;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: white;">How do you get music on Spotify?</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DTCIE1P5K30/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DTCIE1P5K30?feature=player_embedded" width="480"></iframe></div>
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For me, it was a matter of thinking big, of having the courage and visionary mindset, in order to get there.<br />
I had a recording of a song that I was satisfied with and had already published some music online at <a href="http://ubetoo.com/siljestam">ubetoo.com</a>. More out of curiosity, I went to <a href="http://www.spotify.com/">Spotify's website</a> and looked up what it would take to get my music there. After looking around some, I found in small grey print at the bottom of the site a link named "<a href="http://www.spotify.com/us/work-with-us/labels-and-artists/">Labels and Artists</a>" where I continued to click on "<a href="http://www.spotify.com/us/work-with-us/labels-and-artists/artist-page/">Are you an unsigned artist that want your music on Spotify?</a>", which lead me to the next link, "<a href="http://www.spotify.com/us/work-with-us/labels-and-artists/artist-aggregators/">artist aggregators we work with</a>".<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoER3_TDjkDNmJm0_jw06a_vR9JxcO4dxx9xOL6_gYQaqUYT48PivgkOlyc_0FSI6CFQwToR4lpfCENu4U0ybkND5lqddRMf-i6YXGeIzfPdeM2fr3SYAofl7Gl_jbwIRzYNl0N1d-VXM/s1600/Walking+down+the+river.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoER3_TDjkDNmJm0_jw06a_vR9JxcO4dxx9xOL6_gYQaqUYT48PivgkOlyc_0FSI6CFQwToR4lpfCENu4U0ybkND5lqddRMf-i6YXGeIzfPdeM2fr3SYAofl7Gl_jbwIRzYNl0N1d-VXM/s320/Walking+down+the+river.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Quite the treasure hunt so far, but not nearly over yet. Now I was faced with 13 different websites I could contact as an unsigned artist to get my music on Spotify. I went through the whole list and did some research. Most of them charged around $10 per song you wanted to get up there, but the last one on the list could do everything for free, leaving you 85% of the profits (after Spotify takes a cut) and giving you the option to at any time upgrade a song to 100% profit for around $10. This definitely seemed like the best deal to me and I had nothing to lose.<br />
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The site, <a href="http://routenote.com/referral/726fa1c3">RouteNote.com</a>, also has an <a href="http://routenote.com/r/siljestam">online store</a> and gets my music on <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/patrik-siljestam/id542594959">iTunes</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=siljestam">Amazon</a> and a couple of other places in addition to Spotify.<br />
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Even though I had come this far, I wasn't preparing to celebrate just yet. It's easy to find opportunities that seem really good, but there is always the possibility of further complications on the way. I started my account and started to upload a song, only to discover that it needed to be in a certain format (mp3, 44.1 kHz, minimum 192 kbps). My music wasn't in this exact format, and so I found a free software online that allowed me to convert my files into the required format, <a href="http://lamexp.sourceforge.net/">LameXP</a>.<br />
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After uploading, it took some time until the music went live on Spotify, but after a month or so I was there. The path wasn't exactly simple, but it wasn't hard either. Success depends a lot on how great I was willing to think. Just that innocent curiosity, asking "What if I could have my music on Spotify?" and not having any expectations, was all it took. Sometimes when we grow up we learn about the restrictions of the world and we lose that inherent innocent knowing that anything we desire is possible to achieve.<br />
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<a href="http://www.soundfromtheheart.com/2014/05/earning-money-on-music-through-routenote.html">Read more about how much money you can earn through RouteNote!</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-74076539956589590522012-08-05T10:13:00.001-05:002012-10-13T10:16:42.483-05:00What is the essence of music?The essence of music is a rather philosophical concept with no real right or wrong, but for a musician to ask the question and find an answer that resonates personally can bring a different depth into the music created.<br />
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I had an experience with music that gave me insight into the spiritual value of music. I was driving back from Los Angeles to Fairfield, Iowa and put up camp north of St George in Utah. It was a beautiful place with mountains nearby, sagebrush growing around me with a couple of juniper trees right by the tent. There was a strong wind blowing and as dusk turned into night, I became slightly frightened for various reasons.<br />
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Would the wind become a storm and blow the tent away? Would someone with ill intentions walk by the tent? Would a rattlesnake or other dangerous animal attack me? None of these made sense and before setting camp I had seen a beautiful double rainbow in the sunset and a bird had guided me to the site. Nature was supporting me, yet I could feel unease from Her.<br />
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I opened my guitar case and was about to play a few songs when I could feel the tension between Nature and the guitar. This instrument was not native to the Land and the people who had brought it with them caused much suffering. Instead, I picked up a Native American flute I had received as a gift from Andreas, my older brother.<br />
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Playing the flute made me feel connected in a way the guitar could not. A wooden flute is closer to nature somehow, since it is just a hollow branch with some holes and decorations. I am still learning to play the flute and know a few simple tunes, and these melodies felt soothing to me. It was as if Nature could receive them without the memory of pain.<br />
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The next night when I was camping in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, I had the same experience. My guitar didn't resonate as well with my surroundings as the Native American flute. Maybe because I was by myself, Nature was my only audience and thus all my feedback came from Her.<br />
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To me, the essence of music is an offering, a way to connect with the Divine, it whatever form we perceive it. Through music I have felt more connected to myself, to other people, to Nature and to God. Music is a language spoken by all of Creation and that is the real strength of it, to me. Even if I play in an empty room, I feel like there is someone listening.<br />
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Whether you are a musician or someone who just enjoys listening to music, I would ask you to look deeper into the value and effect of music, as it relates to you. Is there a subtle connection, a unique way of expressing your inner world, or just a feeling you can't put words to?<br />
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What is the essence of music to you?<br /><br /><a href="http://mincism.wordpress.com/2012/10/13/what-is-music/">Read Minca Borg's answer to this question in her blog.</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-64618857801142096592012-07-17T21:43:00.000-05:002013-09-23T10:18:40.941-05:00Writing my first song, part 2<a href="http://siljestam.blogspot.com/2012/07/writing-my-first-song-part-1.html">Click here to read part 1</a>!<br />
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Once I had written my first song, On my own, I kept playing it with good response for two years on different occasions. I thought I was done with it and wrote a couple of more songs during those years. I started writing the song in Denmark and after this my travelling lifestyle continued.<br />
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I wrote my second song while in Malawi, Africa. It's called "Vinterkanslor" which means "winter feelings" and is in Swedish. This song is mainly about all the hardships we face in life and how we are forced to keep those within ourselves, because most people just want to hear happy stories. I think the reason I wrote the song in Swedish was because then no one would understand it where I was. Somehow it gave me the freedom to freely express myself in the song without having to face any judgement on what I wrote, at least not until I got back to Sweden.<br />
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The reason I became inspired to write more on my first song was because in the fall of 2009 I went to Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa. This is a university where they see consciousness as the basis of knowledge and I met many inspiring people here. The whole atmosphere of the campus was very conducive to my creativity and I realized that musically it made sense for my first song to not just be verse, chorus, verse, chorus.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpG-Y93p1fqFGjt3QYcFO4aG8FpsA3tA7ypGhddxDnhWjhEnGmgspI3U_Ca3C7x0-yVGnPxd2uWu4gUnF6AQ1bQtSszbwrheduYav24WBZCTNRphwAXChZKwB-q-__fEx5pGhkLZHin4/s1600/Guitar+at+MUM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpG-Y93p1fqFGjt3QYcFO4aG8FpsA3tA7ypGhddxDnhWjhEnGmgspI3U_Ca3C7x0-yVGnPxd2uWu4gUnF6AQ1bQtSszbwrheduYav24WBZCTNRphwAXChZKwB-q-__fEx5pGhkLZHin4/s320/Guitar+at+MUM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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To really give it a more powerful ending, I added a bridge followed by another chorus one full step higher. I was sitting in my dorm room on campus and I felt a strong energy inside me, like I had unlocked some source previously blocked and I just had to put this energy to creative use. The bridge started with F, then G, followed by Em (a chord I hadn't used in the song previously) and then Am, continuing with F and G.<br />
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This kinda leaves the song hanging, musically speaking, and makes it smooth to continue with a chorus that goes in D instead of C. This transition brings a more hopeful sound to the last chorus, even though the lyrics still were pretty sad. It made me feel like I had ended the song in a more full way, with a greater musical variety. Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, final chorus felt like a good song structure.<br />
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Once again I expected this to be the final version of the song, and for another two years it was. When I went home to Sweden for winter break in 2011, I had written another four songs (It't not a Fairytale, Natten "The Night", Find your Grace, Praise the Good) and I had kind of put "On my own" behind me at this point.<br />
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At the airport, my good friend Malin met me along with my parents and since we hadn't seen each other for almost a year, I felt really happy about it. Later that day, she said that she had a belated birthday present for me (my birthday is November 26th and this was December 23rd) and she showed me lyrics of two verses and two chords, that would come at the end of On my own. She called her part "I'm always here" and brought light, hope and support into my otherwise melancholic music.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhznP5aLMhz8x704jzWTEVMJaPiKeYIaIseYH1pE73mIJ-GKcuqPNfscL5AwGplfnxn6wHGUD2nlLlYqfYwISr31vcbplvSSw3hUo6FXTflJ7z9e3QSe6l6UTmECBI8QGgd03-6tTDEvlY/s1600/Malin+&+Patrik.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhznP5aLMhz8x704jzWTEVMJaPiKeYIaIseYH1pE73mIJ-GKcuqPNfscL5AwGplfnxn6wHGUD2nlLlYqfYwISr31vcbplvSSw3hUo6FXTflJ7z9e3QSe6l6UTmECBI8QGgd03-6tTDEvlY/s320/Malin+&+Patrik.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now the song is titled "On my own, I'm always here" because of her part and I did a recording together with her that same day, just with my computer's microphone and somewhat primitive recording program (it has only two buttons: record and stop). After the recording I did a few adjustments to the lyrics and now I've uploaded the song with chords and lyrics <a href="http://www.soundfromtheheart.com/p/on-my-own-im-always-here.html">right here on the blog</a>!<br />
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I think this song is as long as it's going to be, but who knows? Lately I've been starting to add small guitar solos to my music so that's always a possibility... or I might try to practice this song with someone else and develop some harmonies, or come up with some interesting picking patterns for the guitar. Life is always growing, and when music is truly alive, it keeps growing as well :)<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/siljestam" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;"><img src="http://gallery.mailchimp.com/27aac8a65e64c994c4416d6b8/images/i5facebook_icon.jpg" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: black; border: 0px; height: auto; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: invert none medium; position: relative; text-align: -webkit-left;" width="16" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/siljestam" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;">Like on Facebook</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><a href="http://eepurl.com/mONgT" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="http://gallery.mailchimp.com/27aac8a65e64c994c4416d6b8/images/i5email_icon.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; outline: invert none medium; position: relative;" width="22" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><a href="http://eepurl.com/mONgT" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;">Subscribe</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com377Fairfield, IA, USA41.0072222 -91.965833340.983257200000004 -92.0053153 41.0311872 -91.9263513tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-44174180483086049022012-07-11T19:14:00.002-05:002013-09-23T10:18:28.610-05:00Writing my first song, part 1Songwriting is an organic process to me. I take in experiences and observe the world around me, and then I express myself and act in the world. Some experiences are a lot easier to express in music than any other way for me, especially highly emotional experiences. <a href="http://www.soundfromtheheart.com/p/on-my-own-im-always-here.html">Click here for chords and lyrics to On my own, I'm always here.</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhQesXt5KVcD4txnpKVw1rYPW_t7rA_OGD3BTNgG3CZyqNaKvgqloEsPJar31vChYOvWkcMX_ZP1vsIaC2d324Vz0WFUdWEE_RvFKAFOlVGYXDyKuaKHhs3A3WalCxQrMw6aQlJQfTrk/s1600/Bild015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="From December 2006" border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhQesXt5KVcD4txnpKVw1rYPW_t7rA_OGD3BTNgG3CZyqNaKvgqloEsPJar31vChYOvWkcMX_ZP1vsIaC2d324Vz0WFUdWEE_RvFKAFOlVGYXDyKuaKHhs3A3WalCxQrMw6aQlJQfTrk/s200/Bild015.jpg" title="Me with long hair" width="200" /></a>My first song, called "On my own", I started writing in the fall of 2007, at the age of 20. I was in Denmark doing a volunteer work/study in preparation of going to Malawi, Africa. Before this, I had lived my whole life in Sweden with my parents and spent a few weeks here and there on vacation, so this was the first time I really took off on my own. After I had been in Denmark for a few months, going home every now and then, I started to realize how much having my family around meant to me and how much I was missing their every day support.<br />
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There was no one there who I felt that I could talk to. Sure, I told people that I missed my family, but everyone was busy with their own lives so no one gave that deeper care and support to me. I had gotten my acoustic guitar two years earlier and learned all basic chords along with a number of songs, but none of the songs that I knew could express the feeling I had inside me. It wasn't a choice on my side, it was just a matter of putting to paper the difficulties I was going through, as a way of being heard and seen.<br />
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With my songs, it always starts the same way. I have a feeling inside that I need to express but telling someone just isn't enough. So I connect with my heart and listen to what's inside, with the guitar in my arms. I start playing around with different chords until I find a progression that resonates with the feeling inside me. In this case those chords were Am, G, Dm, Am. That simple.<br />
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I started playing those chords to myself a couple of times, listening again to my heart and finding a tune that fits the chords. I start singing and put words to the tune that are the concrete expression of that feeling inside my heart, just one line at first and then a verse. I always keep the flow going and never judge what comes out. Sometimes I don't think the rhyme is the best, sometimes I wish the words could be more profound, but the song is already inside me and I am simply writing it down. If I start judging the the whole process just stops and I get stuck.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4N3eqDbV4md3BH1fnC5j4iWqPEL2NekMR0R-Qo6_v4yNODWYn3A63SV6NaBJqaUw2k1YWRxkz_2XkdbqFkkGGIf-mSJwPDEEEwFwG57KE4RPwcCLgYK2tgrcKd59UYwxUttyUBjZS_nU/s1600/Bild034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Describes my inner state of consciousness at the time" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4N3eqDbV4md3BH1fnC5j4iWqPEL2NekMR0R-Qo6_v4yNODWYn3A63SV6NaBJqaUw2k1YWRxkz_2XkdbqFkkGGIf-mSJwPDEEEwFwG57KE4RPwcCLgYK2tgrcKd59UYwxUttyUBjZS_nU/s400/Bild034.jpg" title="Hand with pen tattoo" width="400" /></a></div>
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So once I finished writing the first verse with four lines and repeating those four chords, I felt that it was time for a chorus. Now I try to find a new set of chords that can take my emotional expression to the next level where a climax is reached. I play around a little bit again and decide to extend the last part of the verse with an extra measure of the chord G to then move into the chorus with the chords C, G, Dm, Am (notice that I never used C in the song before this).<br />
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Music theory states that G is the dominant to C, and thus a good chord to lead into the C. That's one reason it felt good to end the verse on a G rather than Am. I studied music theory in Uppsala, Sweden, the year before I went to Denmark and it was very useful to my songwriting. The most crucial theory in knowing how to put chords together is called "the Circle of Fifths". If you learn this, then you have a good foundation.<br />
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So, once again I started looking for a tune once I had the chords for the chorus, and then started singing the lyrics to myself and writing them down as they were vocalized. After two lines of C, G, Dm, Am I felt that the chorus needed something more, something with suspension, in order to represent what I was feeling. I felt stuck inside, with so many worries circling my mind so I decided to just play the G chord for a whole line and the lyrics that go with list all the things I was wishing I had in my life. This repetition of one chord was followed by an F and then ended on a C, which gives a certain suspension since F is the sub-dominant to C (notice that I never used F in the song before this). Once again, I refer to "the Circle of Fifths" for greater understanding about this.<br />
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So now I had my first verse and my first chorus and it felt natural to write a second verse and a second chorus, which ended on F, G, C rather than just F, C. In music theory it's called an "authentic cadence" to end of G, C (which is the fifth followed by the tonic). This was the complete song for two years until I came to study in the US at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa. Since I've already written a hefty portion, I will continue the story of this song in my next entry where you can read about the later additions that came around. I heard someone say that you never finish a song, you just put it on the shelf.<br />
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<a href="http://siljestam.blogspot.com/2012/07/writing-my-first-song-part-2.html">Read "Writing my first song, part 2"!</a>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>On my own</b> </span></div>
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By Patrik Siljestam</div>
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/siljestam" style="background-color: white; color: #20124d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;"><img src="http://gallery.mailchimp.com/27aac8a65e64c994c4416d6b8/images/i5facebook_icon.jpg" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: black; border: 0px; height: auto; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: invert none medium; position: relative; text-align: -webkit-left;" width="16" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/siljestam" style="background-color: white; color: #20124d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;">Like on Facebook</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><a href="http://eepurl.com/mONgT" style="background-color: white; color: #20124d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="http://gallery.mailchimp.com/27aac8a65e64c994c4416d6b8/images/i5email_icon.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; outline: invert none medium; position: relative;" width="22" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><a href="http://eepurl.com/mONgT" style="background-color: white; color: #20124d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;">Subscribe</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com14Fairfield, IA, USA41.0072222 -91.965833340.9832622 -92.0053153 41.0311822 -91.9263513tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969269565436520995.post-21847070513557382222012-07-07T15:08:00.003-05:002012-11-03T23:36:54.798-05:00Sound from the Heart by Patrik SiljestamI'm glad you found your way into my music blog. <span style="background-color: white;">Here I want to collect all my original songs and write about the process, allow you to see what goes on behind the curtains of my creativity. </span><span style="background-color: white;">I started playing piano when I was six years old and started with vocal lessons at thirteen. My first guitar I got when I was eighteen and when I was twenty I wrote my first song.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXF0H8gGRzBltXkzv9iyIUGc9RFuUYmO5Kbq6u2H_sOKrY1rni7Glpynw4HHR-dK6rjulzGypO9YQaamvjMwHctOMV1SdtZiK-Y5a-GfU_xqIv9RfnqPcqw0bhfewLF5u_VYgbSWWbVAA/s1600/CIMG3471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Spiritual horse t-shirt" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXF0H8gGRzBltXkzv9iyIUGc9RFuUYmO5Kbq6u2H_sOKrY1rni7Glpynw4HHR-dK6rjulzGypO9YQaamvjMwHctOMV1SdtZiK-Y5a-GfU_xqIv9RfnqPcqw0bhfewLF5u_VYgbSWWbVAA/s400/CIMG3471.JPG" title="Me with the guitar in nature" width="400" /></a></div>
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Music for me is the most direct way to express myself and convey what I have inside to the world around me, and that is the source of my passion for this form of art. It is a way for me to pour my soul out for others to behold. The audience is such a big part of the music too, because when I can reach into the heart of another human being, that makes me feel connected. This is why I call the blog "Sound from the Heart".<br />
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Here is a performance in the Abundance EcoVillage in Fairfield, Iowa. I wrote the song last year and at the time I was inspired by all the good things in my life and wanted to give praise to them through my music.<br />
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Praise the Good</span></b></div>
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By Patrik Siljestam & Nick Tucco</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>From Solo to Duo</b></span></span></div>
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I've been playing by myself for most of my life, except when my song teacher would back me up on the piano. Being a solo singer/songwriter was comfortable for me, because it gave me the full space to express my own inner world through music.</div>
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This year, however, I started playing with the drummer Nick Tucco and it inspired me to buy an electric guitar with an amplifier. We have been playing lots of rock music and it just doesn't work with an acoustic guitar.</div>
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It also adds a different dynamic to being a musician. Both Nick and I are more intuitive musicians and so we seldom decide before playing exactly what we are going to do, not even when we are performing to an audience. Rather, we make sure to play so much together that we are in tune with each other, which makes the music much more creative.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02727492093752551594noreply@blogger.com4Fairfield, IA, USA41.0072222 -91.965833340.983257200000004 -92.0053153 41.0311872 -91.9263513