My Companions

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The reason I got Angel was because I started to play with a drummer, Nick Tucco, 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. 

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.

Sound from the Heart by Patrik Siljestam

I'm glad you found your way into my music blog. 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. 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.

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".

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.

Praise the Good

By Patrik Siljestam & Nick Tucco

From Solo to Duo

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.

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.

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.

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