#songwritingsunday: "Bad Case of Sadness," or, the lesson of a work in progress.

What happens when your voice is tired and you are tired and it is hot and you also committed to finishing a song? You finish the song and it takes you over 10 hours and you just deal with the plight of sharing a "work in progress." :)

I'm excited to share this new piece titled, "Bad Case of Sadness," which is now among my favorites. It took a lot longer than my usual speed-writing push, maybe due in part to the pressure of perfecting something I love.

The breakthrough for me in committing to sharing this draft, however, was to remember: every piece is & can be a work in progress. By showing my work-in-progress, and hopefully future improvements, I'm reminded to be OK with wherever I'm at, whenever I get there. It makes me be open to the magic of feedback and new inspiration. 

If you're in NYC and you want to hear its live debut, join me at the Sidewalk Cafe this Thursday at 10PM! 

xo
Angela

PS. You can now check out my #songwritingsunday partner in crime William Serri on his new Soundcloud. 

Welcome to #songwritingsunday

Writer's block. It's a thing.

For the longest time I felt completely stuck in writing my own material, which made me frustrated and anxious, which made me even more writer's block-ed. And also grumpy.

However, a few months ago, I started a weekly songwriting "challenge" with an artist I met through The Artists Circle, a monthly event created and led by my incredible vocal coach, Wendy Parr.

Since meeting, this artist and I have sent each other new material almost every single week (I think I've missed only two.) I added a time limit as an extra challenge: I try to finish all songs in under 2 hours. The time constraint helps me overcome perfectionism + distraction, and build creative agility. 

This project overall has pushed me to take action, to create no matter what, to be productive, to prove that I can, and most importantly, to learn the lessons you can only learn by making mistakes. I'm so grateful for the process, and now I'm ready to share. 

So, now, I'm going to be posting some of what I'm up to on #songwritingsunday right here to share with the whole world. It's the next step in the process for me, in sharing imperfections (recordings, lyrics, melodies... everything is raw around the edges) and inviting anyone else who wants to take on the challenge to reach out. 

Without further ado, here is today's #songwritingsunday creation: "Be Okay"

xo