This is the Art Beat’s second experiment featuring a guest column written by a regional artist. The objective is to let you hear the artist’s words directly without my intermediation. Though most artists are not writers as well, all are expressive, so there is value and interest in hearing their own thoughts in their own words. The last such Art Beat post featured Holly Dowidat, an on-her-way ceramic artist whose most notable works have been relatively large ceramic dogs. Today we will hear from Ruben Yves Ryan on Songwriting.
Ruben is a well-known local figure, at least in some circles ... And if never knew him personally, still you have surely seen him, or his friends, or others in his cast [superficially that is, the ‘real’ Ruben definitely is one of a kind]:
I jammed regularly with a group of friends through the years 2000-2003, playing piano, guitar and singing. These friends included Jason Black (guitar and vocals) Noah Parnell (guitar and bass) Brant Miller (guitar, bass, piano), Wes Bickford (guitar and vocals) and Alan Garrard (hand drums)..We called ourselves variously Ripple. as well as The A-Town All Stars. Our tastes were very eclectic, ranging from The Grateful Dead to Radiohead as well as original material contributed by Wes, Brant, Jason, and myself. The focus of our collective was Wednesday night gatherings at the house I grew up in at 601 E. Broad St. We called it music night...There was generally a lot of youth passing through, playing an extra drum or singing along, hackey-sacking and frisbeeing in the front yard while the music spilled outdoors and in..Thanks mom!
Later ’03 brought a move to Olympia, Washington for a year, and in 2005 Ruben left Angola again for Bloomington, Indiana before returning to Angola in 2009.
I have listened to several “Ruben Yves” CDs, where I heard a man living close to his feelings and impulses … nothing commercial, trite, or formulaic there at all. And I love his closing words below:
The written word provides a powerful means of touching base with your self. One’s imagination is given liberty to mingle with the hard facts of life, but also the soft breath of dreams. You are worthy of words.
Now I present Ruben Yves Ryan:
A Prescription for Verse
By Ruben Yves Ryan
I believe songwriting is a craft that many a man, woman, and child could benefit greatly from if they found the nerve to TRY. Indeed, many do. But many more could; even you! “Why?” you ask. How? To answer the first, the “why,” it boils down to expression. Life is complicated. As adamantly as human beings seek to make rules with which to live by, change IS still inevitable. For proof of this look no further than the process of aging, or the churn of the seasons. Songwriting, like any art form or craft, is a way of relating to and communicating both the delicacy and violence of this constant state of flux.
Where am I? Where have I been? What do I love, hate, value, respect, fear, or envy? The answers to these questions no doubt change more often for some than others, but EVERY individual has a valuable and unique perspective. When you rack your heart and brain for words or phrases, notes, chords, and rhythms with which to embody these sensations you do by necessity draw on what you have been exposed to; BUT, you also CREATE!
There is absolutely no need to condemn yourself for not being a master or genius. You are you! Even if you never share your songs with anyone; by attempting to bring out of your own depths an element or compound that is unique to you, the choice is made to live more fully. In the same way that a conversation with a loved one can relax and nourish a person at the end of a hard day, so can writing a song fulfill the need we all have of communication. Where it differs, (and the difference is good!) is that as the creator of the song, your audience is perpetually captive. Revising and refining your first draft allows a songwriter control and subtlety that rarely exist when trying to recreate a conversation, save for those held with the most steadfast and trustworthy of confidantes.
How to begin?
If you’ve never journaled or kept a diary before it could well be a valuable way to get the lyrical juices flowing. For a person who isn’t used to putting their feelings, opinions, passion, and prejudice to the page, the freedom from meter available in this exercise is likely a good starting point. On the flip side however; ALL THAT FREEDOM, in the initiation of a completely open-ended journal, may seem overwhelming and stifling in and of itself. In this case, an attempt to write a few rhymes or pursue a topic lyrically could be a preferable avenue for your entry into songwriting.
The next fork in the road, so to speak, is To Theme or Not to Theme. By this I mean whether you are beginning your song with a specific subject, idea, or feeling which you wish to elaborate via words and/or notes and rhythm, OR, elect to go the steam-of consciousness route. Assuming you are starting with lyrics (which is by no means the “correct” thing to do; merely an option), think about whether there is an overriding feeling or idea you are dealing with today, or lately. Happy, sad, good, bad: all are worthy of expression. Perhaps just write the very first sentence that comes to mind relating to this feeling or idea. Try not to be too long-winded if it is your first shot. Work into increasing the length as you improve your craft; should you wish.
In Search of a Muse
Romantic interests are unquestionably fertile ground when pondering what to write about. Inspiration need not come exclusively from this sphere of your life, however. Desire in its broader sense is a primary factor eclipsing all parts of our life in one way or another. I find that writing about what I want and feel that I need often brings me closer, if not to attaining my desire, at least to enhancing my understanding of it. This understanding can be constructive or destructive in regard to the satisfaction of the desired for. Art can bring resolution to the dynamics together which decide whether or not to continue to hold to that wish, hew to that line, or let sleeping dogs lie.
Ruben Yves Ryan is a local singer/songwriter whose latest album “Résistance Renaissance” is available at Sticks & Stones (208 W. Maumee St., Angola) as well as Three Sisters (223 W. Maumee St., Angola) Tracks from this album as well as previous albums may be listened to and/or downloaded by visiting www.soundcloud.com/ruben-yves. His email address is rubenryan@live.com
If you would like direct email notification of new Art Beat posts, simply send an email with the words “requesting Art Beat notification” in the subject line to StephenRowe.OriGraphics@yahoo.com
Stephen Rowe currently serves as the Angola Regional Artists’ Guild publicity chairman and writes two additional blogs:
Stephen welcomes correspondence of all sort per StephenRowe.OriGraphics@yahoo.com
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