You are special, more special than you think. That sounds like a generic bumper sticker or a passing line that a pastor would say in a sermon. Yesterday I heard those words and it touched me. Let me tell you how it happened.

      I was doing a really important job at Dillons. (Not really) I was facing the butter section in the dairy department. What is facing you ask? That is when you pull items to the front of the shelf, stack em up, line em up, and make it look pretty. The reason we do this is that we believe people will buy more groceries if it looks neat and fresh.

      As I was facing the butter and older woman with gray hair started talking to me. She complimented me on how well I was facing. I do try to hustle when I am facing. I use both hands and try to do is as quickly as possible. I told her, "Thank you. I don't know if this is something I want to be too good at." I laughed and she smiled. She said, "Yeah I can see how that could be true."  

       She smiled and said, " I want to give you something." If you could have anything you wanted,today,  what would you ask for?" What a strange question but she definiitely had my attention. I'll tell you how I felt at that moment. I felt like King Solomon when God asked him what he wanted. Solomon asked God for wisdom. I'm not as smart as Solomon, I didn't ask for wisdom but I probably should have.

       My mind was in full gear now. Am I really gonna play this game? What if it isn't a game? What if I could really get whatever I asked for. I must admit that my first thought of what to ask for was help with getting my songwriting heard. I thought, really, that is what you would waste your gift with. That sounded very shallow and self serving.

      Okay, on to my next option. I thought about home and how my wife could really use some help from God. Dealing with everything that is going on in her life.  I blurted out, "Pray for my wife." "I didn't go any further. Four words- Pray for my wife. 

       Then something strange happened. Not that this whole story isn't strange enough. She looks at me and says, "Are you sure, that is what you want?" It reminded me of when you take your kids shopping for a toy and you pick  out your toy. Then your Mom asks you that question, "Are you sure that is the one you want? " Like she knows something that you don't know. Maybe I should of asked for something bigger and better. I had a quick moment of doubt in my decision. Then I replied, "Yes, I'm sure. "

       She stepped up beside me and placed her hand on my back and started praying. She bowed her head and I bowed my head and closed my eyes. I have heard and said alot of prayers in my life. I'm still thinking this feels kinda crazy but I'm in. She proceeded to pray for my wife. You got to remember, I didn't give her much to go on. She was nailing stuff on the head. It was a perfect prayer for my wife. 

        After she was done, I looked at her and said, "Thank you!" She turned and started pushing her grocery cart down the aisle and I went back to facing the Land of Lakes butter tubs. I look to my left and the lady is there again. She told me, " God told me to give you a word form him as I was walking away. 

        He told me to tell you, " That you are special, more special than you think."  What encouraging words, especially if they came from God himself. What a touching moment. I made me feel like God had said it to me. This was one of the many "God" moments I have had in my life. 

        I felt like I needed to share this story. God doesn't show up  and do things so we can keep quiet about it. What did the blind man do when could see? Yeah, He told everybody. This story isn't just about me. The words that were shared with me apply to you also- You are special, more special than you think. Let me repeat it one last time- You are special, more special than you think. 

     This is a new term that I had not heard before. I heard it on The Climb. The Climb is a songwriting/artist podcast. The hosts are Johnny Dwinell and Brent Baxter.  It is one of my favorite songwriting podcasts. They had a guest on last week. Her name was Tracey Hitz. She is a songwriting coach. I thought, I need one of those. 

     The name of her company is Hitz and Branding. I contacted her and asked for her help. I have been winging this songwriting dream for a long time. She looked over my website, social media accounts, (facebook, you tube, twitter, instagram, etc.) She made ideas of things I could do to that would be helpful. 

      I have been going through the list and trying to fix the easy ones first. Most of these were on my website. It was all good stuff. Things that I hadn't really thought about doing. The bottom line is to do more. More Instagram, more You tube, more blogs, and more live shows. Taking what I am already doing but going to the next level. Thank you Tracie for all of your suggestions. If you're gonna ask for advice you need to willing to heed it. Chasing the dream. 

     This is writing songs from the heart. (not to be confused with writing commercial songs)  Are these two different animals? I asked Alexa to play me top songs off of Billboard hit chart. the first one was something You Proof, by Margan Wallen. Catchy, and it could have some truth in it, but not totally a heart stopper.

     The second song was Luke Combs - The Kinda love we make.One of the chorus lines is- Let the passion we make take us to another place. Okay that is more personal and it might be passionate too but that is another type of passion that I'm not covering in this blog. lol

      The third song was Wasted on You by Morgan Wallen. Another heartbreak song about missing a lover. Getting over a lover by drinking and getting over the pain. Personal, yes. Passionate, I would say yes. It feels like he is singing from the heart.

      Song #4- She had me at Heads Carolina by Cole Swindell. A song about fallling in love and when he first fell it love. Feels more commercial than passionate but I like the feel of the song. 

      Song #5- Kane and Katelyn Brown-Thank God A duet that I really like. Is Katelyn his wife? She can sing. Cool. This would be a passionate song about a couples love for each other. 

      After listening to five songs it is hard to tell if they are passionate or commercial. They are all very well written songs. Let me give you some examples of passionate songs that move me. 

     1.Don't think Jesus- Morgan Wallen  This is a passionate song. This song has Morgan Wallen stamped all over it. I love it. 

     2. Mama tried- Merle Haggard. You bet his Mama tried. Merle wrote this one from his heart. 

I am sure there are many more examples but these two stuck out in my mind. Write from your heart. It might not be a hit but it will always ring true and loud. 

     I went to a songwriting workshop on my vacation. Eighty bucks for a six hour session. A little pricey but I was hoping I would get my money's worth. The teacher had interesting stories about how he had written a hit song and stories about artist that he knew and played with. That part was interesting.The theme of the conference was Pretent to be an Artist.  After you have mastered the art of pretending, you will be an Artist. This is kinda like fake it till you make it but it sounds more polished. 

       Also talked about how to make new music and songs. He suggested finding a song that you really like. Learn the song today. Then comeback tomorrow and try to play it. Don't listen to the original. Take the original song and make it yours. Maybe you slow it down, change the melody, speed it up, or give it a happy beat instead a sad minor feel. Change the lyrics and see if your new song is anything like the original. It won't be because most people are not that good at mimicking and repeating accurately.

        I remember when I first started bowling. I did not always throw the ball at the spot I was aiming for. I wasn't able to hit the sweet spot just to the right of the left of the front head pin. What I would do is I would aim for the head pin knowing I would probably be off a little to the left or right and I would get strikes. This method worked until I started to consistently hit the head pin and started getting too many splits. 

        I am not able to hit the sweet spot in somebody else's song, but I can create my own sweet spot. (and hopefully hit it) This gives me the chance to grow and get better without trying to bowl or write exactly like somebody else does it. 

        I remember when I first started playing guitar and singing at the coffee shop. I didn't have the singing range to do song exactly like the radio. I couldn't hit the high notes so I would change the melody to make it reachable for my voice. Then I started writing my own songs. I had nobody to blame for those high notes. It I couldn't hit them, I would change them. This was one of my first steps toward becoming a songwriter. I was pretending I was an Artist, so I could become and artist. 

        I remember when I first started writing songs. It was a fast process. Well, maybe not fast but faster than I write a song now. I would come up with an idea, get a title, make up a melody for the chorus, add lyrics for the chorus and the verse and presto- a song. Not always a good song but none the less, it was a song.

        I would send my songs to NSAI (Nashville Songwriting Association International) to have my latest hit evaluated. Needless to say, None of them were hits. They were just songs. They would tell me that I needed to rewrite the song. They would point out areas of opportunities. Here are some of the areas that I struggled with and some that I still struggle with. 

        The meter in the verses needs to match from verse to verse. What is meter? Meter is the feeling you get when you read a Dr. Seuss book like Cat in a hat. I loved reading these books cause I could feel the groove in the writing. That groove is the meter. I sometimes have to count it out. I sometimes have to count it out. That sentence has eight beats. If that is the first line in the first verse, then the first line in my second verse should have eight beats also. I couldn't change it to, I hate counting out all of the beats in a lyric, in the second verse. This line would have 13 beats. Oops! Now it doesn't sing right. 

        Other examples of errors I had to correct were the chorus not lifting (or singing) higher than the verses. The bridge not doing anthing different than the verses or the chorus. Bad ryhming, no rhyming, or too much rhyming. And the llist goes on and on.

        Over time I finally learned the art of rewriting and I enjoy it. The problem is now I can rewirte too much. The great thing is it gives me lots of ideas to choose from. Maybe too many ideas to choose from but this is part of the process. I have been know to find new titles, throw out part or all of the verses, change the chorus, and search for the songwriting pot of gold in every song. Sometimes all I find is a rainbow and I will put that in the song instead of the gold. lol

         So rewriting a song can be a curse and a blessing. You just have to figure out how to rewrite, what makes the song better, and try different ideas until you find the very best one. Not all gold nuggets are the same size. So you gotta work to get the best ones. Keep on wirting and rewriting. It is a great asset to have in your songwriting toolbox.