Hey Joni

Feeling rather proud of myself as I have written a song. Yes, indeed, it has a chorus and a couple of verses, something you could charitably describe as a bridge; hell it even has a title.

Now let’s be clear, it’s not a very good song and I haven’t played it to anyone else (there isn’t anyone I’m keen to torture at present). It’s pretty derivative in an angsty, minor-key, chick-with-a-guitar kinda way; its subject matter is hardly revolutionary; so I’m not reinventing the wheel here.

But still, it’s a song and I’m pretty chuffed with it.

And I’ve discovered the whole thing is worryingly addictive. I'm carrying around a notebook and jotting down lyrics on the bus, I'm idly strumming away in front of the TV trying different chords and find I've already put together a couple of others. Once I get on a roll with a particular lyric or find a chord sequence I like the sound of it can take less than an hour to hammer out the basic idea and then it’s a case of tweaking the details - very satisfying.

Still, very early, experimental days. As everyone says, you always sound like the music you listen to to start with but then we all learn by copying at the beginning. The theory goes that over time your own individual style or voice will start to come through (perhaps), so I’m trying not to worry about originality too much at this point and just keep plugging at it. And, in the meantime, it’s a lot of fun playing at being Joni Mitchell in your living room.