I Love You My Darlin'

My father, George Willis "Bill" Kellington, sang in the Portland Metropolitan opera as a young adult.  He used to sing, Danny Boy to me when I was a wee tad.  My mother sang on the radio starting at about 4 years of age.  I remember enjoying singing with my mother while we did the dinner dishes.  I have always loved music and my main influences were the popular songsters of the 50s and 60s.   I started playing the guitar at around age 20.  I should have had lessons.  My wife, Sharon, taught me basic chords and I learned some more  after that.  I've been writing my own songs since 2003 and I am thoroughly enjoying the process.   I still have my day job practicing law, but if time would permit I would be making music all the time.  
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     My favorite music site is Soundcloud because it enables comments and reposting and the ability to hear innovative, magnificent and magical, productions of brilliant independent musicians from around the globe. 
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     I have a home studio with a couple of Yamaha guitars, and a Yamaha MX49  keyboard.  I use AKG mics and Sonar software.  I like to get a lyrics idea, select guitar chords, then prepare lead sheets.  As I play and sing the tentative song, improvements in the rhythm, lyrics and melody almost suggest themselves.  
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     For me, a song is a project.  It can nearly always be improved with the passage of some time and replaying and singing.   With a melody in my head, I practice singing the song.  Adjustments to clarify the meanings of lyrics also suggest adjustments in the rhythm and the melody.  When I have an acceptable guitar and vocal track recorded, I can then add bass, percussion and other instrument tracks.  Finally, I can add backup vocals or whistling, or both.   I have about a dozen songs in process at any given time.  I will let the songs in progress settle in for a few days or weeks or months.  If I seem to be stuck on a particular song I will leave it for a while and get back to singing it.  Fresh ideas or approach come easier then and usually I get unstuck.  
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     I find I have to be careful that I not over correct.  Sometimes I'll find that a betterment wasn't really a betterment over time and I'll go back and resurrect the older lyric that then seems superior.  
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     My dream is to produce songs that have the power to move the emotions.  I find my songs are better if in the process I am moved to tears myself and unless I am moved by the sentiment of a song I don't consider it finished or acceptable.  I have to really feel what I am writing/singing.  I hope you like my music and I would be delighted if it moved you five degrees. ;-)

I Love You My Darlin'

Dan Kellington