I wrote this song today and although I liked the song, I played around with editing on Audacity and found the reverse effect.  So I reversed the main part and added other tracks the right way round.  I sung all vocals and played piano and strings on a yamaha P121 digital piano.  Used a Roland Duo Capture Ex interface and Shure SM 58 mic.  I like the result and would be interested to hear your thoughts.

It Always Stays The Same

I wrote this tune on the piano today to express my feelings of having happily arrived at the other side of a major spinal operation after a 19 month wait.  I’d been thinking of imagery lately of a calm sea, lapping at the shore, then rising into a storm and then ebbing away again.  This is how I feel.  I started the tune with what I think might be a Bb6 but I can’t be sure! I heard the chord on a James Taylor song and thought it’s a great place to begin.  I hope you enjoy it and that it becalms you too!  Thank you for listening. X

Relaxing Piano. After the Storm

I’ve discovered the joy of playing piano, having taught myself to play this year on my lovely Yamaha digital piano.  I’ve been rediscovering songs that I previously wrote on the guitar and finding that a piano instrumental can express what I wanted to say originally, without the need for lyrics.  Apologies for the iPhone recording.  This song is about my love of travelling and how I inherited that from my parents, but how it’s also lovely to come home again and in springtime hear the Curlew calling across the fields.  I hope you enjoy this.   ‘For those who’ve gone before me, were travellers in time.’

Piano Travellers in Time

This is a piano piece that I wrote recently.  It’s recorded on the iPhone so apologies for the quality.  I wanted to express my feelings of new horizons opening up after a period of feeling a bit stuck.  I hope you enjoy it.  Played on my Yamaha digital piano P-121 which I absolutely love.  This piece evolved after a spell of noodling around on it.

Horizons

This is a song I wrote in 2015, the day after my youngest brother David died.  It’s not a new one but I thought I’d share it.  David was 48 and was profoundly disabled from birth and unable to speak.  He died 8 weeks after our Dad and although it was all so very sad, there was also a sense of release.  He appears in a few of my songs as ‘The Butterfly.’ This was recorded in my home in 2017 by the talented sound engineer and musician Carl Hetherington from York.  The photo is of me and all my brothers together after my Dad’s funeral, it’s the last one I have of David.

David's Song

This is an instrumental that I wrote on ukulele.  It emerged from noodling up and down the ukulele and I imagine the ballerina on a music box which I had when I was a child turning to this.  The image is a painting I did from a photo of my mother holding me.

Music Box - Ukulele Instrumental.

This is an instrumental piece that I wrote using my usual method of noodling around until something occurs.  I feel that it represents the passing of a period of time in my life, which saw the passing of loved ones, changes in my life and coming to terms with the passing of time.  I  play this on a lovely Gretch resonator, which is apparently a replica of an original 1930's Gretch resonator.  It was recorded by sound engineer Carl Hetherington from York, as part of a series of tracks that I made into a CD in 2017 as a treat to myself.  I hope you enjoy this.
The image is mine and is a chalk and charcoal drawing.

Passage of Time

Passage of time.  Relaxing Guitar Instrumental

Happy Christmas to you all, wherever you are.  This is a Christmas song I wrote a couple of years ago and I still haven’t got round to recording it properly, so this is a phone recording I’ve done just now to wish you all peace and seasons greetings, wherever you are across the world.  Just to say that I’m also thinking of those for whom Christmas isn’t the perfect time of year too.  Stay safe, Rowena x
I drew the Robin with coloured pencils.

Christmas Tree

I wrote this song in February 21.  the idea of 'the book' came to me and the song kind of wrote itself from there.  I started with the chorus and went from there.  I've tried to layer up some instruments on my Yamaha digital piano.  Thank you for listening.

The Book

I'm not quite sure where this one came from! I think it's anti social media, anti mobile phones, anti celebrity culture.  Maybe I'm getting old!  I think it sounds a bit Leonard Cohenish if I had to pigeon hole this one.  I enjoyed the process of recording it, laying down first the piano then the other keyboard 'voices' and finally the vocals.  Not sure if I've got the levels right, but here it is.

Mariella (Queen of Fools)

Mariella (Queen Of Fools)

In 2020 I visited the Isle of Whithorn on the Solway in Scotland.  In the middle of the night I woke up and saw a Little Egret standing still on the rocks below.  the place was so full of atmosphere with St Ninian's chapel high up on the headland keeping watch for the fishing boats to return safely to the harbour.   The next morning, I was inspired to write a poem about what I'd seen.  I've finally made the poem into a song.  Layering up tracks using my Yamaha P121 piano and Roland interface with SM 58 mic which is popping a bit and using audacity to record.  I enjoyed layering up the harmonies and keyboard voices on this.

Harvester Of Man

I started with an image of my grand daughter on her roller skates and thought about the feeling of freedom on those skates.  Then I drew on some memories from childhood, a class mate who went AWOL with a rock n roll band, which at the time I though was really exciting.  I've mixed reality and fantasy and created a song about looking back at life, the things we did and didn't do.  I've layered up the sound using Audacity and a Roland Duo-Capture Ex interface, my Yamaha P - 121 digital piano and SM 58 mic.  Sorry about the gap at the start, this is the first time I've used a metronome to try and keep to time and the first track had a couple of intro notes, but I deleted it as I didn't like the sound.  Unfortunately I don't know how to edit the first few seconds out.  The painting is an old one of mine,  I think it reflects the song to an extent.  Thank you for listening and I welcome your feedback as always.  I've tried to use techniques that came from this lovely SC community and I'm very grateful.

I Wish That Girl Was Me

I wrote this a couple of days ago, sitting at my piano among the packing boxes.  It was just a flow of feelings piece.  I let it flow through my hands and out through the piano, trying to express my feelings of sadness at leaving this beautiful place and excitement at heading north for a new adventure by the sea in Northumberland. Just because we can and why not give it a try, get some sea air, walk on the beach, listen to the waves.  Apologies this is a warts and all recording on my phone with an occasional hesitation while I work out where I’m going.  I hope you enjoy the journey.

Preparing for Flight. Piano Instrumental.

My brother (piano player of many years) suggested to me (self taught piano player of a couple of years) that I should think about introducing a walking base into my left hand when playing.  This piece recorded on my propped up iPhone on the piano is a record of the noodling with the left hand doing more than pressing just the 1st and 5th notes.  Progress!! The photo is Alnmouth beach, Northumberland last night at dusk, also IPhone.

Walking Base Noodle

Unable to shake the black cloud above my head today, I used my go to mode of expression and let my feelings out through the piano.  This instrumental piano piece is just a snapshot in time, recorded on my phone.  I hope you enjoy it.  I’m aware my timing is all over the place, but when I play to express myself in this way I don’t consider keeping time, I prefer to let my subconscious flow and let the notes and tempo speak directly of untangling thoughts and emotion and give musical form to thoughts I can’t consciously access and express.  Happily this afternoon the storm has now passed!

Playing it Out.  Piano Instrumental.

This is a song I wrote about overcoming whatever it is that holds you back.  It's about realising that life is pretty short, so you'd better get on and do the things that you want to do.  Its also about acknowledging that the only person really holding you back is usually yourself!  2 years ago I didn't have the courage to sing my songs in public, no-one was stopping me except myself.  It was recorded by the talented Carl Hetherington of Van Der Neer, at my home, Carl also kindly played additional guitar and percussion. Cheers Carl!

Doing Time

Your Life is the title track of my new self released 9 track CD.  I wrote this song while thinking about the sadness of the loss of my own Mother's memories, her experiences and knowledge.   My feelings of witnessing that all slowly ebbing away, stolen by that cruel thief, called  dementia.

Your Life

This is a song about missing someone and how utterly useless it is to have a phone conversation with that someone, when what you want more than anything is to be next to them.

Beat of My Heart

Beat Of My Heart SC

Hello! Thanks for stopping by.  I write songs in reaction to life, quite often my own, or the lives of those around me.  Sometimes my song tells me what I'm thinking before I've even realised myself.  
I hope there is something here that resonates with you, I'd be really delighted to hear your comments.  
I started writing and playing again in March 2015 after a break of about 20 years having realised that life is short and I'd better crack on! I self released my 9 track CD 'Your Life' in 2017 and have since written many songs which will eventually end up on a 2nd 'album'!  I’ve had a couple of radio plays on BBC Introducing and played at a few local singers nights, but I’m really blown away by this Soundcloud community,  there’s a treasure trove of real music on here and the support is really appreciated.  
March 2021 update I've been teaching myself keyboard and have found it an inspiration for song writing and so my more recent tracks are written and performed with the piano keyboard.  
First memory of being captured by Songwriting was sitting behind a sofa aged 10 at a party and discovering Carol King’s Tapestry and a turntable. Teenage years dominated by an obsession with David Bowie, his word craft, imagery, story telling and his example of being able to constantly reinvent himself and not be pigeonholed. 
All tracks are my own compositions and performances except extra rhythm guitar and percussion on ‘Doing Time’ which was Carl Hetherington. 
Most of the images I have used are my own original artwork.  I now have an Instagram page where I’ll be posting my art at rowenaartandmusic 

https://www.instagram.com/rowenaartandmusic 

Thanks for stopping by, it’s much appreciated.

Popular tracks by Rowena Simpson