Listening To The Beat

 

I realized early on that my son would have a talent for music.  Not only does he have a natural ear where the boy can simply listen to a song for a while and then be able to play it on his own, he also has a talent for playing the instruments.  Growing up, he messed around with various things like the piano, bassoon, and different drums.  My favorite was the snare drums he played when he was in his high school's marching band.  I would attend every home game...not for the football...but to see my son and his friends ripping through their drum solos like it was the only place they wanted to be on a Friday night.

For some reason I woke up this morning thinking about those old drum days and realized how I approach my writing is the same way my son played those snare drums.  It's all about the beat.  The ebb and flow of a great song and a great story go hand in hand.  While my son is gifted in many way, he is no genius, so like the rest of us he had to develop a certain amount of skills to be able to play the drums.  I have spent the past two years studying, learning, developing my own writing skills so that I may produce the best sounding stories I can.

My son went to band camp every summer and spent many hours throughout the school week practicing on those drums.  Many a night I sat in my living room and listened to him as he listened for the beat behind a closed bedroom door.  It's the same way with my writing.  The hours, days, months, and now years I have put into my writing has helped me create my own beat...a sound and song which helps to identify my own writer's voice in this writing world.

Of all the musical instruments my son worked with over the years, I think he loved the drums the best.  Think about it. Most songs today have a strong drum base...a foundation where the rest of the melody is built around it.  And if my skills as a writer are MY drum beat and the foundation on which my stories will be built, then oh what lovely melodies I shall create!

And my son...he was good but never as good as this...