Life stories - a tool for songwriting

I attended a workshop on Life Stories taught by Julie Portman during Song School. The basic concept is that everyone has a story and needs their story to be heard. The listener is as important as the story teller. One comment was that “the reason for evil in this world is that people can’t tell their stories.” Another is “what greater legacy can we leave our children than our stories.”

The basic process is; take one moment (or memory) in your life and describe it fully. Ask the following:
1) Make the memory it is happening now.
2) Enter the memory (you are there). Provide details, describe with vivid detail what you see, smell, feel, etc.
3) Walk through each action, how does your body feel? What emotions did you feel?
4) Ask, what does this remind you of ?

The moment you select can be anything. For example, what did I do yesterday, or last week? Another could be to describe a life changing moment. “Life happens, we just have to notice it.”

This is a valuable tool for songwriting. By drilling down into one memory, I have all the details for a song.

I even wrote a song about this process, which hopefully I will finish in the upcoming days.