By guest writer: CP Howes
COVID was killing me! Well, not the actual virus, but the stifling boredom that comes with living in a hamstrung society and a steady diet of talk-radio and daytime television interspersed with social media. I even tried to get out more. I’d make extra trips to the grocery store just to walk around. But with my nose and mouth covered, it was all I could do to get out of the store without passing out!
Having retired from the corporate world as a technical writer a few years ago, I’ve always felt comfortable putting ideas to paper. I’ve made writing both my vocation and avocation, and I’ve always had a tinge of creativity. Sometimes, between the mundane technical jargon bantered about in Boardroom Engineering Meetings, I’d scratch out a haiku or short poem on scrap paper and file it away in my ‘procrastination’ folder with intentions of perfecting the meter later.
I’ve also always had an interest in music. Guitar and bass guitar are my weapons of choice. I don’t play either very well, but it beats air guitar and a mirror. I can actually make some noise. Someone gifted me one of those handheld recorders that record in near-professional quality before the COVID lock-down. My interest exploded! The next thing I know I’m spending hours in my basement, my ‘procrastination’ folder firmly in hand, arranging and rearranging old snippets of poetic ideas into songs, and uploading them onto a music mixing program called Audacity (free download by the way). I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure I’ve found the cure for the COVID Blues and I’m well on my way to becoming the next Elvis.
I was so taken with myself that I invited a friend to hear my 3-track recordings of my songs! “What do you think?” I asked gleefully. “They suck!” he said. “Lyrics are okay, but all-in-all, they suck. Music is a young person’s game anyhow!” Of course, I immediately unfriended him and wished an untimely death upon him (just kidding). A few days later, I began thinking that maybe he was right. And then…and then…and then…
And then, I discovered an online service for freelance artists worldwide. It includes photographers, graphic artists, copywriters, illustrators, etc. If you need a freelance artist, you can find them there. It also includes musicians who will play your lyrics using a single instrument or a whole band, including background singers. They will professionally mix the sound and deliver a finished product right to your desktop within days for a minimal charge.
My discovery led me to another online service. It is a membership service, again very affordable, where you can showcase your songs and lyrics to professional musicians looking for new and original material. The site will even copyright everything you upload. Crank up the speakers and get a dancing partner. Yup, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be the next Elvis!
