Over the years, fans of my music have asked me how long it takes to write a song. There’s no one answer. Some songs take a long time to write and need to simmer. Others come relatively quickly. My song ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ was one of those songs that came quickly. I’m a very visual person and I see patterns when I look at the keyboard. The keyboard is laid out chromatically (step by step) a mixture of half steps and whole steps.
One day many years a go, I was sitting at my piano and began improvising a pattern in the left hand. I thought to myself, “wow that’s a song.” Then I thought “well what melody could go with that?” Then I began playing a simple melody over the top. As the song progressed I saw where each section would go and fall into place before my fingers ever got there.
It also happened to coincide with a time when there was tremendous upheaval in my inner world and scary major life changes. It was probably the darkest time in my life.
We all go through dark times in our lives. Divorce, loss of a job, loss of a loved one, etc. While these things feel like the end of the world, we must remind ourselves that bad things never last forever. That there will be good things and bad things and through it all it’s important to not stay stuck in the darkness. That we put one foot in front of the other and do what needs to be done today to move into the light and a new day.
Listen to ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ on Spotify HERE
Listen to ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ on Pandora Radio HERE
Listen to ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ on Apple Music HERE
Want to learn how to play ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ on your piano or keyboard? Sheet music available HERE
