tiny song reborn
what are the tiny songs in your life?
September brings with it a crisp sense of beginnings. I don’t know about you but it’s the time of year I come alive again after having been in a puddle-like state for three months from the heat and general summer-ness of it all. Some people are summer people and some people are autumn people. I am definitely one of the latter.
The darker nights creep in, and for some they creep like bad news seeping through your letterbox, but for me the darkening is a theatre light dimming before the big show comes on.
So it’s only natural that some of my get-up-and-go is sparked at this time of year. Last week, I brought back the tiny song.
I’ve mentioned it on this newsletter a few times, and many of you will be familiar with the time I wrote 100 tiny songs in 100 days, posting them on Instagram and Youtube. The whole thing was an amazing experience, and I made some friends and new connections along the way.
So it’s time for Tiny Songs 2! But this time, I’m thinking sustainability. One song a day was sustainable during lockdown, but may result in a breakdown if I try it now. So instead, every Monday and Thursday I will do a tiny song. At the rate of two a week, we can reach 100 again in half a year’s time.
But is 100 really the goal? What happens when I do another 100 Tiny Songs? Does something magically happen?
When I completed my first 100, nothing major happened. My friend gave me a little plastic trophy and I got a lot of really nice messages from people. I did not get a 100-tiny-song record deal, or anything of the sort.
This time though, I really want to make it about my development as an artist. I’ve been applying recently to some programmes/grants and I want Tiny Songs to be a clear part of my artist identity. I eventually want to lead Tiny Song workshops and encourage people to make their own silly little songs, because the world runs on silly little songs. Think about jingles, or the alphabet song, or songs you make up with your family. Tiny songs connect you to information, people and memories.
the tiny songs of life
When I was kid, if I wanted to remember where August lay on the calendar, I would sing a little months of the year song. Or similarly, we had a song in French class all about going to the bank (which translated to “going to the bank! knocking on the door! is it open or closed? what’s the time? it’s ten o’clock! give me my money please!”).
I’ll always remember driving through the countryside with my sister and Grandma singing a song we made called “How High Is The Sky?” which wasn’t an educational song but more of a rhetorical one, with yodeling.
Once, an ex-boyfriend of mine and I were driving home from a gig and he asked me to make up a song to keep him awake, and I came up with the worst ballad ever called “Reflection of the Light” which had a great deal of moon/spoon rhymes.
It was a trick of the moon, he showed me your face with his silver spoon…
I adopted a club singer voice for that one (not quite as intense as this though…):
And I’m sure these examples have triggered your own tiny song memories. Was there something you used to sing to your pets, maybe? Or a song you made up with your friends at school? A song you sing in your head when you’re cooking or exercising?
Oh, and here’s a short playlist of some tiny (2 mins and under) songs that I’ve loved from other artists.
things i liked
✶ Recommended watching — The Resort, a thriller/comedy/mystery series I binge-watched over the long weekend, and am sitting on the edge of my seat for the final installment.
✶ I went to see The Glass Menagerie with Amy Adams in the theatre last week. Although it had some mixed reviews I loved the sound and set design the best.
✶ I really love Erica Heilman’s The Rumble Strip podcast. Her recent episode called ‘The Neighbourhood’ is about playing games as a kid and was very sweet.
✶ Indeed, I am ⚠️ Be Real ⚠️-ing, an app which prompts you to take a picture at a random time of day to share with your friends to prove that you, too, can be real. An antidote to curated social media. At the moment I have refused to add anyone else apart from my sister, so I can truly ⚠️Be Real⚠️.
✶ And here’s a song by The Jam for your weekend.
Well, make sure you follow along for the Tiny Songs with me on Instagram.
Today marks the 1st day of Scotland’s Geology Festival! I will be attending some online lectures which are part of their programme, in the lead-up to UNESCO’s first Geodiversity Day on the 6th of October. So stay tuned for lots of geological stuff coming your way.
Anyway, happy Thursday. Click the ❤️ heart ❤️ as usual to claim your prize!
And if you have any tiny songs of your own, please share some in the comments!
Olivia 🌋🎶
Feels like commercial jingles are my tiny songs. :)