Voices of RPIA
28
In Our Community
A few of us eventually formed a band and started practising cover songs, although this never felt quite right. Playing someone else’s song always felt like a tribute rather than an expression, so I insisted we write our own songs instead. While we managed to come up with a few good hooks, nothing ever made it out of the music room. Then, unexpectedly, our drummer quit, leaving his valuable kit behind. I picked up his discarded sticks and discovered a new love. To the casual observer, drums might appear to serve merely as ornate timekeepers - an instrument relegated to keeping the beat. Yet for those who delve deeper, the drum kit serves as a landscape of innovation and playfulness. Through drumming, I discovered how to craft dynamic shifts in music I couldn’t achieve with other instruments. The thrill of transforming a song from a steady 4/4 to a quickened 6/8 in the span of two bars was nothing short of revelatory. This insight profoundly reshaped my appreciation for the entire rhythm section, which is a perspective that continues to influence my musical approach today. Embracing this newfound understanding, I began writing songs for the rhythm section first, only layering on the rest once it was complete. It feels, at times, like a metaphor for life: one must build a solid foundation first, while the flourishes come later. I continued to play in bands until my wife and I welcomed our first child into the world. The responsibilities of fatherhood had me trade in my drum sticks for pacifiers. While I never ascended to stardom, songwriting remains a constant in my life, always starting with the rhythm, and letting a vocal melody emerge later. My house is littered with instruments – a fact my kids have started to notice with a familiar curiosity. I think my parents may have been on to something….
Gaelan Mines DevOps Architect
SONGWRITING
Even though I was always surrounded by music, it wasn’t until a profoundly moving experience that it truly became a part of my own life. The turning point came at one of my dad’s shows. Early in rehearsal, I wandered onto the stage and began playing with the microphones. Standing in that unfamiliar space had a life-altering effect on me. There is a sensation that one feels before a show, and I felt it then. A stage is an imposing place. A monolith. An object that inspired both awe and fear, something that has all the elements of an obsession for a young man. Music became my clear pathway to the stage. Growing up, our house was littered with instruments, and one of them was an apartment grand that sat prominently in a corner, always begging to be played. I was captivated by it. A piano is a wonderful instrument to learn with: it’s all laid out neatly in front of you - every note, every key, every chord. You can just find the sound you are looking for. I spent hours composing tunes, occasionally adding vocal melodies which, in retrospect, may have made my parents seriously reconsider their life choices. Still, these moments ignited my love for songwriting. Later in life, while other kids hung out during lunch, I would meet up with friends in the music room at school to jam.
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