One of the more perplexing assignments I gave a graduate class in songwriting was to write a memorable, solid song for five-year-olds.
The kind of song you would find little kids humming while they were coloring.
The class was stymied by the concept of simplicity. Typical compositional complexity and a "higher education" approach wasn't going to work in this scenario.
I thought I was giving them a lifeline by limiting them to the first five diatonic notes of a major scale but it only made it harder for them.
I even suggested that they get some crayons, do some coloring, and randomly start softly humming.
Furrowed brows.
Sometimes "the more you know" refers to authoritative fact-based knowledge but not situational wisdom.
The kind of song you would find little kids humming while they were coloring.
The class was stymied by the concept of simplicity. Typical compositional complexity and a "higher education" approach wasn't going to work in this scenario.
I thought I was giving them a lifeline by limiting them to the first five diatonic notes of a major scale but it only made it harder for them.
I even suggested that they get some crayons, do some coloring, and randomly start softly humming.
Furrowed brows.
Sometimes "the more you know" refers to authoritative fact-based knowledge but not situational wisdom.
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