pr�sentiert Jocelyn an diesem Abend

  einen der raren Auftritte ihres �berraschungsgastes.

Mit ihrer selten geh�rten Symbiose aus Stimmgewalt und balladesken T�nen hat KARA JOHNSTAD in jedem Bereich stilistische Grenzen hinter sich gelassen und stattdessen das durchgesetzt, was ihr am besten zu Gesicht steht: die Ideen einer ungew�hnlichen Komponistin und Liedtexterin. Dabei brilliert Kara mit einer gewaltigen Stimme von ungew�hnlicher Klarheit und Pr�senz. Besonders gespannt sein kann man deshalb auf Karas "Sneak Preview" ihrer neuesten Kompositionen

Auf jeden Fall wird es dieses Mal anders!

Freuen Sie sich auf zwei "Vocal Soul Diven der Extraklasse"
in einem Konzertevent.

"Superb Vocal Art in its purest form!"

  

RELEASED FEB 21, 2013

 

 

NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD 

  

click on image & listen

 music and lyrics by Kara Johnstad

This song gives us strength to continue through the darkest nights. 

On the journey called life we experience trials we must master; burdens we must carry. Silence is a Journey, is a hymn. Soulful, it is the pure essence of faith, hope and love, If you have ever felt like you did not have the strength to continue, this song will uplift and inspire you to stay true to purpose and resolute that we awaken to the truth sometimes in the darkest of hours.   

 

 

... and while there, please leave me a comment.

"Truly, Poetry Has Never Sounded So Good." In spring 2012, Kara began releasing one new single of the album NAKED THOUGHTS each and every month through her Voice Your Essence™ eZine and live stream concerts, and available for download at all major music portals.  

 With more than 100 songs written, all of which she has produced and published under her own indie label, Kara Johnstad is an acclaimed artist with "... something of a female Leonard Cohen song writing sensibility with a bit of Renee Fleming mixed in, who is truly hard to categorize," as music critique Paul Wolfle best describes her unique signature sound.

www.karajohnstad.com

Written by Kara Johnstad

 

Sometimes we are in flow and the ideas simply arrive. We take out a pen and jot down the lines and "voila" a song is born.

Other days we feel stuck. At loss. There are so many great songs out there. Why even begin to write another love song? Another dance hit? Why add more to an already overfilled market?

The amazing thing is, that it is like going to a good restaurant. If the atmosphere is right and the appetizer is small and tasty, you might just find yourself enjoying a long evening and ordering dessert, even though you had planned to have only a small salad.

I like to call them songwriting "starters" and they are there to help us when we are not in the mood to cook and have no idea what to eat; when we are floundering and feeling at loss.

 

Where the path takes you is up to you. If you follow it to the end, you might just have a new beautiful song at the end of the session waiting to be shared.

Here are ideas

to unleash your talent

and give you a place to begin. 

 

CLICK IMAGE & LISTEN TO PODCAST

 

These 4 ideas are meant to whet your appetite, 

and bring you into the sweet and deep process of writing.  

 

1. Pick a phrase - any phrase.

Keep a jar close by of phrases that you hear in a conversation or one-liners you love. Yes, write them down on scraps of paper and keep them in this magical jar for the rainy days when your spirit is searching for direction. 

 

Examples of my writing I have gathered are:

• Life changes so unexpectedly. I am here and you are there. Where is the thunder?
• Each day has a color. Yesterday I slipped into orange and found myself on your horizon.
• I lift my cup of coffee and my thoughts fly off like sparrows.
• The sadness slumbers so deeply, and yet I can not sleep.
• Unbutton my soul ...

Set a timer for 60 minutes and use one of your one liners as a jumping board.  You can keep lots of magical jars around the house and play song-a-matic.

Kara's writing studio in Berlin

2.  Get your dictionary out or go to rhymezone

My friends know that I love to word flip and discover acronyms and synonyms. Long ago I used to try to "perfect" my writing and repressed my quirky sense of humor and my love for word flipping. Now I have learned to embrace it.
 

I do not think in straight lines and if I try, I am not a happy camper. I tend to zig-zag between my right and left brain. I have hours of focused time of working very strategically, mixed with hours of losing time and all concepts and structures for writing songs. I let myself go by exploring word flips and opposites and related words.   

So sometimes I get inspired by going to  www.rhymezone.com or www.thesaurus.com, where I would just put in a simple word and see what pops up.

 

Synonyms

Ex: Heart

affection, affectionateness, bosom, center, centre, core,essence, eye, fondness, gist, inwardness, kernel, marrow,meat, mettle, middle, nerve, nitty-gritty, nub, pith, pump, spirit,spunk, substance, sum, tenderness, ticker, warmheartedness

From the above I love the sound of the word nitty-gritty. Also love spunk and tenderness. Now if you are at 'rhymezone', what are other related words?

You will find the craziest words like:

American Frogbit: 

"American plant with roundish heart-shaped or kidney-shaped leaves; usually rooted in muddy bottoms of ponds and ditches"

or bicameral

"consisting of two chambers"

or flutter - a great word.

"Beat rapidly or lightly."

Skim or dart. 

"Art of moving back and forth. 

Wink briefly."

Thrash

Throb

Twinkle

 

It seems endless. 

 

Cool fact. Did you know that heart has no antonym - no opposite? It is not like night and day. The heart is the center :) 

 

3.  Turn other people's lives into a song.

I rarely do this. Seems kind of like spying. And yet one of my best songs Smoked Out Blues was written using this technique. I wrote on divorce. I was 20 when I wrote it. How could I know about divorce? I used a story that was very close to me, but not mine, and slipped myself into the woman's skin. The exact scene when she was handed the papers. The feeling of raising kids and believing in the "til death do us part" vow. Believing so deeply, that she never saw or realized that the relationship had ended years before?  Sometimes we wish to believe in another ending so deeply we do not live anymore our own lives. 

KARA JOHNSTAD - SMOKED OUT BLUES

Does your life seem too much in a routine to have new ideas or is it too close for comfort to write about your sadness or your lover who leaves his socks on the kitchen floor?

Try writing about stories that you hear from friends. What challenges are they facing in their lives? Family affairs, loss of a relative, losing a job, having an affair with the neighbor.

You don't have to name names or be so detailed that your friends feel exposed. Simply use the stories as a starting point.  

Or if this is still too close for comfort, take the morning paper and write a song on an article that deeply moves you. Perhaps an unsung hero will finally receive the recognition they deserve.


4.  Chord progressions

If you want to take a break from words and start with music, what few people realize is, while lyrics and melodies are copyrighted - chord progressions are not. Zillions of songs are  written using the same chord progressions.

If you are at a loss of words and up against a wall with a deadline looming, use a basic chord progression to get you going. Many hits have been written using the following progressions.

C - G - Am - F

D - A - Bm - G

A - E - F#m - D

G - D - Em - C

E - B - C#m - A

Play over them slowly. Then change the tempo and the grooves. Listen to your inner voice. A melody may appear in search of words or words may appear in search of a melody.

In the end remember, it is a starter. These 4 ideas are meant to whet your appetite. To inspire and bring you into the sweet and deep process of writing.

Let me know which ones worked well for you.

  

 

P.S. Share with us your songwriting experience, and feel free to join the Voice Your Essence™ Community over on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voiceyouressence. I'm really excited to hear what you have to say.

 

Thank you, as always, for tuning in, reading and contributing.

 

 

  

CLICK IMAGE & LISTEN

 

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it.

 

Kara Johnstad is a creative visionary, transformational catalyst and a powerful voice in the time and age of transition. She is a singer / songwriter, founder of the Voice Your Essence™ Community  and creator of the Voice Your Essence™  and Voice Your Biz™ Programs.  If you are ready to take your voice and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription of her weekly eZine, at www.karajohnstad.com