That’s really encouraging, though I am very sorry to hear about what you went through.
I’m 51, though somewhere around 35 in my own mind. I would absolutely love to be able to write my own songs and put them to music: just simple alt/folk style stuff. I really like guys like The White Buffalo or Paul Cauthen who tell a tale but manage to avoid sounding country.
I’m not very creative that way though- even though I write for a living.
Just about all my friends have some kind of musical skill and I can’t tell you how embarrassing it is when I go to parties or BBQs and after eating they kick off an impromptu jam with EVERYONE doing something even if it’s just singing or playing the spoons!
I so badly want to be able to participate in that.
Thank you and no worries, I've cried all the tears I will cry over those things. It sounds like the impromptu jams are your motivation.
51 ain't that old, you still have half your life ahead of you. I jam once a week with a guy who's 49 I believe. We play 90% my songs with myself on vocals and a couple covers of his choosing that he sings. I can tell you from experience that playing in a group is difficult, especially as a newbie. But don't let that stop you from trying because each time you try you will incrementally get better. The fastest way to get used to hearing your own instrument in an ensemble is to play with one other person. Even if you're both on guitars, you can strum rhythm and the more experienced partner can play leads and fillers. I've been doing that with my friend for about 6 years now. In the beginning, I simply could not play and sing while someone else played along. I would get too distracted by hearing them and fuck up my own chords and rhythm. It takes practice. But playing with one person allows you to learn to feel where you should be and if they have better timing than you, it will help your timing improve. After a while, you should be able to go bigger and play with a group of people like when your friends jam out.
Another thing I've learned from playing with others is that other musicians have all been where you are now, so they are normally patient and understanding of your shyness and/or technical hiccups. As long as you aren't a dick about it, they will usually invite you back. And when you do make a mistake in a jam, it's best to smile and keep going rather than causing a train wreck and stopping altogether.
As for writing. I'm not too familiar with The White Buffalo but I've heard some Paul Cauthen. I'd look into Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Steve Earle, and James McMurtry. Townes is more folky but with very raw subject matter, Guy Clark similarly has folky lyrics but country-sounding/bluegrass-ish instrumentation, Steve Earle and James McMurtry both are Americana, which means they sound more rock 'n roll with folk/country-ish lyrical content. For pure poetry, it never hurts to listen to 1960s Bob Dylan either. And FYI, not one single songwriter I just mentioned sounds country in the modern Nashville sense of the word. I like all of them for their lyrics first, instrumentation second.
If you are a writer by trade, you already have the tools. All you lack is learning how to use them in a way that the meter fits the rhythm of what you're playing and then there's the rhyme. I'm not gonna lie, I've pulled the chords off of Dylan songs and added my own lyrics. But he got famous doing just that, so I feel no shame. Writing songs, like playing an instrument, takes practice. Of the over 150 songs I've written, the first 10 or so were just testing the waters and are fit to be burned. But you don't get to 150 without starting out with some stinkers. Just let them flow out of your system and the improvement with take care of itself.
