Cowrite with Jenna

Ages and ages ago, Jenna and I threw around the idea of cowriting together. We both agreed it sounded like a great idea, but life being crazy, it never actually happened.

Then a few weeks ago, I was reading some psalms in my music room. When I got to Psalm 116, a chorus melody jumped off the page at me. I grabbed my laptop and wrote and recorded everything I heard. (Funny bit: In the middle of transcribing, Gerald came in the room to talk to me. I gave him a big "Shhhh!!! Writing!!!" and he happily left me alone. That's why it's good to marry a musician!)

The chorus came out easily, and I had a sense of the verses, but I knew it needed something else - someone else really. I sent what I had to Jenna, and asked her if she'd be interested in cowriting the song.

This morning, we met at Redeemer to write. Even though Jenna and I are great friends, writing can be a whole other experience. Before entering the church, I prayed that whatever we wrote would honour God, and that I would be open and creative in the writing process.

Well, simply put, things couldn't have gone better! Jenna showed me her ideas for the verses. We tweaked melodies and lyrics, and within 30 minutes, we had a song! The result is a pretty, responsorial psalm that can be sung in a church service. It's written to be sung with a soloist on the verses, and choir/congregation on the chorus. We did a rough demo on garageband, and spent the rest of the time chatting and catching up.

So happy with this experience! I know it's not always this easy, but when it is, it's gooood!