I had the
week off from work. Since spring
persisted on staying asleep, I enjoyed myself by songwriting and reading some cool science. Who would have thought that songwriting,
biochemistry and epigenetics had so much in common? Let me take this opportunity to explain.
In week 5 we
studied how emotion is expressed differently depending on how the lyric is set
in the bar (stable, strong beats versus unstable, week beats) and in the scale
of the song (stable tonic, 3rd and 5th versus unstable 2nd,
4th, 6th and 7th).
In the book Biology of Belief, Dr. Bruce Lipton
makes the case that whether a gene expresses itself or not depends on its
environment, or its surroundings. Sound
familiar? While there are some diseases
that are clearly genetically determined (eg. Hemophilia) the vast majority of
diseases that have a genetic link do not always materialize. The genetic “hand of cards” we are dealt is
not as important as the way we play them.
I had 4 eureka moments in this book.
The first was an experiment where cells had their DNA destroyed through
radiation. They didn’t die. If fact, they continued doing everything they
usually do (metabolic processing, seeking out positive environments and
avoiding toxins) except they could no longer reproduce or repair themselves. Dr. Lipton concluded that the cell nucleus, which
holds the DNA, is not the “brain” of the cell, as was previously believed, but
rather the gonads. (This
misunderstanding that the DNA is the brain of the cell is understandable, since
most of the research to date has been done by men who have had a long history
of thinking with their sex organs.) The second eureka moment came from an
experiment with 2 sibling agouti mice.
Agouti mice have genes which “make” them turn yellow, grow very obese
and become diabetic. One mouse was fed a
diet rich in vitamins while the sibling was not. Surprisingly,
the vitamin-fed mouse did not turn yellow, become obese and develop diabetes
like its sister. And, more importantly,
neither did its offspring, although genetically, all still had the genes of
agouti mice. Dr. Lipton concluded that it is the environment which makes a gene
express itself or stay silent, both in this generation and the next. How genes
interact with their environment is the science of “epigenetics”.
Our week’s
study was on the “epigenetics” of songwriting. The environment for our song
lyrics had a rhythm component (what beat in the bar) and a melodic component (what
note in the scale). If we get the setting right – the environment right – the right
emotion is expressed fully. If we get the environment wrong, a different
emotion is expressed, perhaps one we don’t want in the song. Pat Pattison says
we get to choose those emotions. But can
we choose our genetic destiny as well?
Using biochemistry and
epigenetics, we can make the right environment for “good” genes to express
themselves loudly, live long, repair themselves and reproduce perfectly, and “nasty”
genes to stay silent and hidden. Everything
we are exposed to and everything we do turns to chemicals in our bodies. Certainly good nutrition, exercise, and rest
are important. Dr. Lipton has been
researching emotions, and in particular, what beliefs do to the chemical
environment that bathes our cells. The
third eureka moment was when a patient, diagnosed with an inoperable terminal
cancer, died three weeks after diagnosis but the autopsy revealed no
cancer. Why did he die? Because he believed he was dying? The fourth
and biggest eureka moment was an experiment where cells were exposed to different
hormones. Adrenaline, the “flight or
fight” chemical, trumped all the others.
So, even if we eat super diets, sleep well, exercise, breathe clean air
and drink perfect water, the chemicals produced by our beliefs and our emotions
can “win the day”.
Our emotions
are processed chemically. Our cells produce receptors to bond with excess
chemicals. I don’t completely understand the process but it is how we get rid
of the chemical residue we create in ourselves with our emotions. We all know a person who is always
negative. They win $50 and are happy for
an hour, and then they start complaining about something else, like what a pain
it’s going to be to go claim the prize.
This is because their cells are so full of receptors to deal with
negativity that they (the cells) are craving that chemical, so the brain
produces it for them by choosing to dwell on the negative. It’s a chemical addiction. How does this relate to songwriting?
We can
create the same chemical addiction to positive emotions, creating more healthy
environments for our cells – and we don’t have to adopt one of those annoying
“bubbly” personalities. “Positive” doesn’t
mean “happy” (but “happy” is positive). Psychologist Barbara L. Fredrickson, in her
book Positivity, identified ten
common positive emotions: joy,
gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe and
love. (Gratitude, by the way, is the
most important emotion for building relationships. Fredrickson says the regular
expression of sincere gratitude is key to long-lasting, happy marriages. In addition, many top executives say the fastest
way to climb the corporate ladder is with gratitude. )
Ok – back to
songwriting. How many of these positive emotions do you get
from being creative? I get all of them. So, let’s tie it all together. We write a bit everyday, we create these
positive emotions which creates a happy environment for our cells and “nasty”
genes stay silent and hidden away. The more we write, the more we create
receptors for positive emotions, creating a chemical dependency for them. So, our brains have to keep coming up with
creative ideas to feed the receptors. The
result? We live, long, healthy, rewarding and fruitful lives. We choose the
setting for our lyrics to express emotions.
We choose the setting for our genes to either express or be silent. I need to wallow in joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope,
pride, amusement, inspiration, awe and love. Sounds like more songwriting to me!
Ok, now here’s
my assignment:
Passion Rodeo
Box 1
a woman arrives at a rodeo dance by herself
she's "bubbly", well-dressed
she's lonely and she's here to pick-up a "winning" cowboy
Box 2
cowboys are drinking and getting rowdy
she turns heads on the dance floor because she's a knockout!
she's the kind of woman they're looking for tonight - no commitments and a real
good time
Box 3
she knows she's lived a loose life with too many one-night stands
she's like these cowboys who can't seem to stay away from the rodeo, even
though it's just a matter of time before one event busts them up forever or
kills them
she knows this lifestyle is bad for her but like the cowboys, she's attracted
to risk
Rodeo
perfect: romeo, hello, show, flow, follow
additive: ghost, float, hope, rope, toast, boast, lone, close, roam, colt,
control, tone, overload, lone
tumbleweed
perfect: need
family: meet, breeze, believe, weak, meak, sleep, need, treat, please, ease,
knees, tease
subtractive: free, plea
rustler
subtractive: rust,bust, thrust, buster
"er" rhymes: rider, roper, laughter, flirter, tinder, cinder,
glimmer, glitter, warmer, ginger, winter, after
additive: whirl, twirl,turn
hazard
perfect: hard, card
family: mart, heart, cart, dart
"er" rhymes as above for subtractive/assonance
"d" consonace rhymes: friend, red, head, led, dead, wayward
passion
perfect: apprehension, suspicion, tension, attention,
mention, run, imagination
family: rhythm, symptom, tedium
subtractive: pass, lass
subtractive+additive: past, last
best
perfect: fest, crest, chest, guest
subtractive+family:lonliness, emptiness, mess, openness, closedness
family: dressed, blessed, guessed
Passion Rodeo
VS. 1.
She’s bouncin’
in like Texas tumbleweed
Bright eyes, champagne woman
She doesn’t really trust the city
The air is grey and the trees are weak
CHORUS
She’s come to
win her one of the best
Of the Passion Rodeo
Lookin’ to lose a little loneliness
At this Passion, Passion Rodeo
VS. 2.
Riders and
rustlers and limping bronc busters
Downing shooters with serious impatience
Reptilian eyes paint her on the dance floor
She’s that sugar plum they’re all looking for
CHORUS
VS.3.
She’s not too
proud of the life she’s led
She doesn’t want to die in a cheap hotel
She takes too many chances, she knows it
well but
Like these cowboys, she’s got a taste for hazard
CHORUS
©2013
