First things first: February Album Writing Month is the challenge to write fourteen songs in the twenty-eight days of February. I've been doing this since 2010. Technically, I've won every year, but for the first two years, that winning included my writing some terrible lyrics without music and some not-very-interesting instrumentals. So I feel I deserve credit only for 2012 and 2013.
For FAWM 2013, I gave myself the additional challenge to not use any string instruments. This forced me into using other instruments and getting better at them. I became more familiar with keyboard instruments, and I started using harmonica in my songs. I considered doing something similar for FAWM this year and not use guitar, but I don't think I'm up for that challenge yet. And since I'm already constricting myself from electric instruments until 1 July, I wouldn't be left with too many instruments to use.
I do have some instrumental aspirations though. I've been relearning trombone for awhile, and I'd like to use that in some more of my songs. I used it in one song for FAWM last year, but I replaced it with melodica when I re-recorded it. I'd like to use it a lot more and have it remain a significant feature. I'd also like to use more melodica. I'm sure there will be things I want to do on trombone that my limited skills won't allow me to do, but I could probably play them on melodica. While I'm not prohibiting myself from guitar, I'd like to keep it in the background and not emphasize it. At the most, I'm going to use it only for chordal accompaniment. If the other parts stand up by themselves, I may even remove that.
I've also been playing with the idea of writings songs that aren't so dependent upon repetition. In fact, I think there was previously a challenge for this in either FAWM or 50/90 where you write a song without any repeats. I sort of doubt I'll be able to do that for every single song, but I'd like to step out of easily-predictable formulae for at least a few songs.
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