Photo by Nick Scheerbart on Unsplash
The Story Behind "Timeline"
Note: The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors
"Timeline" is special to me because of just the feeling of the time that I made it.
I was reflecting on my life in terms of just what I want to accomplish between the time that I was born and the time that I have to leave here, when I pass on. And I was thinking about the timeline of my life up to this point, or up to the point where I made the track. And I was just really thinking about how sometimes it feels like there's a low steady type of deal.
Life, for me, is not all about the peaks or the excitement and all that type of stuff. It's really about the steadiness of moving through all the different things that I see and all the different things that I experienced with all of the different people that I get to relate to. And that's really where this piano improvisation came from.
Now, about the piano improvisation - piano improvisation is just that... It's improvisation. It is something that's very... I mean this is jazz! I mean if you say jazz you're talking about improv. You're talking about improv - improvising on everything.
All I'm doing is using that concept, if you will, in my music - my mood instrumental music.
My moody instrumental music is, at the core, it's Hip-Hop. That's why I have the beats that are always in your face. My beats don't... they don't sit in the back. They're actually in the forefront.
So I'm playing with a lot of symbolism even with my music. Because when you think about the drummer of the band (I'm a drummer), and as a person I love to be in the background, I love to be in the back. I don't like being out front.
I'll make these videos all day because I'm not really in front of anybody. I'm at home, you know. I like being in the background.
But my beats are out front. Even in my music they're in the forefront along with the rest of the music there, you know. That's just what they are.
The actual piano improvisation, though, is just me freestyling, you know.
Again, from Hip Hop (culture), “freestyling” (rapping) is coming up with lyrics or coming up with verses, off the top of your head, with no previous rehearsal.
I don't "recite " the rhymes that I wrote. I'm spitting rhymes out as I'm looking at whatever it is that I see. That's the idea of freestyling that I grew up with.
Piano improv is the same thing for me.
I'm not using lyrics now. I'm sitting down at a piano or at a keyboard and I'm playing these verses off the top of my head. So whatever comes out, that's what I lay down on the beat that I previously made.
So the thing that's made beforehand is the beat.
I make the beat, the Hip-Hop beat, and then I just sit down, play the beat and whatever comes out on that piano, that's what it is.
"Timeline" is just that.
And "Timeline" is expressing... it's me just thinking about my life and the different parts of my life that I've gone through so far - and playing it out on the piano, the way that I feel it, the way that I hear it in that moment.
I love the idea of doing this now, of course, because it's not just me sitting down and playing music. For me, it's therapy.
I mean, it's therapeutic. I go back and listen to these tracks and I'm in awe of what it is that I've put together because I know me. I know my limitations, you know.
I know that I can't play piano. I know that I'm not a pianist.
And to see myself ,when I make videos, where I'm actually making the video - "The Making Of" videos. When I actually go back and watch those videos, I'm sitting there watching the videos in silence because I'm amazed at what it is that I'm able to do in a subconscious way.
When I'm playing that piano, I'm in the moment, I'm in the zone of that moment in time.
I'm not really thinking about anything else, except for how that music is going and letting my fingers go where they want to go to make a musical type of sense to tell a story, a part of my story.
So being in the moment in time, being in that particular moment, moment by moment, in music - that's what I mean.
So when I go back and I look at the video, I feel like I'm outside of myself watching myself, which is what the videos do for me. I get to stand outside of myself and watch myself do something that I'm not really consciously thinking of, if that makes any sense.
And by saying all of that, I'm blown away by the power of all of us as humans to be able to do something like that. And that's why it's a tremendous blessing to me and it reminds me just even of my faith walk - walking in faith and continuing in life.
It reminds me of how there's a lot of improvising that I have to do in life. There's a lot of stuff that I can do as I go through this timeline.
There's a steadiness of my life. There's a steadiness of this timeline - my heartbeat, you know, and just time is steady, as a constant.
But with those - my heartbeat and the timeline - there's a lot of improv improv that I do in life.
There's a lot of freestyling that I do because I don't get to rehearse these moments beforehand.
And that's why "Timeline" is so special to me. That's really what "Timeline" is wrapped up. That's my expression of "Timeline". That's what "Timeline" means to me.
There's a steadiness that goes about it and there's even an offbeat type of thing to "Timeline".
When you listen to it, it sounds like it's offbeat in some kind of way. But that's another thing about the track itself and my life - is making sense of, or making even the stuff that would be "offbeat" - making it make sense and making something beautiful out of it.
To make it steady, even if it shifts, making it steady just constantly moving forward, getting better and really finding out who I am in my timeline.
That's what I believe life is.
I believe life is, you know, showing me who I am. And this particular track, as far as "Timeline", is just reflecting that. It's reflecting my feelings with that.
The piano improvisation, if you listen to it closely, you can hear how I'm telling how I feel. That's it.
Got any questions about this track?
Let me know in the comments section.
Grace and Peace!
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Grace and Peace!
Song Facts
"Timeline"
Moody Mental Music
Copyright 2014 by Taurus M. James
All Rights Reserved.
Album: Christ Beats
Released: 2014
Writer/Composer/Performer: Taurus M. James
Label: ITNOJ Music
Producer: Taurus M. James (TaurusBeats)
Original, strong, steady, heartfelt, piano improvisation, moody instrumental music 7:17
More Information
Music Type: instrumental, piano freestyle (improvisation), smooth jazz, chill, downtempo, minimal, life story music
Music Use Suggestions: study, background, story rap, storytelling, relaxing, healing
Music Tempo: 80 bpm
Music Moods and Movement: sad, sentimental, intellectual, builds, grows, busy, catchy, dramatic, adventurous, angry, dangerous, dark, tough, mysterious, strange, weird, emotional, introspective, lonely, nostalgic, reflective, thoughtful, energetic, urgent, wild, inspirational, uplifting, passionate, melodramatic, strong, anthemic, bold, confident, determined
Music Instruments: drums, bass, keys, synth, sample, percussion, horns, french horns, strings, violins
