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Song But Not Forgotten


The Songwriting Company - Genealogy

I want you to imagine that in one hundred years your family know very little about you. They don't really know where you lived, the stories you had to share, the way you felt about your parents or your children. How does it feel?

I'm guessing it feels like you could've done more to make an impact on future generations somehow. Some people leave estates, some leave jewellery, some leave photographs but ultimately do they really have the impact they could have? If they were linked to stories and relationships in your family, would they make more of a difference to understanding where we came from?

Your family members and ancestors shaped the way you and your family are today in a small way, sometimes in a major way, yet we don't seem to give them the credit they potentially deserve. Why not?

The Songwriting Company - Jay Stansfield - Genealogy

When I recently went to see The Bury Family, they wanted something special to remember their Grandma / Mum / Wife and so they came to me for a song. I sat down with the family in their living room and they began telling me about Shirley and all the things she used to get up to, little stories about her, her personality and the inspiration she brought to everyone. What came from this was a real sense of connection to Shirley but more importantly liberation from negative thoughts of her at the end of her life. It revived 'new' old memories, gave the family a platform to create positive recollections about her and provided a way of celebrating her as a family member and also as a member of the wider community.

I believe the answer to this for future generations of your family and all families across the world, is to capture those stories and memories in songs. Music and melody, chords, harmony and rhythm are the thread binding us all together. Sound is a powerful medium and I feel we need to capture more of ourselves in this format to help with genealogy and ultimately the future study of our past but also create a much cleaner, healthier creative industry for songwriters and musicians away from the traditional music industry.

The Songwriting Company - Genealogy and Family

It would benefit you because music has the ability to capture emotion and personality as well as stories and character traits and the more songs you have about your ancestors, the more likely you are to connect with them on a deeper level not normally experienced before. Coupling it with the addition of Virtual Reality environments, 3D audio and voice-capturing could be the answer to a much richer, more accurate depiction of that hugely important lineage.

Why wait until you're forgotten?

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