Notebook : pages 11-12

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And so To All the Girls That Broke My Heart Without Trying To comes into being. I wrote it out in C, but ended up recording it in E with a modulation down to D. In C, my voice would just sort of disappear at the low end of the melody.

Every time I see the title I think of Paul's Boutique. One of those accidental references that become intentional by willful decision not to edit.

I sketched out the chorus, here, with an F (or a IV, if you like) in that penultimate bar. When it came to recording, that turned into what would be an A minor in this key—I thought it gave the song a little bit more tension in the turnaround than just going back and forth between the IV and the V. I also changed the melody, particularly in the second half of the chorus—what I wrote didn't sound so great out loud.

There's often some distance between what I think looks good on paper and what I think sounds good when I sing it. I've been trying to narrow that gap over the years, on two fronts: getting better at singing in a wider range, and getting better at writing to the practical limits and strengths of my voice. It's slow, messy work.

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