VETERAN SINGER/SONGWRITER BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN
TALKS INSPIRATIONAL TOOLS

BUENA PARK, CA (December 5, 2003)—"When you're on a diet, you don't want a big bowl of Hershey's Kisses sitting in front of you," says Beth Nielsen Chapman. "Which means, when writing or performing, the less that you have to get into the technical aspects of what you're doing, the more you can concentrate on the task at hand—the structure of the melody, the construction of the song and the ideas you're trying to convey."

The ideas in the singer-songwriter's vast library of songs reflects the high and low points of a successful career: multiple number-one hits, the death of a spouse, a bout with cancer, the healing power of music, and musical and personal inspiration.

Chapman honed her skills as a solo act, singing in clubs around the Mobile, Alabama area. "I never went to college, but did 'graduate' from the lounge at the Plaza Hotel in Mobile," she laughs. "Those gigs were four hours a night, six nights a week, and I basically had to learn 'everyone else's' songs, from all eras and genres. But that experience taught me how to take those songs apart, learn the foundation of each one, and really develop my own skill by inhabiting them. That's something you can't get from any book."

While in Mobile, the Beach Boys' Bruce Johnston encouraged her to move to Nashville, where she became an in-demand session singer and songwriter, penning number one hits for Willie Nelson ("Nothing I Can Do About It Now") and Lorrie Morgan ("Five Minutes") and multiple writing credits that include tracks by Alabama, Trisha Yearwood, Pam Tillis and Bonnie Raitt.

Although a personal recording career began in the 1980s, her 1997 solo release Sand and Water garnered attention when Elton John—moved by the title song, which was inspired by the death of Chapman's husband from cancer—began to perform the song live. The 1998 Faith Hill hit "This Kiss," co-penned with Annie Roboff, become one of Chapman's biggest successes. She continues to contribute to films (Prince of Egypt, Message in a Bottle), and is currently working on a collection of traditional Latin hymns and songs from various world religions.

The Yamaha P120 is Chapman's current source for songwriting and performing.

Chapman has, in her own words, always "stuck to the basics" with her writing and performance tools—the guitar and the keyboard—and currently uses a Yamaha P120 as her main source.

"I've been really busy in the last few years, and haven't really been able to keep up with what's happening in technology," she explains. "When we go into the studio to record, I use my Motif 7, which is perfect for production. I was in World Music (Bellevue, TN) looking at drum machines, saw the P120 with the little built-in speakers, and had to give it a try. When I started playing it, and realized it was the perfect keyboard for me: good basic sounds, doesn't require programming, no searching around, and no distractions to interrupt the creative process. They should really call it the 'focus machine.'

"You can adjust the action, and that makes it easy to transition to an acoustic piano," she says. "I had been writing on a keyboard that was not weighted, and it was extremely difficult to go back to a grand. The size is perfect, because I like to move my keyboard around the house, or take it into the back yard to write. Portability is a must.

"Fewer distractions allow you to get in touch with your inner creativity," she continues. "When working on any song, visualize yourself finishing it. When you're stuck, do that even more, and it will keep moving forward. For instance, when I was really sick from chemo, I basically had no outside distractions! My main fear was that I wouldn't be able to write anymore, but I could get up and crawl to the keyboard every morning and just plunk around, and that proved to be not only inspirational, it was also the best therapy. It really took a lot more concentration to write lyrics, but the music came through. It's not about what's in your brain—inspiration really comes from a different place, in my opinion."

Those personal and musical experiences provide plenty of inspiration, which Chapman eagerly shares with budding singer-songwriters.

"One of my favorite sayings is, 'Don't plant your seeds too close to the highway; that is, the music business,'" she says. "The songs you're creating are like little fledgling trees, and too many people want to know how to get published before they even learn how to write. I tell them to take a year and write more songs. It's great to learn facts and theory, but the bottom line is you've got to have inspiration."

For more information, contact Yamaha Corporation of America, Pro Audio & Combo Division, Digital Musical Instruments, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone 714-522-9011, e-mail infostation@yamaha.com; or visit www.yamaha.com or www.yamahasynth.com.