The Why

The Cue Sheet No.39 Barry Power — April 2026

Apr 24, 2026

I sat at the piano today and I started putting together a chord progression. There was an idea I found somewhere online about changing chords in a minor key. So I put the metronome on and started cycling through the chords and singing some gibberish words over it trying to shape a melody on top.

This is very typical of how I like to write. I was just about to record a little section into my phone when I realised something which may seem very obvious to other songwriters. I have even heard and given this advice before but for some reason it had never really stuck with me. I had no real Why for what I was writing other than just a technical exercise about chords. It struck me that this is as true at the piano writing for myself as it is in the studio writing for someone else's picture.

It is never about the how, it is always and always has to be about The Why. Anyone can put together some chords in a row, but what was I trying to say with those chords, why did I want to use them in this way. I couldn’t come up with an answer.

The Why, in my opinion, is the most powerful element of art. There has to be the reason to see it through. Be it the unrelenting emotion bursting through or the story that you simply have to tell. What is the reason behind what you are doing and what you are creating?

For me finding The Why can also be the most elusive part of creating anything. What’s more it is usually the very last thing I try to do, or I mostly try to avoid it altogether. You know sometimes when you have a really important job to do, so you make a list, and put it at the very bottom do any other job to avoid doing that one. Like, “I’ll just clean the house then I’ll do it” or “I’ll do it after I make this cup of coffee”, I’ll do it later. And later. And later.

The how is easy, think about it as a filming analogy, all of us have a camera in our pocket that is capable of shooting a cinema quality film. Why then are we not all filmmakers? The reason is our Why. Most of us, I would argue, would have a similar outlook to myself when I say, “but there is nothing to shoot” or “I can’t do that”. But equally look at YouTube, there are millions of content creators making the everyday extraordinary. They are the people that look for the story in their day, what life is trying to tell them moment to moment and shoot that.

I so often preoccupy myself with the how, because I know the how, chord structures, harmony rhythm. The Why is not so easily found and that is probably why I avoid it so consistently but that is exactly why it is so important. It gives the credence to what you are making. It is the real truth of what you do. It is the small voice of inspiration that you need to be always aware of.

I went back to the piano. Same chords. This time I sat with them a little longer before I started playing.

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Coffee and Composing — YouTube

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