Hi floyd,

I originally listened to “Learning” a couple of weeks ago. My very first thought at that time was, “Wow, he's done it again! How does he consistently manage to write so well, arrange so well, perform so well?” The reason that I can vividly recall thinking this is because I began writing comments as I listened and I'm staring at those comments in black and white in front of me this morning (Times New Roman, 12 pt).

In addition...

Those pickup notes that the piano plays to bring the band in with the introduction are a masterful arranging strategy as are the sustained chords and upwards walking bass in bar 4. To my ears, those two techniques that bookend the introduction very effectively underline what the tempo suggests, and this is that “Learning” is going to be a reflective, classic country journey. Clever. I have to hand it to you, you've really made those first four bars earn their place in your arrangement and work very effectively.

Then, as I listened, I started hearing perfect rhymes. I resisted the urge to have a look at the lyrics at this point because I wanted to feel that first impression of how you've used rhymes to lead the listener along the roadway that this song travels. First I heard thought/taught (accented by long notes), then I heard the alliteration and consonance with promised/proved with their same beginning and ending sounds. Lastly, my ears knew the end of verse 1 had been reached when when “fool” rhymed with “school”. This last rhyme pattern was also present in verse 2.

Later, when I looked at verse 1, the only rhyme that was obvious was school/fool. Interesting. I'm now pondering this as I type. It's not easy for me to decide on what the consistent rhyme scheme is between the two verses. As I see it, the verses parallel one another in that the halfway location of each verse's lyric rhymes with the end of the verse in perfect rhyme. Because the number of phrases vary and internal rhyme patterns vary between verses, the net result is that the conversational tone of the lyrics is enhanced. This is a strategy that I've now put into my toolbox! Thanks for the lesson.

I also liked the perfect rhymes found in the axaxaa rhyme scheme of the chorus. It's a very interesting rhyme scheme. I'm a fan of the asymmetry. While the end couplet closes the chorus effectively, the asymmetry enhances the emotionality of the lyrics. That's another thing for my toolbox!

As in some other lyrics you've written, you've approached these lyrics using the figure of speech called “apostrophe” where you're directly addressing an absent person. Every time you use this strategy, you leave me thinking that it's such a powerful lyric technique. It really is. I've got to use this more often!

There are lots of techniques to learn from this song floyd. It's a gold mine. I've picked up quite a bit. Thank you.

In so many ways, “Learning” is such a great song!

All the best,
Noel

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