Hanna Dorm Room (Like the Dawn)

This year, I spent a lot of time in my dorm room, so I discovered that the acoustics in the Hanna dorms are kind of ideal for singing and playing music. There's the slightest hint of reverb because of the tall ceilings, but the carpeting on the floor muffles it, making it subtle. Despite the near constant buzz of my refrigerator (which is audible towards the end), I recorded a lot of covers in that room over the fall semester, and this song in particular was a lot of fun to play. Sometime between 2-4 every afternoon, as the sun was going down, the light would coming streaming in through my west-facing window, and the whole room would light up gold. On less busy days, I would sit right near that window and play songs to the sun as it set.

"Like The Dawn" evokes that image for me when I listen to it. The singers humming softly in the beginning makes it feel warm, as does the quick change from D major to Dsus4 at the end of each phrase. Though I tried my best to capture those warm feelings, I'd honestly recommend listening to the actual recording, as me and my little baritone ukulele don't quite do the guitarist in the Oh Hellos justice.

I think a dorm room would be an interesting environment for a performance of some kind considering its casual and personal nature. The space in which someone lives can say a lot about them, and to invite others into it while also playing music -- another personal experience -- would create an unexpectedly intimate atmosphere. Like I said, I've recorded a lot of covers of songs in this room, and that alone is personal enough to make me question whether or not it's worth putting up anywhere where an audience might see it. Even if it doesn't garner an audience though, it's a performance nonetheless. An audience of one is an audience nonetheless.