Miranda Hall ’18 began writing music at the age of 13 and has since become an accomplished and passionate singer-songwriter.
“Some people need to play sports. Some people need to paint. I need to sing,” she said. “I wouldn’t be completely living if I weren’t singing.”
When she was younger, Hall also taught herself to play the acoustic guitar with help from her father.
While Hall has been writing for a long time, she has always been nervous to perform her music.
This summer, however, Hall tested her courage by performing on the streets of Seattle.
“When I first started writing I would show [my songs] to my friends, but I was too nervous to perform in front of people,” she said.
“Performing on the street this summer was a challenge that I gave to myself. I wanted to see if I was brave enough to perform for people who had never met me.”
Hall stood on the streets and opened her case, hoping to pique the interest of those passing by.
“It was never to make money, it was just to be brave,” she said. “If you are genuinely pouring your heart out to someone with words you wrote, there is no way people won’t stop and listen.”
One of the most memorable moments of her summer came in the form of a gift from a young fan.
“I was singing “Alice”—a song that I wrote about “Alice in Wonderland”—to a little girl, and I could tell that she was really listening to me,” she said. “Afterwards, she came up to me a gave me the stuffed animal she was holding, and I still have it.”
Another one of Hall’s favorite memories is when a man asked to join her performance.
“I was singing ‘No Diggity’ and a jazz musician came up to me and started playing with me,” she said.
Hall loves to write music, whether she is writing a song for herself, for someone else, or is just inspired randomly. She said she tries to capture and show a feeling through her words.
“Singing allows me to capture the beautiful moments in life. The first song I wrote was when I was looking out the window in California and it was raining. I just wanted to capture how calm that moment was,” she said.
Hall’s favorite musician is Ed Sheeran because she said he completely enchants his listeners.
“Whenever he sings you can tell he is just sharing himself with the listeners.” she said. “I went to his concert when I was 16 and I waited for four hours after the concert to meet him. He signed my purse and I made friends with his security guard while I waited.”
At Bowdoin, Hall is involved with the Bowdoin Music Collective (BMC) and is interested in bringing singer-songwriters together.
“The BMC puts on music events and performances,” she said. “I have performed at Unplugged and pop-up open mic nights, as well as the Baxter Coffee House.”
In addition to the BMC, Miranda is a part of the Bowdoin Outing Club, the Salsa Club and the Bowdoin Art Society.
Hall is releasing a new single on November 1 called “White Car.” She has already released an EP named “Kingdom” that can be found on iTunes and Spotify.
“I’m not signed with any label, but I think that if you have a passion, the only thing holding you back is self-doubt,” she said.
Hall ran a Kickstarter to raise money for her musical endeavor. She promised to write songs for people if they donated.
“I got an email from a man in Afghanistan asking me to write a song for his wife, and I was so excited,” she said. “There was a great response.”
Hall said she truly believes in following her passions and sharing them with others.
“If you love something and you are genuine, people will respond,” she said. “I’m going to keep singing and putting myself out there. If all else fails, this is something I’ll do in my dorm room on Monday nights.”
Check out Hall’s EP “Kingdom” on iTunes and look out for her new single “White Car,” which will be
released November 1.