Have You Ever Wrote A Song?….
I’ve wrote a few in the past and have been struggling with one the last three days straight, and the end is not in sight……. I don’t know the “by the book” method…… I start with either a few words I like or some music riff I can’t get out of my head…… I’ve found that the lyrics constantly affect the music and the music, in turn, affects the lyrics, and in most cases the end result seldom resembles the original idea…… This one started out simple enough, but has evolved into a tribute to a friend of mine that I used to play in a band with, who passed on before his time……. I’m up to the eighth variation on this one….. I thought I had the lyrics “set in stone” last night, and this morning, I made more changes to the words than in the last four revisions, but I think I’ve got this time….. Of course, this called for musical changes also…… I seem to drop lines out and then find that they work in later revisions, so I don’t throw away anything until I”m finished, although, I find it hard to call a composition “finished”……. I usually let it set for a few hours/days and it looks and sounds different to me than when I last called it done…… I’m letting it “ferment” for while right now, but, I’m fighting a self-imposed deadline for a party this week-end with some other members of that same band (I have the option to “chicken-out with self-doubt”, which I can easily do as I have not told any of them of the venture)……..
Since we do have musicians in our mist, I was wondering how others approach and/or attempt song writing…… When do you decide it’s good enough?……. The best you can do?……. The time to end it before you “muck it up”?…….. Any suggestions?………
July 4th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
I don’t know if this will help, but………..DeKooning (a famous painter) said that a painting is never done. You just have to stop at some point. Knowing what style he painted in also explains a lot.
July 4th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
I think I finally reached a stopping point, as I had to back-up the potato truck on a couple of lines….. So-o-o, now all I have to do is get proficient enough to perform what I wrote without a lyric sheet and making musical boo-boos….. That’s the toughest part for me….. Of course, there could be more changes…. They just seem to sneak up on you….. Just call me DeMRooning (a non-famous musician)…..
July 4th, 2006 at 5:55 pm
As you know all I have written are parodies based on existing musical scores, but as I have heard most of the great songwriters say a piece of music is never done. sometimes you just have to say thats it, and as you well know You are your worst critic, and some times you can produce it to death. Also, I have noticed that you seem to do better when you are up against a deadline, whether it be music, cars etc.
July 4th, 2006 at 7:29 pm
Wait till it’s crunch time…. That’s my motto….. I guess the general opinion so far is like mine – It never gets finished – just suspended in the time of the moment you record it….
July 5th, 2006 at 11:54 am
A friend of mine who writes fiction said that he knows when he is finished. It is done when you cannot do anymore with it — any good that is. That’s not to say that it isn’t hard work.
I’ve written lots of songs but I’ve finished precious few. Part of the reason is I don’t like what I write. Another part is I suck at writing lyrics. If you find yourself in iteration hell, remember that sometimes you just have to throw out the baby AND the bathwater.
July 5th, 2006 at 3:39 pm
We all live in fiction…. That’s the problem – writing songs turns into reality….. I loved this thing when I started it, but now, I’ve heard it so much, I’m doubting just how good it is….. I’m just gonna go with it and see what everybody has to say…. As MJagger says, “I know I play a bad guitar”…..
July 11th, 2006 at 12:59 pm
Just an update – I found a stopping point, reheased it, and performed it at the party on Friday night…. Seems to have been hit with the crowd, of course, everyone was feelin’ no pain, so the reviews might have been a slight foggy….