The Songwriter Forum - songwriting reviews, tips and chat
Songwriter Forum => The Writing Process => Topic started by: Kafla on May 29, 2011, 03:44:29 PM
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Just wondering, I sometimes finish songs I am unsure of , they go either way
Sometimes people hate the songs I like and vice versa
I try and progress an idea just incase further down the line I can steal a verse or chorus or lyric
I have finished a few shit songs in my time! Ha ha
Some on here!
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Occasionally I'll finish a song that I'm unsure about, but on the whole if I'm unsure, I find it really hard to write lyrics. So the song un-finishes itself! And for me, the whole point of songwriting is for my own enjoyment, so it's a bit self defeating to finish a second-rate song.
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I dunno, when I write a song I write what I want to hear, so at first I think its great, but then sometime after when recording I usually doubt it and think they are complete shit. This can be because I hear my favourite bands and lose heart in the face of such great music, or simply because Ive heard my own shit so much when recording and writing I am bored of it. But then I start to like them again when I post them online and get either approval on forums or lots of plays/downloads and comments from fans. But then I start to get bored of them again...
So in that sense, every song I write im unsure of...but it comes in cycles
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I know what you mean Tone, I never finish songlyrics if I dont get the song, I dont think I explained my question very well. There have been a number of songs that just haven't been working for me then one day it all falls into place. Heartbeats that I posted was like that, had the verse structure and programming for ages and was nearly ready to bin it but then I removed a few parts and the chorus and middle 8 practically wrote itself.
I am scared to give up on anything just in case.
Ramshackles - Jesus man thats exactly what I go through every time!
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I think it is important to have high expectation for every song we write. Unless you try to write 10 songs a day and trash what you don't like, a good idea that you care for should ultimately give you a good song to brag about.
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I can't remember who said this but, I quote "Art is never finished, only abandoned."
It seems to be the self critic in me that says that a song always just needs a little something else because it's not quite right yet. :-\
As I'm not a good technical player I do try to get the mood of the song over but there's always a niggle at the back of my mind.
Sometimes you just have to persevere but occasionally an idea just has to be abandoned...........for the time being. ;)
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I never finish any songs !
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simply because Ive heard my own shit so much when recording and writing I am bored of it.
This is me all over!
I also tend to abandon songs because it's difficult for me to finish anything so I tend to think that my energies will be better spent on something else (until I get bored of that!)
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Yeah I sometimes have the case where I thought up some really good riffs and then just spent ages and ages trying to meld the rest together. I listen back to it thinking, yeah this is good, this is good then suddenly meh. I feel like I have this problem where the longer I spend on a song, the worse it sounds.
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Hi, Yes this is the way of improvising and getting better I suppose. I've made alot of tunes I haven't finished and to be honest I'm never 100% happy with any track I make so I keep going !
http://sammydaddyx.com/
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You just have to finish off the song and get it out of your system, especially in the early days.
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You just have to finish off the song and get it out of your system, especially in the early days.
That's true for me in some cases. Otherwise I end up getting desensitised and get fed up with it.
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It's the opposite for me lol.
Most of mine remain unfinished even the ones I love.
I get sidetracked by a new idea. Every time. lol
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I agree with a lot of the comments made by Ramshackles. When I am writing a song that I believe has potential I tend to work on it for long periods of time. I will write a verse and keep playing it until I come up with a bridge that works and then a chorus. Even then I will continue playing it over and over again to come up with harmonies etc. If you consider that any song you listen to over and over again will eventually lose it's shine, the actual writing process has the same effect and makes you question the quality of your song after a few weeks. One of the best ways to asses your songs is to walk away and listen to them a few weeks later. That way you almost get the same perspective as that of a first time listener.
In terms of finishing a song, I very rarely do. I will only write lyrics to a song if I were to record it in a studio. I have hundreds of songs finished in terms of melody and structure. Most will never see the light of day and are just a means to an end in terms of experience and improvement. Others will subconsciously form part of other songs in future. Most successful songwriters will admit that this patch work effect It is not often a full song will be created in an instant but often the listener will think it has. Often a songwriter will keep up a pretence to maintain a sense of mistique to sell records.
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I have a folder titled "Work in Progress" which contains about 70 or so incomplete songs that I delve into on a regular basis.
I write words and music simultaneously so my reasons for this are twofold. One is so that I don't forget the melody line of a song I have in progress as I have done this once or twice.
And secondly, of course, to see if I can complete one of them. I used to get annoyed and frustrated, when I first started writing, that I couldn't complete a particular song and would stick with it til it was done.
I usually ended up with a crap song that way because I'd forced myself to write it rather than waited til I'd actually come up with good ideas.
Now I'm happy to put them on one side and work on something esle. I recently completed a song called Cry Out Loud that I started writing in 1999 and never thought much about. Then one day I played about with it and bingo, the idea for the chorus came to me and it all fell into place!
I also find though that my idea of my best work is rarely anybody elses. I guess my own favourites tend to be the ones that say something personal. And some I've considered mundane and workmanlike have become favourites of other listeners.
Which is why a forum like this is important to give a writer an objective opinion of material posted here.
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I think it's important to finish a song since it isn't a song until it's finished. Putting off finishing songs is a bad habit to get into.
This isn't to say that I never abandon ideas that lead me into a cul-de-sac but I think if I've got a verse and chorus it's important to finish it. I find that this helps me write better songs because I feel it refines my songwriting process and, like other posters have already said, it's worth while even if you only get one good line or a little thing that you can use later.
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Although I'm getting on a bit I'm actually fairly new to songwriting and tend to have to get the whole of an idea recorded in one session before I lose interest or come up with something else, get distracted and move on. I haven't yet gone back to a song and reworked it with any success which is why most of my stuff is based on very simple chord progressions. I'm also not a very competent musician and get frustrated that I can't come up with the killer solo or kick ass drum groove for a track.
I've got massess of ideas scribbled down on bits of paper or recorded on my smartphone that have yet to make it into any structured song.
I also hate to listen to my own stuff when it's recorded, although I've been in a band for a few years now and am gradually improving my vocals.
If only I had the time and money to sit in a studio with a bunch of session musicians!!
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I get sidetracked by a new idea. Every time. lol
Bahaha I know exactly what you are saying man.
I usually have defferent phases of liking and not being sure of what I'm working on. But I've been getting better at finishing it anyway. I realize that the phases are created by my general mood.
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When it comes to finishing songs, if I'm at all unsure, or stuck on the song, I make sure the finish it even if prematurely. That way, my brain can relax and either:
i) work on something new
ii) re-finish the song later on
Either way, if you finish your songs, you can relax about it and not have to worry about incomplete songs.
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I think the best habit to be in is to finish all songs that you start. That way you get a feel for when a song is finished. The less songs you finish, the less you know how to finish a song. If you only want to work on a certain aspect of a song, say verse melodies for example, it is best to know from the outset that that is your goal. That way there is no pressure to finish the song.
Rick
http://soundcloud.com/red-planet
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I write all of my stuff on an acoustic guitar and provided I can get as far as a verse and chorus melody line I'll almost always commit and finish it. I try to only work on one song at a time because I find that approach to be more conducive to actually finishing anything. That said I then try to take time over the lyrics. I'll record a scratch take with me burbling all manner of nonsensical shit just to get the melody down against the chords. However, quite often finished songs don't work when they're tackled by the band. We don't labour too hard at making those songs work. Either it's there or it's not. The songs that don't work with the band just get played by me acoustically.
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I used to start up 20 projects at once, leave them all after getting like 1/3 done and then mash the good pieces together in one single song but it don't work. Well it did work cause I was in prog bands back then and doing 20 riffs in one song worked but it doesn't now. So now I just leave it if it don't feel right from the beginning.