[Wicked Deeds]

I think most of us would like to be able to play our chosen instrument better but are you happy with the level of songwriting that you have achieved? 

[mikek]

No I have much to improve upon compared to those I admire

[S.T.C]

Yes , i am happy with my lyric writing, but if i could play guitar better than i do , sing better than i do and play piano , i could express my ideas to a much higher degree, but i've spent enough time writing to say i think i have that side of things covered.

[boolio]

Hi,

Yep, I'd like to be a better guitarist... also I delete about 70/80 percent of my songs for all sorts of reasons but mainly because they don't survive my own 'red pen!' so "no!" I guess I'm not happy with my song writing!

Nevertheless, as much as sometimes I'd like to, I cannot seem to give up! Perhaps I'll 'get it right' one day?... Perhaps!  

Phil

[CaliaMoko]

I think there could be a difference between "happy" and "satisfied" when considering one's own songwriting. I am happy with my songwriting in general, though I am seldom 100% satisfied with how individual songs turn out. These days I like most of the songs I produce, and other people seem to like them, too, which is satisfying. So my final answer is "Yes!"

[PopTodd]

A: I want to be more-productive.
B: I would love to be able to make my compositions more harmonically complex.

[adamfarr]

"Increasingly" happy - what keeps me going is the idea that I am moving forward (from B to C is an achievement, never mind about getting to Z...)

[shadowfax]

Never!!absoloutly..Never!!!

[Viscount Cramer & His Orchestra]

Yes and no.

I'm happy with the dozen or so songs I've written since I started 3 years ago - currently remaking the older ones for a 'story so far' collection.

I'm also happy with the 4 or 5 that I'm working on now.

But I am also aware of the flaws and shortfalls - too long, not gripping enough etc etc
I like to think I'm quite self-critical. I don't just bash stuff out.

So, pleased, but always hoping for more.

How about you, Paul?

[hardtwistmusic]

NEVER:    I can't imagine being either "happy with" or "satisfied with" my current level of songwriting. 

Part of that is due to the fact that my current focus is taking old songs (of mine) and upgrading them to include new knowledge regarding musical theory (much of that new knowledge gained from this forum btw).   

Part of it is that (even though I'm consciously trying NOT to write - again due to the priority being to improve old songs) my older lyrics are often better received than my newest ones.  THAT is not what you aim at. 

Part of it is that I'm not a musician, and until/unless I can somehow get the time to learn to play SOMETHING, I won't really be (and should not be) taken seriously as a songwriter.

Part of it is a long standing belief that "satisfaction" is the enemy of motivation. 

But no, I am NEVER satisfied with where I am as a songwriter.  I hope I never reach a stage where I am. 

[tone]

Good question. I suppose the answer would be 'define happy' :p

Seriously though, there are some songs I'm quite pleased with, and others which - particularly as time passes - become hollow to me, and all I can see/ feel in them is how/ why/ where they don't work. Other songs I carry on liking for many years after writing, in spite of their imperfections.

So, in some ways, yes, I've got a few songs in my bag that I quite like, but I can still see much room for improvement and development. But isn't that the same for most people? I almost fear reaching a point where I feel I have songwriting 'nailed' because complacency is the enemy of progress and a critical aspect of the creative process: asking 'will it work better if I try it this way?'

I'd be interested to see how the answers to this thread would change if the question was 'are you unhappy with your songwriting'?

[Skub]

I suppose I don't really think of it in those terms. I'll be reasonably satisfied with any individual song before I'll inflict it on any ears other than my own,until that time it's still progressing to where I want it.

There have been songs I've written and been pleased with the result,yet others were not much impressed.On the other hand,there are songs I've though were pretty average and nothing special and some folk really connected.

I'd say as a song writer,I'm much too close to the songs to be truly objective.

[Bernd]

ABSOLUTELY

Would I write another song if I wasn't?

My performance - guitar playing and singing - and my productions may be lousy, yet that has nothing much to do with the songwriting 'behind'. In spite of this I actually do like most of my recordings. But I'm biased, of course. And I seem to hear my own stuff as it is intended, not as it sounds for everybody else ;-) Keeps me happy that way.

Have fun,
Bernd
(check out Rock Bernd if you're interested in my stuff - you need not like it)

[Buc McMaster]

I'd like to be more prolific, but yes, when I lay down the pencil for the last time, a lyric is the best it can possibly be and I am pleased with the effort.........otherwise the pencil is not relieved of duty. 

[mikek]

i could have misinterpreted the OP but i read it as "am i happy with my LEVEL of songwriting" which to me, means, the excellence of it... the quantifiable measure of goodness.  so for me, the answer is still no way.  got miles to go.

am i 'happy' about my songs ?  sometimes yes, i am pleased with how some of them have turned out.  and continuing to write does give me some joy, regardless of the level of quality or lack thereof that i have achieved.