[shadowfax]

I usually work out an almost finished backing track with no idea what the songs gonna be but i reckon there's a tune in there somewhere, then..if after a few days I'm not hearing anything that I think is any good (after multiple takes of warious try out tunes and lyrics on the mic) I dump the project and move on...when do you guy's decide enoughs enough and dump the song?

[Bankie]

I usually know during the first session if something is going to work or not. Then I review it with fresh ears the next day before dumping it. If something's worth continued work, I know very quickly. I usually have about 10 to 15 working ideas which fail for each idea which seems to work. At the moment, I have 3 or 4 active tracks that will probably be completed at some point, one of which is pretty much definite as I'm just waiting for a vocalist to do their bit.

Kind of interested in others' success:failure ratio.

[pompeyjazz]

Interesting thread - Sometimes I just know.... Sometimes I persevere and might try something like a different tempo or drum / bass pattern. The occasional stinker gets binned but they have been known to make a comeback and sometimes a different set of ears on the ideas can drag the idea out of the dirt. I was working on a Motown thingy just recently and it drove me absolutely frigging mad !!! It's in the bin... At the moment

[Kafla]

If I write sitting at guitar / piano I tend to finish / develop nearly everything. I can’t just write when I feel like it. I need to work almost subconsciously. I also seem to finish these songs very , very quick but take time to redraft lyrics and work on the arrangement.

If I write within Logic I probably finish about 1 in 10. I have a lot of songs fully arranged and produced with a loose melody but the lyrics never come. I revisit then every now and then and still can’t write. It’s frustrating as hell lol 

[MichaelA]

Funny this, as I’ve started one currently where I can’t make the effective M8 land in a sweet spot to introduce the final chorus. Another one happening simultaneously has a half decent backing track, but poor topline. With that one I’m going to change the key, as it sometimes helps me imagine more melody possibilities within my limited vocal range.

So yeah, I usually have a live project and another couple on the cusp of being binned. I don’t get precious about songs that don’t work out though and eventually bin them ruthlessly. It’s not usual for songs that I have to really sweat over to be my best. The best ones are more likely to be written quickly, music wise, as all the bits just join together so much more easily.

Interesting @pompeyjazz that you say a Motown number is driving you mad. I’ve also looked in that direction, but looks tricky indeed!

[Skub]

I'm probably in the odd minority,but if it's my songs,I seldom work on more than one thing at a time and I bash it until I get some kind of a result. I don't think I have ever had an unfinished track,just some projects take more time to finish than others. I do have plenty of tracks sitting on 'private' though,so maybe that's a thing.

Having said that,I had one going a couple of weeks ago,then I realised I had plagiarised one of my own songs and the whole structure was too close to ever hide the fact,so for the first time I binned the lot! The damn thing was nearly finished. 

Maybe I'm not as picky as some,but there is very little that can't be salvaged in some way,it's just some will be better songs than others.

[pompeyjazz]

Maybe some of those dumped tracks might benefit from the input of others ? I’m quite happy to have a crack at an unwanted track or two and would quite willingly donate my Motown Nightmare for dissemination 

[shadowfax]

It's intersting the way we all work differently to achieve the same result..a song as i said earlier i always have an almost complete backing track before I even start a melody or lyrics so things start to occur to me as it progresses but, after maybe a week of painstaking work I just dump..and I mean delete the whole thing never to be seen again,
and start again on another track, I have a track now..I can sing various different melodies on it with various different lyrics but none seem to cut it for me, so will be dumping it today...

best, Kevin

[Skub]

It's intersting the way we all work differently to achieve the same result..a song as i said earlier i always have an almost complete backing track before I even start a melody or lyrics so things start to occur to me as it progresses but, after maybe a week of painstaking work I just dump..and I mean delete the whole thing never to be seen again,
and start again on another track, I have a track now..I can sing various different melodies on it with various different lyrics but none seem to cut it for me, so will be dumping it today...

best, Kevin

I'll take one of your dumped songs Kev,you never know what could emerge when you let go. Nothing to lose man.

[PaulAds]

I think I once suggested a sort of “frankensteins laboratory” section of the forum to @Boydie a while ago…where members could place songs that they weren’t sure about using…and putting them up for anyone else to work with or collaborate on…might be worth a thought?

[shadowfax]

Interesting thought @PaulAds, a problem may be that we all work with different DAW's..

[Bankie]

@PaulAds I think it's a good idea. @shadowfax - I don't think the suggestion is that we would place project files; I agree with you that it couldn't work. Not just because of the DAW, but because we all use different soft synths and plug-ins. The way I would see it working is (for example) to create hidden tracks on Soundcloud with a very rough mix, and post the link in the forum post. The post could also contain helpful starter info, such as chords or plug-in information (e.g. if you used EZ Drummer, you could specify the grooves you used). I have lots of stuff which is maybe just a few bars long, and would likely chain these together into the one track. Someone might then find something in there to inspire further development, but they would be building their own track by themselves.

[pompeyjazz]

Pretty easy to do really - Just load all your individual stems into a shared drive - Give whoever is working on it the BPM and they can use / discard what they want - Maybe they just want to use the drum or bass track or a synth track. It's a starting point to play with some discarded music. I've worked in this way loads of times

[Skub]

Interesting thought @PaulAds, a problem may be that we all work with different DAW's..

It wouldn't matter Kev,as John says it's just a matter of uploading the stems to the likes of Dropbox and making them available for whoever. All the DAWs will recognise mp3 or wav etc.

[CorkingCrackBand]

A really interesting read so far.

  I’ve had songs ‘sitting around’ for ages that I complete eventually but generally things get done quite quickly. When I’m in full production mode I’ll go from no song to complete in 1-2 sessions. Sadly I’m drifting out of that overdrive now I’ve nearly completed the current album and so it’s slowing down which makes it harder to know if something is working. I have the idea but the path to a finished songs seems long and hard.
  I think confidence and determination are big parts of actually deciding if ‘there’s something worth pursuing or not’. I’ve certainly ditched better ideas than some of my finished songs just because I couldn’t motivate myself. I don’t often out right give up on an idea. It just sits untouched. Sometimes I’ll revisit them and suddenly you’ll see it’s got the perfect rhythm for the middle 8 in the current track or whatever.
  I probably finish 2/3 songs I start and the ones I drop are usually just recorded jam/idea sessions that I’m too scared to ditch in case they’re worth a fortune when I become super famous*…

*let me believe.