Hi @ all

first of all i'd like to apologize for my lousy english
i'm from germany and ... yes^^ ...

Well,

I've got a couple of problems by writing my songs and maybe you can help me eradicate them.

My first problem:

If i write a song, i write rather always a very good vers, but then i've got no idea how to go on with the refrain

My second problem:

If I wrote a song, It pleases me..
but 1 or 2 days later i don't like it any more.
(Maybe because of my 1st problem )

My third problem:

If first of all i write the melody, then i can't find a suitable/good text,
if first of all i write the text, i can't find a suitable/good melody


These are me 3 main problems ..
I'm thankful for each answer..
maybe you've got also some other tips

and sorry for my spelling and grammar

thx =)

regards,

Christian

If you write words then try and keep a melody in mind while you do so

Hi Christian

First of all, welcome to the forum I think you'll discover a lot of talent and great advice here.

The problems you're having are common to all songwriters. The only difference I suspect is one of experience. If you don't like the songs you write after a couple of days, that's ok. Move on an write another song. It means you are paying attention to the quality of your songs, so it's a good thing. When it comes to lyrics, are you writing in English or German? If you're not writing in your native tongue, this would go some way to explaining it. Personally I find lyrics the hardest part of the process, and they can really make or break a song. Try to write honestly about your own experiences. I find this helps a lot.

As for finding the right chorus for your verse, it's not easy. If it doesn't come, it doesn't come. If you're looking for techniques, the chorus usually feels lifted compared to the verse, so more major chords and 4ths, 5ths etc might work.

Best of luck on your songwriting journey; I hope you share it with us.

It might not be what you want but having other people to collaborate with can bring out the best in your songwriting!

Hi Christian,

I think song writing is a craft and that we have to do loads of drafts of a song before you get something you're happy with. I often find that after a day or two that I don't like an idea I had or that I think it sounds rubbish the second time I listen to it but...

.. this is a good thing. It just means that you're listening to a song with fresh ears then you can make little corrections. Don't be afraid to make adjustments to parts you think can be improved. Move on to a different song or idea and after a few months you may come back to a song and find you have fresh ideas to make an old song better.

I recently finished a song that I wrote that I started 2 years ago. I just couldn't get the last verse right but it was a great feeling coing back to it and finishing it.

Its just a case of carrying on, writing more every day - you will get better and better.

I can sympathise with the liking a song and then going off it a day later issue.  I find that when writing I play a song over and over to the point where I am sick of it.  I just accept it as part and parcel of the process!

Hi All,
       I found reading poetry, and not a great deal of it, but the best of it, was very helpful in writing songs.   Songs, unlike poems, have to be singable unless they are raps.  But by reading poems you can begin to form some ideas about how to put novel words together.  It is equally, a very good idea to study song lyrics; to print them out and scrutinise them. 

I didn't write a single complete song until I was 40.  At that time I finished one I'd begun at the age of 9.  It's a lyric for Cavatina, called, like Cleo Laine's lyric She Was Beautiful but I rewrote all of the words after a girlfriend of mine died and I finished what I had started 31 years earlier.   After then, I began to write another song called Maria in Wonderland, about an infant sweetheart and a teenage one; in fact both girls were teenagers at the respective times and lookalikes.  It took me 6yrs to finish the song and about 500hrs work.  An insane amount of work you may say, but what would you rather have, a beautiful song or a phD.  I'd rather have a song.   Initially, I can be frank and say that this song was awful but I stuck with it.  After this I began writing more songs, and now I've done about 25 of them, and most take less than 30 minutes to do.  I think it's obvious that this skill is not an inborn thing; it emerges after a great deal of extreme perseverance.   I find melodies far easier than words; give me words and I'll give you a melody in 5 minutes; that much I picked up from listening to songs on the radio and playing a bit of piano.   But there are far more constraints on words that melodies.   So perseverance is the key, and very hard work in the face of almost insurmountable doubts and fears of failure.   People who think that becoming a songwriter will take a few weeks work over a year or two are mistaken.  Unless you study and scrutinise excellent poetic and musical material you have no way to develop.  Many contemporary songs are so banal and dull that they represent very weak material upon which to base a study of songwriting.  I find the songs of the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's far more stimulating and far more difficult to emulate.   They are the gold standard though.   

Writer's block is always a potential problem.   The answer is not to force yourself to write when you aren't in the mindset, but to read some poetry and some stories or do some daydreaming.   

In summary, all I am saying is that hard work is rewarded, but the effort I invested in even one song, at least when I started doing this, would be considered insane by most people.  And I know I'm not the only one who's struggle that hard with this. 

Paul 

Can I just say hi all!

I often found I write better songs when I had pictures or concepts in mind, almost to the point of soundtracking them. Providing other mediums like pictures and words (but not necessarily including them) to your music can add to the inspiration. What I like to do is think of a concept or a word, search images on Google Search or  www.deviantart.com (DeviantArt has some awesome stuff by the way) and I'd write music to it. Whether that be evoking it, or imagining the scene in the picture with a soundtrack over it.

It's funny, but I find the best songs are often the most spontaneous. Like when I find a concept and immediatelly a tune plays in my head. I mean I've had problems when I get a cool melody down then I end up stuck and the longer I try and work on jumping that hurdle the worse the song becomes. I say just play on inspiration. It's one thing to write something that "sounds good" but I find it easier to "attach" the song to something.  

I'm OK with song structures and although I'm not really into the tuition side of things, I had a couple of discounted lessons in London off this website if it's of any interest to you. So I do approach it with a small percentage of structure, but it's really down to feel in the end.