Although I was away from the Internet for a while and didn't participate much back in week 44, I did make some notes almost every day. Then week 45 came and I had so many ideas rattling around that I felt scattered. I had written lyrics and snatches of lyrics mostly about people I know. The tune ideas didn't come so easily and recording them meant getting out my Zoom H2. Yeah, I don't have a good way to record on the go. If I could ever finish all of those songs, it would be an interesting collection.
So now I'm trying to settle down and just work on one thing until it's "done." I don't know whether coming up with so many ideas has been good for me.
Renee
So now I'm trying to settle down and just work on one thing until it's "done." I don't know whether coming up with so many ideas has been good for me.
That's a tough question to answer, isn't it? I never have any trouble coming up with ideas, and am not usually very far from an instrument. So keeping notes never seems necessary. But the real challenge for me is to stay focused on a single song long enough to get a finished result that I'm happy with. The main difficulty is that I don't have all of the required skills yet, so that's always likely to fall a bit short anyway. I image we all face similar problems, so I wonder how we all deal with it?
I do aim to take a song as far as having a reasonably solid idea of what the lyrics are trying to say, plus at least getting some sort of musical structure in place - a rhythm, style, chord progression, melody etc. And I try and remember to write it all down so that I have some chance of being able to progress it further - when and if my skills do improve. In theory I do that.... :wink:
What actually happens though is all a bit scruffy and erratic. I do have some songs that have gone a long way to being complete, but just need a better job of performing and recording. But I also have a big pile of potentially usable but still unfinished lyrics, often from SSG assignments that I ran out of time to finish or even post. A week is very rarely enough time for me to get the whole job done. so perhaps I should aim for one a month or something? But there always the attraction of the new week's challenge... :)
How do you cope with all that, Renee? Your idea of "trying to settle down and just work on one thing until it's 'done'." sounds good to me. So it will be interesting to hear how that goes for you. Do you have a fair pile of "To Finish Later" material now? I know I do... :roll:
Cheers,
Chris
Then week 45 came and I had so many ideas rattling around that I felt scattered.The main difficulty is that I don't have all of the required skills yet, so that's always likely to fall a bit short anyway. I image we all face similar problems, so I wonder how we all deal with it?
Hi Renee and Chris,
I see these two comments as related. While it was good to try writing or generating ideas everyday for a week or two, I think long term there needs to be a balance of input and output......So I go more with the mind set of doing something with music everyday, but I mix it up so hopefully I can keep a steady stream of learning and experimenting. I don't do so well with the direct read a chapter and do this exercise. I read and sinks in for a while then resurfaces as ideas to try later.
However, there is a school of thought about "Morning papers" or "Object Writing" or "Daily Writing Assignments" that is supposed to pay off by being consistent and just "showing up" everyday. I haven't been good with this because I put too many expectations on the "free writing" time.....I keep expecting each "free write" to be made into a song.....but this is not the right attitude....I am still struggling to find the right motivation to do daily writing as I see it suggested often in what I read.
James
I do something musical almost every day. Between playing guitar and mando and singing in a chorus and a quartet, I always have something to play and/or practice. I suppose if I were really serious about songwriting, I would become disciplined enough to do something with that every day. But for me it's a hobby and I'm doing it for fun. Keeping the notebook is a good idea. I'm just not likely to put something in it consistently.
Renee
To answer a previous question, yes I do have a pile of things to work on later. Some of the songs that I've recently finished go back years. But I have one completed song that I wrote almost entirely, music and lyrics, in one sitting.
The song that I wrote for Week 46 was obviously done rather quickly. For now, it's kind of rough and I should really record it again with better playing and singing. Unfortunately, family and other obligations are getting in the way. Here it is:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=832466&songID=11050399
Renee
