Kickstarting yourself, deadlines, etc.

[Phait]

So I've been writing bits and pieces on guitar that I can explore and grow into songs. I've written 22 lyrics and narrowed them down to 13 for an album. Some may go under a little revision/tuning, but for the most part they're done.

 

I'm not in a band, complete solo effort working with soft-synths and guitars. As it is, I don't know anyone who I can get to keep me in line and productive. Self imposed deadlines are meaningless, I don't have that great of self discipline. Then again, while there's no real rush to get this done - I don't want to take forever either. I'm quite motivated and have ideas and songs running through my head everyday, I guess I am just overwhelmed.

 

Part of the process has been simplified by writing entirely on guitar. These pieces can be put to keyboards if I want them to - but the beauty is, if I ever perform live, they have a life of their own on guitar. My main goal is to get 3 songs completely done, or at demo form - then start pushing the album promotion while I finish the rest. I'm not looking for big time here, or getting signed (my home studio is sufficient enough for what I want to do, and I pretty much am my own label with the 'web these days).

 

I definitely have a certain way to go about things, but I guess I am overwhelmed by the sheer possibilities that creativity and imagination offer, so it's hard to sit down and start. So, I was curious your thoughts/suggestions. A little context, I've been at this 6 years already and seems like every other year I wanted to get an album done. But I can tell you I have found a good groove with my writing technique finally, and likewise I'm more passionate about getting it done. I guess the first step is the biggest hurdle.

[blue2blue]

Hey, Phait!

 

Good to see you back around.

 

Small bites, evenly spaced, chew thoroughly, swallow when done. Then cut off another small bite.

 

Sounds like you're already leaning in that direction by restricting your writing (for now) to the guitar.

 

Watch out for biting off more than you can chew -- or that you'll be chewing so long the fun goes out of it.

 

I've seen a lot of folks get feature crawl (not to switch up metaphors on you) in a project... adding more and more or trying to refine more and more so that the project either starts collapsing of its own weight -- or has the life refined out of it.

 

Deadlines might not be the way for you to go, but some form of ordered discipline might be. A lot of writers (and you can look at recording as an extension of the writing, of course) make a regular time when they sit down and write, edit, or otherwise work on their craft. That can be a good habit to get into for many.

 

It seems to me the most important thing is to keep you goals modest and attainable and to move deliberately through them.

 

Hope to see more of you here in the songwriting forum as your broader project progresses. We've watched a few very nice albums growing from our vantage point here...

 

[eeglug]

The writing part is all about being in your head. Everything is possible and infinite and fanciful in your head. Production is about translating what's in your head into the physical and affixing it to a medium, whether it's magnetic tape or sectors of a hard drive. Production and writing are like two separate muscles and you have to switch modes and exercise each. Production can be difficult because you are then forced to commit to decisions with the possibility of failure. But you can only avoid failure through practice and the errors you learn from along the way.

 

You can dream up ideas all day long and think they're great or lousy or whatever but you will have no product to show for it if it's stuck in your head and you have nothing to hand to the audience and say "try listening to this".

 

If this sounds a little harsh it's because I'm writing this to kickstart myself.

[rsadasiv]

 

The writing part is all about being in your head. Everything is possible and infinite and fanciful in your head. Production is about translating what's in your head into the physical and affixing it to a medium, whether it's magnetic tape or sectors of a hard drive. Production and writing are like two separate muscles and you have to switch modes and exercise each.

 

 

I think this is a false dichotomy, in the same way that splitting writing and performance is a false dichotomy. It's all part of the same creative and expressive impulse. I don't really know what's in my head until I get it down on disk, and what I can get down on disk is the basis for what goes on in my head.

 

To the OP - the glib answer is the Nike slogan: "Just Do It". Slightly more constructively, the monthly Songwriting Challenge is set up to try and give people a little motivation in the form of a monthly deadline.

 

Good luck.

[Taylor Davis]

The way i do it is this way.

1)get an idea

 

2)write lyrics or compose an arrangement, either way is fine.

 

3)decide what GENRE you wish to employ: blues, rock, country, jazz, reggae/ska,surf,ect...

 

4)record your song

 

(i always begin with a main rythym and add a vocal to HEAR how it sounds then edit lyrics as needed. then add bass lines and second/third guitar parts, keys and finally, harmonies for the vocals.

 

some folkes do it different and any way is fine if it works for you.

 

the main thing is TO BEGIN. don't stop until it's done.

sometimes it takes me days and days.

sometimes it all comes together in hours.

 

try to keep from being discouraged by the brain work and listen to the ART involved.

 

keep em short(under two minutes) and maybe flesh em oot with lead runs and the like.

 

I get ideas from known songs and sometimes I'll just stea, uh BORROW an arrangement for an idea. like useing a known twelve bar blues progression and changeing the key.

goode luck and I hope this helps.

thanks for lettin me share

TD

[eeglug]

 

I think this is a false dichotomy, in the same way that splitting writing and performance is a false dichotomy. It's all part of the same creative and expressive impulse. I don't really know what's in my head until I get it down on disk, and what I can get down on disk is the basis for what goes on in my head.

 

 

I can understand what you're saying but I still stand by my remarks. You and I work differently and I was making the assumption the OP might be working in a way similar to mine.

 

I tend to map things out in my head at the time of writing. I execute later, sometimes months later. It's true that some creative improv occurs at while tracking/mixing - I don't exactly write out every note I'm going to play - but for the most part my original idea is borne out in the end result. It's similar to how Hitchcock claimed to work...he said that once he had completed a storyboard the movie was 'done' in his mind and he disparagingly referred to the rest of the filmmaking process as just execution.

 

You (Ram) meld creation and execution into one and play them off of each other. Lots of artists do it that way and it works for them and they/you achieve great results.

 

I feel palpably different when I'm recording vs when I'm writing. I don't know how to describe it. It's actually a source anxiety for me...because when I'm busy recording, the part of me that writes lies dormant. And I get (unreasonably?) superstitious that the creative part is shut off for good if I don't get back to writing as soon as possible. It could be that when I'm writing I'm thinking in a very big picture/structural way that isn't engaged when I'm just tracking a bass part or doing a guitar solo. There's very little creativity going on in my brain when I track a rhythm guitar part.

[Phait]

Hey guys, appreciate the input. Read through but will have to read more thoroughly tomorrow. I've been looking at the remainder of this month to get something/I] done - at least 1 song, maybe 2. Just something to get it going.

[bostonwal]

Realize that the intial writing of a song is the most thrillng part - when the inspiration is there, etc. FINISHING a song - well that's a different story. There's a lot of tedious tasks between the inspiring moment of getting the overall song down and actually turning that into a well-recorded piece. At some point you have to say "Ok, no more new songs. Must... finish... songs in progress."

[Dave Keir]

All of the above.

 

Yes, small steps, discipline and and flexibility to adjust your plan. But a core plan is very useful. I even use a project planning software two break tasks down and order timeline them. But the biggest challenge is..

 

The Dip.

 

This is the time when self-doubt, tiredness, boredom, and frustration combine to cause pessimism to undermine all your efforts. The only recourse under this circumsance is an acknowledgent that this "dip" is inevitable and will pass. It's the best time to take a break, have a vacation, do something else for a spell and come back reinvigourated. Or just press on in grim determination in the knowledge that despite how you feel, you're still on course.

 

My current CD is at the replicator. Almost on plan and on budget.

 

The next project has been scoped, planned and budgeted and is well underway.

 

And yes, that old moto: the journey is more important than the destination.