I can't usually write when I'm happy

[Jesse G]

I think that there is a certain aesthetic beauty in negative feelings like sorrow, loneliness and despair, that we are attracted to. When we're heartbroken, I think we dwell on it because we're attracted to the beauty of it all, despite the hurt.

 

When these vibes are channeled into art, we're fascinated and captivated.

[Ernest Buckley]

I'm in agreement with Rudolf and halfnote. Phait, you're glamorizing the craft. I'm sure you wrote stuff you love when you were unhappy. So you mistake that fact for a trait of yours. And that appeals to your sense of how you see artists and yourself. But it is only true because the following statement is true. "I can only write when I'm unhappy because I haven't spent enough time learning the craft and I erroneously believe I have to wait to be inspired." But the fact is, as halfnote (and even Taylor Davis taking a breather from his persona) so eloquently said. You've got to work you ass off to know what you're doing. When you start knowing what you're doing, you know what to do to get what you want. Kinda simple. Not very glamorous.

 

I agree Lee but I think in Phaits case you have someone who has not written that many completed songs, so he doesn`t really have that "knack" yet. I apologize Phait if I`m wrong. With all due respect, you probably have several notebooks full of lyrics that you think are crap. Truth is, most of it is crap. I too have about a dozen of those books lying around. So I can talk from personal experience here.

 

What you need to do is take out your guitar or piano, whatever your comfortable with and go through those books, just flipping through pages of ideas and see if anything sparks. I do this sometimes and it works.

 

After you write around 20-30 complete songs, songs you are confident enough to play to people, you start to understand what works for you and at that point you can write a song in a few hours.

 

To me, the greatest myth about songwriting is that good songs are written in minutes because they were somehow channeled from somewhere. Most of my songs come from breaking my back writing, re-writing, editing, tweaking, etc... it can be misery in and of itself.

[Ernest Buckley]

 

I think that there is a certain aesthetic beauty in negative feelings like sorrow, loneliness and despair, that we are attracted to. When we're heartbroken, I think we dwell on it because we're attracted to the beauty of it all, despite the hurt. When these vibes are channeled into art, we're fascinated and captivated.

 

 

I agree. Some of the most heart wrenching songs ever written have gotten me through some tough spots. The beauty of recorded music is that we can find comfort in someone elses expression of sadness and misery. Knowing someone has felt the same emotions as us brings tremendous comfort and we know we are not alone. For years after my nonna death, Eric Claptons song "Tears In Heaven" gave me tremendous comfort. Even though he wrote the song to his son, you can feel that heartache in his voice and it resonated with my own sadness. So in many ways, his sons death allowed many to live again through the power of a song. Thats beautiful.

[elsongs]

Ok, sometimes I can , but lately I can't. Want to write a song for my girl, and yet it worries me I haven't even written a poem in 6 months of knowing her. That's not like me -- I usually have something I want to write and can get on paper. Maybe I'm really a robot Anyway, been strumming around on the acoustic but alas, nothing. Dry spell, or have I lost touch with feelings? I once wrote a lot about a girl I had an unrequited love with, couple years ago. I'd written when I was infatuated, smitten, down or in love but not in a relationship with said person. Now that I'm in a relationship it's like the doors are sealed closed. How I could write so much about someone I loved but wasn't with... and now, can't write {censored} about someone I love and am with ... baffles me.

 

I've discovered it's not your actual emotional state that spurns creativity, it's the change of state. If you are saddened by something, and then become creative, it's not because you are sad, it's because your emotional state has changed. You're not productive now because your emotional state has reached a plateau. Make a move, do something different, change the game, whatever, and whether or not you are happier, your emotional state will change and you'll be inspired to create something...

[Phait]

I agree Lee but I think in Phaits case you have someone who has not written that many completed songs, so he doesn`t really have that "knack" yet.

 

This is true.

 

I apologize Phait if I`m wrong. With all due respect, you probably have several notebooks full of lyrics that you think are crap. Truth is, most of it is crap. I too have about a dozen of those books lying around. So I can talk from personal experience here.

 

Well honestly I keep the stuff I like and discard the rest, which is rare. I don't let myself finish writing something unless I'm happy with where it's going. Else it all gets crossed out.

 

What you need to do is take out your guitar or piano, whatever your comfortable with and go through those books, just flipping through pages of ideas and see if anything sparks. I do this sometimes and it works.

 

This is good advice if you're trying to write something topical to what you're flipping through, but that's not the case here. Most of my writing purges negative stuff, and I'll be surprised if I can pull a melody concerning the opposite end of the spectrum from that.

 

To me, the greatest myth about songwriting is that good songs are written in minutes because they were somehow channeled from somewhere. Most of my songs come from breaking my back writing, re-writing, editing, tweaking, etc... it can be misery in and of itself.

 

I agree.

 

But yes as I said earlier I have developed a few melodies to work with, but the lyrics haven't quite come yet.

[Phait]

Well 1 song written recorded and just finished a set of lyrics...

 

What'd it take?

 

It took us on the brink of a breakup, me making things bigger than they need to be, her feeling guilty, me trying to convince her she does deserve me and that i'm not going anywhere...

 

Just needed a little drama

[lsits]

 

Ya gotta suffer man. Musicians suffer, always have, always will.

 

Wouldn't it be easier to just move to Detroit?

[Ernest Buckley]

Not that I`m into quoting myself but I predicted this a while back...

 

don`t worry about it, every relationship is doomed to failure or loss... its life.

 

Great songs are in your future.

 

Hey Phait, Yeah I know the feeling. My most productive writing comes after major setbacks or times when I`m down. After my band broke up, I wrote, after 9.11, I wrote and after losing a good friend, I wrote. Sorrow needs an outlet... The good news is that eventually your relationship with your woman will get come down to earth... they always do. Then you`ll have something to write about. I`m not trying to be a jerk but everyone knows in the that first year or so of being in love, everything is completely awesome and then something happens. Its just the element of being human so you have something to look forward to in your writing... lousy times ahead!

[Krypter]

y'know i had this problem some time back. Me and my girl have been together for about 6 years now. Lots of ups and downs but we always managed to get through it all.

Either way, sometime back i noticed i wasn't writing either. I used to be able to write brilliant sad melodies. Lyrics too. I used to sit and just play a short series of notes and really get IN to them Let it wash over me.

 

After being with my girl for some time, i had realized i couldn't do that any more. Sure...i'd sit down and run scales, or practice riffs, but i could never just sit there and let it all take me away. This bothered me. Its like i just couldn't access that part of my brain (or heart, soul whatever) since i was actually having a rather happy life. This realization, of course, made me angry. Upon realizng i was angry about feeling blocked off from my writing ability i got happy because i figured the anger would trigger some writing......you can see the pandoras box unfold.

 

Anyhow, someone asked my why i only liked to write sad tunes. And why i needed to be sad to write stuff. I thought about it, and could only figure that when i discovered music in my early teens (like, REALLY discovered it) i found music as a crutch during amazingly emotionally streesful point in life. (divorce, custody court battles, puberty, death, and another divorce all in the span of 2 years) Add to tht the general hell of being a skinny comic book nerd in junior high and the hell the kids could wreak upon a guy and music became my only salvation. Hence, i suppose i thought that was the only music i could write. So, i only wrote best when i was put in "sad" situations.

 

But moving on....

About a year ago i had a break through. I'm still with my girl, and things have calmed down to a nice even flow on that front. My life, for the first time, is relatively stable, and i'm relatively happy most of the time. And I'm writing some great stuff!

How? Well, in the past few years i shifted myself from music being an emotional escape, to an imagination escape. I did this because the other thing i love ALMOST as much as music is comic books and sci-fi. I LOVE THAT STUFF. So i set forth to write stuff that allowed my imagination, rather than my heart, to escape and travel to where ever. Sure, its not super depressing slow doom or touching melodies like when i'm sad....but it IS atmospheric and progressive and out of the ordinary and far more interesting (to me). Our latest song "the Glass Children" i attempted to write what it must feel like to find yourself on an alien craft, only to escape to find you are one of teh last humans ever (slow day at work and i listened to Hitchhikers Guide)

So i focused on THAT emotion, and allowed my imagination to write this story in stead of my heart. Turns out the guys really like it (in the band) and it's showing a whole new side of us.

 

Moral is, don't pigeon hole your love for music into one box. Look for other sources of emotion, and use it to unlock your imagination.

Also, as an aside, sometimes when i'm stuck writing i just try to make cool sounds or find new tones. Gives my mind a new focus, and can sometimes release some new ideas.

[Ernest Buckley]

y'know i had this problem some time back. Me and my girl have been together for about 6 years now. Lots of ups and downs but we always managed to get through it all. Either way, sometime back i noticed i wasn't writing either. I used to be able to write brilliant sad melodies. Lyrics too. I used to sit and just play a short series of notes and really get IN to them Let it wash over me. After being with my girl for some time, i had realized i couldn't do that any more. Sure...i'd sit down and run scales, or practice riffs, but i could never just sit there and let it all take me away. This bothered me. Its like i just couldn't access that part of my brain (or heart, soul whatever) since i was actually having a rather happy life. This realization, of course, made me angry. Upon realizng i was angry about feeling blocked off from my writing ability i got happy because i figured the anger would trigger some writing......you can see the pandoras box unfold. Anyhow, someone asked my why i only liked to write sad tunes. And why i needed to be sad to write stuff. I thought about it, and could only figure that when i discovered music in my early teens (like, REALLY discovered it) i found music as a crutch during amazingly emotionally streesful point in life. (divorce, custody court battles, puberty, death, and another divorce all in the span of 2 years) Add to tht the general hell of being a skinny comic book nerd in junior high and the hell the kids could wreak upon a guy and music became my only salvation. Hence, i suppose i thought that was the only music i could write. So, i only wrote best when i was put in "sad" situations. But moving on.... About a year ago i had a break through. I'm still with my girl, and things have calmed down to a nice even flow on that front. My life, for the first time, is relatively stable, and i'm relatively happy most of the time. And I'm writing some great stuff! How? Well, in the past few years i shifted myself from music being an emotional escape, to an imagination escape. I did this because the other thing i love ALMOST as much as music is comic books and sci-fi. I LOVE THAT STUFF. So i set forth to write stuff that allowed my imagination, rather than my heart, to escape and travel to where ever. Sure, its not super depressing slow doom or touching melodies like when i'm sad....but it IS atmospheric and progressive and out of the ordinary and far more interesting (to me). Our latest song "the Glass Children" i attempted to write what it must feel like to find yourself on an alien craft, only to escape to find you are one of teh last humans ever (slow day at work and i listened to Hitchhikers Guide) So i focused on THAT emotion, and allowed my imagination to write this story in stead of my heart. Turns out the guys really like it (in the band) and it's showing a whole new side of us. Moral is, don't pigeon hole your love for music into one box. Look for other sources of emotion, and use it to unlock your imagination. Also, as an aside, sometimes when i'm stuck writing i just try to make cool sounds or find new tones. Gives my mind a new focus, and can sometimes release some new ideas.

 

Yeah, I`m still trying to figure out how to write when I`m happy too. Its making me miserable.

[rasputin1963]

Girl, I love you, and I'm happy

To be caught within your net;

We'll stay lovers 'til we realize

We don't know each other.....yet.

 

Slim and sexy you appeared, dear

On that tipsy barroom night

When the booze wears off, I do fear

You'll give me a nasty fright.

 

'Twas a time when girls were trained

In wifely arts, around the clock---

Don't reveal that you can't vacuum,

Boil an egg or darn a sock.

 

Lots of sex you're wanting, honey

Or at least that's what you've said.

Don't reveal it's really money

Makes you rise up out of bed.

 

You say husband you desire,

Whom you'll please without a frown;

Don't let on he's Mister Fix-it:

Keep your dump from falling down.

 

Before you met me, how you pined! Yes,

For a man you sang the blues.

Reckoned he'd share your obsessions?

Tabloids? Oprah? Chocolates? Shoes?

 

Someday when illusions fail us

We'll see "Us" for who we are.

But 'til then let's keep pretending

that the sexes never war.

 

(Chorus to fade)

[Phait]

But moving on.... About a year ago i had a break through. I'm still with my girl, and things have calmed down to a nice even flow on that front. My life, for the first time, is relatively stable, and i'm relatively happy most of the time. And I'm writing some great stuff! How? Well, in the past few years i shifted myself from music being an emotional escape, to an imagination escape. I did this because the other thing i love ALMOST as much as music is comic books and sci-fi. I LOVE THAT STUFF. So i set forth to write stuff that allowed my imagination, rather than my heart, to escape and travel to where ever. Sure, its not super depressing slow doom or touching melodies like when i'm sad....but it IS atmospheric and progressive and out of the ordinary and far more interesting (to me). Our latest song "the Glass Children" i attempted to write what it must feel like to find yourself on an alien craft, only to escape to find you are one of teh last humans ever (slow day at work and i listened to Hitchhikers Guide) So i focused on THAT emotion, and allowed my imagination to write this story in stead of my heart. Turns out the guys really like it (in the band) and it's showing a whole new side of us. Moral is, don't pigeon hole your love for music into one box. Look for other sources of emotion, and use it to unlock your imagination. Also, as an aside, sometimes when i'm stuck writing i just try to make cool sounds or find new tones. Gives my mind a new focus, and can sometimes release some new ideas.

 

Very interesting stuff! Thanks

[the stranger]

I knew this was a vintage thread.