Do you ever try to Perfect your Song Arrangment?

I've been getting caught revising, adding and taking out parts a lot in my songs, kind of like doing drafts when writing papers. I feel this is good because usually I catch something that doesn't sound right or I'll change a riff to something that fits better in the song, or add or take out drum parts/fills.

But sometimes after making a song I feel there is something missing, and this is without recording it in full. I'm just playing it all back to myself from my DAW sequencer (Logic) controlling my synth, drums, while I do any guitar or vocals.

Do you think this is too early to judge a song without having heard the full thing recorded? I almost don't want to actually record anything until I feel it has all the parts it should and it's composed correctly. But then I deprive myself of actually hearing a finished song (which can be revised later), but I almost feel like I'm wasting energy doing this. Is this something I should get into the habit of doing? Is it wasted energy?

While saving my energy and not recording everything, I think I'm kind of depriving myself of a full listen with everything in the mix, listening to everything come together. I kind of procrastinate finishing my songs, in this manner. Do you usually just record everything together and try to finish a song all the way through to the end, not messing around?

That's how I write. I create kind of a template first. No point in wasting time recording a bunch of tracks that will get tossed anyway. When Ifeel like my template sounds good enough, then I start from scratch and do the real thing.

I've usually done a couple of recordings of any song I end up with a "finished" multitrack of...

Typically it starts with an acoustic guitar and vocal take (or ten -- since the song is still frequently changing).

Then a very rough minimal version with drums and bass and maybe some keyboard parts, typically very straightforward.

And then, finally, maybe, there'll be a version where I really go to town, working and reworking all the parts and tinkering the arrangement (I use a lot of MIDI so I keep things liquid and fairly easily editable) and putting in the "finishing" touches that fill out my vision (whatever that is at a given time) of what goes into a pop production.

My band does the entire song. We'll do draft songs complete, knowing these aren't the final takes. I feel vocals and leadwork should take center stage and if we record a song before it's complete, we'll end up changing stuff anyhow to create the correct pockets for the vocals and leads. I don't fear not being able to do a take or an entire song again. On the contrary, they end up tighter with more continuity after we've recorded and really listened to what we did. I've had times where I thought I had great ideas for hooks or catchy bridges but after listening, things changed. It's actually cool to go back and listen to all the versions of one particular song and hear how it evolved.

I could write a book about this. You need to have a target or goal for the arrangement or you will never finish it. There's just too much cool stuff you can try. I came through Berklee writing big band charts, learning all those voicing and reharmonization techniques, actually putting pen to paper and knowing what the sound would be before the players picked up their instruments.

Now, if you consider the synthesis and electronic techniques part of your arrangement you need to know (I mean know) beforehand what those sounds are before you apply them to the basic bones of your tune.

So you need to "practice" your arranging by knowing what sounds and techniques you can get out of your equipment, by making sounds independent of any song you may have written. Sometimes this sort of practice can lead you to writing a complete song, but the focus is on learning the ins and outs of what sounds you have or can make.

Then I would consider the song separate from your orchestration. A song starts with structure. Is it something that repeats in full until all the words are out (like a 12 bar blues), is it something with an AABA type of form (like many jazz standards), or is it something with complex sections and minimal repetition (like progressive rock)? Knowing the structure, then decide on the arranging techniques or instrumentation you want to apply to each section or repetition.

etc.