The inner battle of writing your own music
 

Ever stop and say to yourself in the middle of a tune,

1. Not enough melody.....
   
2. Where's the bass?
   
3. Too repetitive..
   
4. Too short..
   
5. Too much higher registers, way too "trebly"
   
6. What was I thinking???
   
7. Are you serious with this???

And so on. I can be a tough crowd, what about yourself?

Here's the kind of things I say to myself when trying to write a new tune:

• This sounds too much like .. [fill in appropriate famous song]
• This sounds too much like .. [fill in appropriate previous song of mine]
• These chord changes are way too boring/generic.
• I can't get a line to rhyme with this one.
• I can get a rhyme OK, but I can't make it scan.
• These chords are getting too fancy now...
• This song is now way too long/complicated.
• The whole thing is kind of "meh".
• Those songs I wrote 40 years ago are way better than this. And even they weren't very good....

BTW, I never think a song is "too repetitive" or "too short". Both those characteristics are positives IMO - some of the best songs of all time are either repetitive or short (or occasionally both). But that's because I tend to over-complicate things.

TrueFire just published a two part series on songwriting featuring Ellis Paul. It’s very well done. The parts are (for now): the song and editing the song.

This is not a criticism, but it does aim you in the direction of songs with a story - which is Ellis Paul’s style. That’s no big deal. I have enjoyed listening to his thoughts - especially the second publication about editing the song.

Best,


Rick

There are already so many good songs to play, why am I knocking myself out trying to do this?

I really don't write so much now, I used to.

Lets look at both the lists:

Yours:
Not enough melody..... ----- Think about the "message of the lyrics and animate the melody.
Where's the bass? .............. You provide this in your bass notes of the chord progression
Too repetitive --- of course you need verse, chorus & bridge progressions
Too short. --- Well you need to add in instrumental break or two.
Too much higher registers, way too "trebly" -- change the key.
What was I thinking??? .... Do it anyway.
Are you serious with this??? no answer.

Jon PR raised some good issues:

This sounds too much like .. [don't worry about it most songs do]
This sounds too much like .. [see above but change one chord]
These chord changes are way too boring/generic. (sounds like a hit!)
I can't get a line to rhyme with this one. [there are "near" ryhmes]
I can get a rhyme OK, but I can't make it scan. (precis - or reword)
These chords are getting too fancy now... (simplify)
This song is now way too long/complicated. Keep it short - what would John Prine/Willie do?)
The whole thing is kind of "meh". (add a bridge)
Those songs I wrote 40 years ago are way better than this. And even they weren't very good.... (yeah me too!)

If songwriting was easy everyone would do it. ....they do? Oh.

Someone once asked George Thorogood why he didn’t write songs. He said he didn’t need to because Chuck Berry already wrote em all. I take the same approach. I have a hard enough time playing songs that have long since been written without attempting to create new ones. Also, no inner battle. Over that, at least...

I’m kidding, of course. I admire people who write good songs and I’m glad people keep trying to write more of them. I’ve never even come close to writing a bad one though, let alone a good one. I’ll come up with the occasional chord progression and rhythm I like when I’m just jamming and if I like it enough, I’ll play it into one of the 100 tracks on my looper so it’ll become part of my playing. But add words? Nope, that’s not in my wheelhouse or a wheelhouse I’ve ever been motivated to visit.

-Ray

All song writers I know, as do I, go though the same self doubt and ask all these same questions. This is a good thing
Some of mine are...

Does it make sense
Who cares
Does it captivate from beginning to end
What’s the point
Does it groove

What I learned is to never let the doubt stop you from doing what you like to do, which is write songs (and perhaps perform them). I look back at some of the songs I have written and cringe. But they were all part of the never ending journey.

I'm finding that many times, the answer to this question is simply: me. I've written several songs that really only matter to me. Some I've shared, some I haven't.

My favorite songwriters are John Prine, Steve Goodman, James McMurtry, Steve Earle, Slaid Cleaves, Jeffery Martin and Joe Pug. Their lyrics are so good, I have impossibly high standards that I haven't been able to meet in my own writing.

I think it's a very good thing to be "your own most severe critic", but only to a point; I have always felt that way, since I began playing, singing and writing in earnest. Now, after some 50+ years of being on this path, I actually wish I had been a bit easier on myself, as I've gone back and re-visited old songs and/or performances and realized they were not only not bad, they were darned close to what I wanted to hear!

There was a time when I would just "throw away" pieces of music or entire songs, simply because they didn't meet the standard I was trying to uphold. It never occurred to me that I could finish a song, feel it was sub-standard... and just LET IT BE!

Just because you wrote a song, doesn't mean it has to be ready for the World Stage, or for Top Forty radio (is there even such a thing anymore?).

I don't know how long you've been writing tunes, but one thing I've learned FOR SURE, is that I am NOT trying or wanting to be like anyone else... and the more I attempt to constrain and funnel my songs towards a certain end, the less productive and more frustrated I get!

Letting go of the “who cares” is a big help in getting rid of the committee in your head, the committee that tells you your song is not good enough.

But I do think a song should have a universal thread if you want others to connect. It all depends on the goal

Songwriting can be approached from so many directions and nothing is necessarily right or wrong.
You can be formulaic or not. Some of the best stuff written is non-formulaic. To me confining oneself to a formula can be limiting and unfun.
I only write when I'm inspired or something falls into my lap. That translates to a few songs a year. I've had the good fortune of writing a handful of songs that garnered a very positive reaction from fellow musicians. That has been sufficient for me.

I am fortunate enough to be part of a songwriting group and we really offer a lot of support to one another. That really helps to keep the self-critical voices in check. Even having a songwriting partner can help with this part of the process. Nothing kills creativity like judgement and during the creative part isn't where the editing voice comes in anyway. That voice gets its turn later in the proceedings. ;)

Best,
Jayne

John Mayer reveals his methods of songwriting at around 37:52 in this video:

I think the first question that should be answered if a person is inclined to write a song is why? That one answer clears up allot of things down the road concerning writing a song.