Do You Always Write Toward a Specific Target?

[Mark Kaufman]

Absolutely, absolutely. And even though I tend to be sort of a pingpong ball with the next song usually in a different genre, there are certain things that hang on...sometimes it's a style of playing, or a certain riff...not always just subject matter.

[lieflin77]

Exactly. I think those are the things worth holding on to, the things that keep coming back, "nagging" you to be written, whether a lyric, riff, etc. That makes it a challenge to write for a specific target. Maybe they will address this in the next road rally, I'd sure like to get better at targeting.

[Mark Kaufman]

I think those are the sorts of...what do you call them...threads that give you your individual voice as an artist. You follow those recurring themes, and sure enough they will change as time passes. Those themes, threads, notions, whatever...end up representing a certain period of your history. That's why certain albums have their own flavor...they were of their time, and the artists were involved in some recurring theme or other... Anyway, I think it's a good thing.

[squids]

It's really great to read all y'all's thoughts on this and also on the thread about sound (good points, mazz). I'm so lucky I can sit here and read this and think "wow, these guys are so freakin bright.......I never think about this stuff!"

[lieflin77]

Haha Squids...I just get a lot out of knowing anyone else has the unique challenges/struggles/aspirations of songwriting. When I need the encouragement I come to the board to realize, "hey, it's not just me!"Happy Father's Day all!

[buildingcastles]

Jun 8, 2008, 11:01am, lyle wrote:Do you always write for a specific target? Or do you also write whatever strikes your artistic fancy?Most TAXI writers appear to be involved in several genres. This allows you to use several different creative "muscles". It occurs to me that if I always wrote the same sort of songs, it would be like flexing the same muscle over and over again...eventually leading to strain, and weakness...or burnout.If I had to write an album's worth of songs all in the same genre...I think I would end up writing several other different types of songs in-between, just to "go somewhere else" and then return with fresh eyes.How about you? Do you always write with a goal in mind? I don't care about genres. I think it would be horrible to stifle my creation simply because it doesn't fit into a civilization's social construction of artistic categories. I never set out in any particular direction; I don't sit down and say, "I'm gonna right a rock song today...dammit, this sounds like a hiphop song, I'll have to scrap it." I just wander around and let my creativity take me where it takes me. If someone were to ask me to categorize my music into one genre, and have to punch them in the face.

[milfus]

thats great and all, but you do realize the listings ask for specific genres, and people listen to specific genres. I am not tryna get on your case, but I think that mentality is gonna end up hurting you in a commercial song atmosphere. Not that I have anything against artistic expression, but if they want a rock song, and you send in something thats not exactly rock, then you are going to get a return.I see genres as more of a challenge requiring different skill sets vs being stifling, its a lot harder to write with constraints, than to just throw notes, and I enjoy the difficulty. It is more about precision and hitting your target, you should try and do specific genres for awhile, I am almost positive it will raise your musicianship as a whole. Forces you to work other areas, when some are limited.

[mazz]

Jun 15, 2008, 8:00am, buildingcastles wrote:Jun 8, 2008, 11:01am, lyle wrote:Do you always write for a specific target? Or do you also write whatever strikes your artistic fancy?Most TAXI writers appear to be involved in several genres. This allows you to use several different creative "muscles". It occurs to me that if I always wrote the same sort of songs, it would be like flexing the same muscle over and over again...eventually leading to strain, and weakness...or burnout.If I had to write an album's worth of songs all in the same genre...I think I would end up writing several other different types of songs in-between, just to "go somewhere else" and then return with fresh eyes.How about you? Do you always write with a goal in mind? I don't care about genres. I think it would be horrible to stifle my creation simply because it doesn't fit into a civilization's social construction of artistic categories. I never set out in any particular direction; I don't sit down and say, "I'm gonna right a rock song today...dammit, this sounds like a hiphop song, I'll have to scrap it." I just wander around and let my creativity take me where it takes me. If someone were to ask me to categorize my music into one genre, and have to punch them in the face. What you say is totally valid and I hope it's working for you. Following the muses where they lead is a great way to work.However, if you have any aspirations to make a living in music, at some point you may have to address the issue of genre and writing to a target. Particularly in Film/TV music. Usually the requirements are for a specific scene that requires a specific genre. A scene in a 70s show that has music playing in the background on a jukebox is going to need 70s music, because 80s music hadn't been invented yet. If you want a shot at that listing and you don't have any 70s music in your catalog, you're gonna have to write some (probably in a hurry). This is the craft aspect of the art of music.One question to ask yourself is: if I was going to walk in to a record store and try to get them to stock my music, when they ask (and they will) what section to put it in, where will I tell them to put it? After you punch them out, they'll still need to know. Cheers,Mazz

[squids]

I understand the frustration of feeling prejudiced against when it comes to genres. I wander all over the place musically myself. Plus, most musicians have a bit of the rebel in their bones so 1 (our music) + 1 (their genres) = in our case, a trip to the ER. But I've found that I save time (which means more music! yay!) by trying to become very good at a few of them, rather than trying to be sorta good at all of them. We've all got some talent in one area or another. Tweakin that means success; we get forwards, contracts, deals, whatever. In mazz's case, probably he gets girls throwin him stuff from cars. It's not about 'their genres' it's about 'our pay.' Ya know? (and Mazz, about them still wantin' ta know where to put the stuff after gettin their lights punched out: Probably it's mo like they haul my butt out the door on a stretcher, pingin me with my CDs while I get loaded broken and bleeding into the ambulance!! I usually only have the one good swing before they drop my ass like a bad habit)

[ibanez468]

Jun 11, 2008, 4:56pm, prez wrote:I do a little bit of both. If I see a listing in TAXI that strikes my fancy, I write for it. There are usually enough listings that make it possible for me to keep busy for quite some time.The other half of the time, I write because the song is screaming to be written. It won't leave my head and I write it to keep my sanity, the little I have left. Yeah that's me all the way. I mostly write towards a specific target, but every now & then, I run across something that needs ta' be taken care of, and those are usually the ones that don't have anything ta' do with the listings, they just gotta' be done. Who knows, it may end up being just right for a listing, even though it wasn't written for that purpose.I-468