How long to complete a song?

[southpaw]

I did a quick search and didn't find much on this, i may not have looked hard enough tho. Anyway, im interested to hear how long it usually takes folks to complete a new song.Now by complete i mean from original conception to the point where you are confident in the lyrics, melody and production - to the point where you would personally hand it to an industry exectutive, lets say. Personally, i am a little too much of a perfectionist for my own good.. So i understand that there are varying levels of "completion" and it is quite a subjective term. But let's say, to complete the composition, arrangement, and a mix where you can listen all the way through without any thing jumping out and saying fix me. Additionally, im curious to know if: 1. you prefer to skectch out many songs at once and then choose the ones that show promise and potential to move forward with.. Or, 2. Put all your focus into one project until you are satisfied with what you have created.For me, i tried the first technique and i ended up with a lot of half ass songs that i planned on revisiting but always started a new one with a better idea and the cycle just continued to repeat... I have found that the 2nd technique is much more efficient for my workflow.I spend a lot of time trying tons of ideas and getting the vibe im going for then continue to refine, reconstruct, and re-cut the scratch tracks.Id love to hear any thoughts or comments you'd share on this. Cheers.Jamie

[hummingbird]

how long? 3 hours, 6 hours, 3 days, 1 week, 2 months, a year... there is no hard and fast rule. It's ready when it's ready.1. do you prefer to skectch out many songs at once and then choose the ones that show promise and potential to move forward with.. ---this is why I do writing challenges and ask myself to write everday, to keep my creative muscle flexed and keep myself in the flow. I will often take the best sketches I've done during challenges and develop them further.2. or do you put all your focus into one project until you are satisfied with what you have created.---once I'm working on a track, I tend to work on it until I'm satisfied with it. Or until inspiration runs out. If inspiration runs out, I put it away and work on something else for awhile. If I come back in a few days with fresh ears I can usually finish it off effectively.To me there's no either/or, in fact, I suggest doing number one... and then picking something to focus on for number two... and I also suggest thinking about having a 'creative time' when anything goes and you write whatever comes to mind... and then have a 'produce it time' when you focus on composing & producing the final track(s).HTH

[davewalton]

Here's my take...Don't get caught up the the "correctness" of the process. It's a real liberating thing to lose that. Any method of getting to the end result is valid.Myself, I've found that I do better when I hop around from thing to thing. It gives me a chance to "rest" a piece and then pick it up a few days later, cycling through various projects in that way. Re-listening after not hearing it for a day or two sometimes reveals things I didn't hear when I was buried in it. But, others do better to start and keep working until it's finished.So, if your 2nd technique works better for you, then by all means go with that. Working styles are as unique as fingerprints so find one that you feel good about and go with it!. Dave

[rivercitymusic]

It could come all at once in an afternoon or you may never really finish it to your personal acceptance.There is no formula.However, if you are a lefty, a southpaw, a wrong writer; then there is a strong possibility that you will break your pencil lead before you even get the title written down and then you'll have to stop forever cause you wrong writers can't sharpen pencils. You turn the dam thing backwards in the sharpener and it never works. My daughter is like this so i bought her an electric pencil sharpener.LOLDoc

[southpaw]

"how long? 3 hours, 6 hours, 3 days, 1 week, 2 months, a year... there is no hard and fast rule. It's ready when it's ready.---once I'm working on a track, I tend to work on it until I'm satisfied with it. Or until inspiration runs out. If inspiration runs out, I put it away and work on something else for awhile. If I come back in a few days with fresh ears I can usually finish it off effectively.""Don't get caught up the the "correctness" of the process. It's a real liberating thing to lose that. Any method of getting to the end result is valid."These are the first thoughts that came to mind, and why i hesitated asking this question. I have found that each song has its own process, thus i agree with these comments.So here's a more accurate question, about how many songs did you write last year that you feel confident in? - if you don't mind me askingAnd, given a definitive deadline, how quickly could you create a song you felt good about presenting? (E.G. 1 week, 2 weeks, 30 days)"However, if you are a lefty, a southpaw, a wrong writer; then there is a strong possibility that you will break your pencil lead before you even get the title written down and then you'll have to stop forever cause you wrong writers can't sharpen pencils. You turn the dam thing backwards in the sharpener and it never works. "Hey, at least we think in our right mind ! Jamie

[ibanez468]

Dec 11, 2008, 12:34pm, southpaw wrote:Hey, at least we think in our right mind ! JamieHere Here!

[hummingbird]

Quote:has its own process, thus i agree with these comments.So here's a more accurate question, about how many songs did you write last year that you feel confident in? - if you don't mind me askingI write instrumentals and songs. I don't know exactly how many I wrote in 2008, but I think it's likely between 100 and 150. I'm pretty confident that around 50 are pretty good, quite a few have been forwarded, and several have been signed.Quote:And, given a definitive deadline, how quickly could you create a song you felt good about presenting? (E.G. 1 week, 2 weeks, 30 days)--1 to 5 days, depending on what was being asked for.

[Casey H]

I've had some that took 20-25 years... Not continuous, of course... But I have picked up almost-finished songs, chord patterns, riffs, words, etc from that far back and revisited them again.Seriously, putting something down that you just can't 'get' and coming back to it another time (and hopefully working on something else) is very effective. And "another time" has no statute of limitations. Casey

[southpaw]

Hummingbird, Wow. That is amazing - creative productivity. I expected to hear a figure about a third the size if that. (Respectively) Casey, well put. Again, im not trying to draw comparisons, i was just curious to hear the some other perspectives from other folks who take their music seriously. (well... meaning they put in the work to develop it! ) I don't live in a big music town and know very few people who are committed to a career in music. Thanks again. JamieRock on Ibanez.

[billg]

I usually complete about 5-7 songs a month and if I'm lucky one or two of them are good enough to get forwards through Taxi eventually or placed somewhere on my own. Another one or two are things that I like but would probably only be good for a personal project . . . then there is always a dog or two. It's easy for me to decide when a song is finished because after I've worked on one for awhile I'm anxious to move on to something else & I've noticed that for me my best songs were the quickest & easiest to write, but the production can be time consuming. I think more and more (and this is sort of a sad statement) but the production of a song is as important as the melody and lyrics. Think about this . . . you can turn on the radio everyday and hear a lot of mediocre songs with top notch fabulous production, but it's hardly ever that you will hear a great song with so-so production on the radio.