How long to complete a song?

[feaker]

leftyYou might not know it yet, but the folks that answered you here are the best the forum has to offer.You lucked out bud!Bill, sorry but you are not average. Takes me from 3 to 30 hours. None of them have gone anywhere yet:)Paul

[matthoggard]

I write in sessions. Ill give 1/2 hour to lyrics and an hour to music/melody arrangement while trying the lyrics.I find if I spend too much time on lyrics i just stare at the screen and get sidetracked. Music and melody usually come pretty easy for me. Ill shape an idea then my co-writer and I will get together on it and brainstorm and storyboard and flesh it out in a few hours.production and recording is about a week.My latest (which I think is my best thus far) was written in entirety in 30 mins. production took 2 days. Im still tweaking it but all the meat is there.Find it in peer to peer Under christmas song. http://taxi.proboards27.com/index.cgi?b ... ead=10974M~

[ibanez468]

I'm probably the exception to everyone elses rule. When it comes to a listing, I work on that baby from start to finish. May take me a week or so. Sometimes I get lazy. Sometimes I'm uninspired. But when it hits, I'm all over it like a bad cold. Then things just start pouring out like water from a hose. So yeah, I focus on that bad boy until it's finished. If something comes up in the meantime, I get the idea down in the DAW (if I'm working on it at the time) or on the digital recorder, and get back to it later. Once I get started on a tune, I like to see it through until it's done. That's just me though.I-468PS -- I guess what's usually happening with me is, at the time, the tune is stuck in my head, so I can be humming it and eating lunch, or watching TV, and somethin'll pop up, maybe a change or a bridge or an ending etc... So I think I tend to keep my focus on whatever tune I'm working on at the time, and not being really conscious of it, and things just develop that way. But it usually comes from constantly humming the tune until I find the right piece to add to the jigsaw puzzle. That make sense?

[southpaw]

I appreciate everyone taking the time to share there feedback with me on this. Bill," 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."Indeed, production seems to play a major role in keeping 'casual listeners' attentive to the song. I've noticed this with some of my buddies. So i hardly let people hear my stuff until i've got a strong mix. Personally i think, and i may be wrong, you lose much of a songs impact to a new listener if they've heard a less than 'great quality' version of the song. There are a very few people i will play sketches for and get their feedback, but they know how to visualize the concept without all the sparkle.Matt, Thats an impressive mix. I thought the lyrics were strong as well. Cool stuff. "Music and melody usually come pretty easy for me. Ill shape an idea then my co-writer and I will get together on it and brainstorm and storyboard and flesh it out in a few hours." Yea. Accompaniment/riffs/melodies etc. could flow for days for me. Lyrics are a little more tricky piece of the pie. I work in concentrated blocks of time and try to have a goal so i dont end up jamming and noodling for hours in my studio. I think putting the musical ideas together is easier for me because: 1. I do it more 2. i can keep working out ideas non stop and keep my creativity flowing. I think lyrics are harder because like you said i'll very easily sit there and have a great idea for a song but can't write out the concept, get distracted and then 2 hours have gone by. I 've now got 4 lines of garbage and feel guilty that i have managing to accomplish so little. I have been forcing myself to spend more time with lyrics lately, it is still a pain in the butt! Ibanez, im with ya on keeping the current project on my mind throughout the day, i try to whistle my melody's to see how i like em, i also try to rap my lyrics to see how well the words flow into each other. Granted, when i get stuck or disinterested in the song im workingill switch over to another one. But when im trying to construct an idea i am inspired about, it takes time.. I have to write out different progressions try different rythyms, key signatures, melody's until im satisfied. The way i see it, it would be difficult if not impossible to remember exactly were i left off with a project - once im in the 'creative groove' and deciding on a number of aspects on a number of levels. Jamie

[billg]

Dec 11, 2008, 5:53pm, ibanez468 wrote:I'm probably the exception to everyone elses rule. When it comes to a listing, I work on that baby from start to finish. May take me a week or so. Sometimes I get lazy. Sometimes I'm uninspired. But when it hits, I'm all over it like a bad cold. Then things just start pouring out like water from a hose. So yeah, I focus on that bad boy until it's finished. If something comes up in the meantime, I get the idea down in the DAW (if I'm working on it at the time) or on the digital recorder, and get back to it later. Once I get started on a tune, I like to see it through until it's done. That's just me though.I-468PS -- I guess what's usually happening with me is, at the time, the tune is stuck in my head, so I can be humming it and eating lunch, or watching TV, and somethin'll pop up, maybe a change or a bridge or an ending etc... So I think I tend to keep my focus on whatever tune I'm working on at the time, and not being really conscious of it, and things just develop that way. But it usually comes from constantly humming the tune until I find the right piece to add to the jigsaw puzzle. That make sense?we're the same on this! If I do 6 songs in a month they were completed from start to finish one at a time. Seems to be the only way I can stay focused. I will sometimes bounce around from song to song tweaking the mix but it's usually after I THOUGHT the song was finished.

[windowman]

I don't consider a song finished until it's been rejected by TAXI, followed by a call to TAXI headquarters with a patronizing answer from 20 something lackey about how my head is completely up my ass about my craft. (Did you know that the music business is full of ambiguities and there is this thing called "the nature of the music business"?) Well, nor did I, until today. Here's the tricky part... Don't argue the fact that the process could be flawed, because the stock answer is "You can always get a refund if you're not happy with the service." Once you have accepted the fact that you're a complete novice, a moronic dick, and a wannabe with a false sense of self-importance, the song is complete. The hundreds of dollars & countless hours spent producing said song serves as only a lesson on your road to becoming a great songwriter, a better person and a fine example for generations to come.Now shut your mouth, squeeze your cheeks & enjoy the moment. Whatever doesn't kill you will make death a more welcome outcome in the end. Wade

[windowman]

About 40 hours, give or take.

[ibanez468]

Wade...you're a frikkin' RIOT man! You kill me with some of the sh*t you type. Absolutely HILARIOUS!! Ooooh man...that made my day! I suspect you got a return recently. Join the club dude. I-468

[windowman]

Dec 12, 2008, 6:22pm, ibanez468 wrote:;D Wade...you're a frikkin' RIOT man! You kill me with some of the sh*t you type. Absolutely HILARIOUS!! Ooooh man...that made my day! I suspect you got a return recently. Join the club dude. I-468You're easily the nicest, most easy going person here. (Not joking) How do you do it?Wade

[ibanez468]

Dec 12, 2008, 7:49pm, windowman wrote:You're easily the nicest, most easy going person here. (Not joking) How do you do it?WadeMaaaan...just try and keep myself in check. It ain't always easy I'll tell ya'. From where I stand, some things are just better left unsaid. I guess I'm just use to it. Besides, I got other worries. Last thing I need ta' do is add this onto the list. Know what I'm sayin'?I-468