Do You Always Write Toward a Specific Target?

[prez]

Jun 11, 2008, 6:08pm, lyle wrote:Devin,So I guess it depends on the person...but based on what I've noticed, it sure seems like riches and fame are the worst assaults your creativity could ever endure.I disagree....kind of. Riches and fame are not the problem. People's heart towards them is the problem. There are many who stay humble while being rich and famous. However, they are a small minority. Humility is a bad word in our society. Plus, it's not something you can drum up inside of you. That comes from somewhere else beyond the scope of this discussion.I am an strong believer that writer's block is a cop out. No such thing. It's our excuse not to do something. I've proven it to myself many times. Creativity can always be redirected to something different and you can come back to what you're working on. Or work through it even though it may be agonizing. That's the thing...we don't want to agonize. We don't want to have to go through that hard work. We want it easy. We want it to feel good every time we write a song. We want that fairy tale situation or to wait around for the so called muse to hit us. All malarkey and not reality.Some of the best things we go through in life are agonizing. The best lessons are learned through it. They're life changing. But when we have control whether we have to go through that or not, we choose the or not. It's all in the attitude. I know I can write to just about any target. But I have choices and I choose the ones I'm good at, that I've been blessed with the ability to create. That will keep me busy for the rest of my life. Will I get rich and famous? No clue. If I do, oh well. If I don't, oh well. I have to be true and content no matter what circumstances bring me. If you have that attitude going in, don't compromise, and feed it daily, creativity will always be there ready for you to give it to whoever needs it. My .02. Jude 2

[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.

[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.

[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

[squids]

Right. Even if you hafta make up a whole new genre ta fit your song into.

[buildingcastles]

Jun 15, 2008, 9:29am, milfus wrote: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.Well, if you're in it to make money, then you do what you do. The rest of us rebels will make the future genre's that will dictate your artistic direction.

[vicky]

hey there....I've always written for something......before Taxi, it would be for a specific group of players, where I'd have their playing in mind as I was writing.....I've always wondered about the saying.... "jack of all trades master of none" since I've had my hands in so many projects and genres for so long.....and I wish I was doing better at all of them ....luckily life is long vtbp

[squids]

Well, speaking as an....umm.........experienced (old, heh) musician, lemme jes say thanks for sayin that! To be honest, sometimes it gets really boring hearing kids talk about how they invented music. Glad to hear some of all y'all realize that it's been going on for thousands of years before we got here. I wonder if anybody knows how many musicians it takes to make one good one?Anyway, I appreciate hearing that, lil bro.