Afraid to "Pull the Trigger"

[hummingbird]

Quote:OMG!!! Really? Are you serious? THE DOTS??!!??!! OMG, I'll be in LA next week, too! This is amazing. Are there any seats left or has the show already sold out? Do you KNOW any of the band or the roadies? Any chance of a backstage pass?TedTed, have you forgotten you're playing *with* us? Hope you're bringing your shakers & spoons

[squidlips]

Quote:I think you need to just let Mr. Hyde create unfettered and let Dr. Jekyll clean up the mess later.ROFL!! Good one. And quite accurate.

[kg]

Casey asked, "...any of you having trouble with paralysis by analysis?"Definitely. I'm writing, but I find myself constantly tyring to figure out whether or not I sound like an idiot, to be frank. There's this one screener that just doesn't seem to like me very much, but that's ok - he/she doesn't have to, however, I find myself wondering if I'm the one without the ability to communicate, or if this person is just being "thick" (even better, as Vikki put it, looking for something to be wrong). I definitely see where I can expand on my lyrics and am 100% working on being a better writer with every song, but I'm totally gun-shy about submitting to any listings as I keep smacking into the high bar during the jump LOL. At least I still have a sense of humor, right

[aubreyz]

Many of these posts sound familiar. Before joining Taxi a little over a year ago, I wasn’t much of a rewriter. I’m fortunate in that most of the time lyrics and melody happen pretty fast. I tended to “trust the muse”. My first rejections were sobering and encouraging at the same time. Most of my career has been in a little box of dealing directly with clients, where I’m making the creative calls because that’s what they paid me to do. Having outside critiques stung of course, but it made me realize how lazy I was, and had been trusting in raw talent more than trying to improve my talent.So I got the recommended books, starting really analyzing songs, fought over every word and note—and came up empty and frustrated.To make a long story short, I still trust the muse – it’s just that I have learned how to better harness it. Ideas come easy, so instead of latching on to the first “good” one I just keep writing. The last song I recorded went through 4 title changes and more verses than choruses than I can count. However, I didn’t pour over it from a technical aspect as if what I had at first wasn’t good enough. I just kept writing, thinking, not thinking – stepping back whenever I hit a wall. If it’s not flowing easily I stop. If it’s flowing, I keep going and write much more than I used to. What “it” is, well that’s a whole different topic.IMHO the technicalities of songwriting is like football practice, but actual songwriting is like a football game. In practice, you learn the plays and condition yourself to do the right things. However, in the game a great running back doesn’t always run the route the play calls for. The great ones have the ability to start one way, see an unexpected opening and capitalize on it. That’s the art of songwriting. I don’t consider myself a “great one” yet, but I am better than a year ago.This is still art. It’s not something that a formula or technical specs can define. Use the muse, but don’t settle for one lightning bolt. Keep playing the game until that seam in the defensive line allows you to unexpectedly make an amazing play.Another thing that has been helpful is to focus on what I FEEL, not what I think. The best example is our song Psychedelic Sneakers. It has become “the” signature song for our band. Technically it was written about the MLB Allstar game in San Francisco for a listing. But I didn’t write a song about baseball. I don’t even like baseball I did research about San Francisco and the time period and used that kind of lyrically imagery to express something I felt. The song is about stepping back to a time where everything was changing and how I vicariously feel more a part of that time than a part of today. I’m here now, but I’ve got my psychedelic sneakers on – ready to hit the road of change.It’s easy to get bogged down in the details and get frustrated. It’s not very satisfying to try and paint by the numbers. Study, practice, learn – but enjoy the game of songwriting!Aub

[clonsberry]

Quote:..but I'm totally gun-shy about submitting to any listings as I keep smacking into the high bar during the jumpI'm submitting to fewer listings all the time. I keep smacking the high bar, tripping over the low bar and falling into the pile of rejections. Obviously, I was a MUCH better songwriter before I joined Taxi and I like to think I'm smarter than Pavlov's dogs. So now I stay away from country.. pop.. A/C.. R&B.. electronica.. polkas.. There's sort of an upside. I seem to be doing pretty well with straight acoustic instruments lately. But that's not really why I came to the party. Actually, I think my writing has gotten better. As long as I hold on to that intangible and, apparently, unmeasurable aspect, I'm still hopeful. I'm still writing like a maniac. I'm just submission shy.

[squidlips]

Quote:Quote:..but I'm totally gun-shy about submitting to any listings as I keep smacking into the high bar during the jumpI'm submitting to fewer listings all the time. I keep smacking the high bar, tripping over the low bar and falling into the pile of rejections. Obviously, I was a MUCH better songwriter before I joined Taxi and I like to think I'm smarter than Pavlov's dogs. So now I stay away from country.. pop.. A/C.. R&B.. electronica.. polkas.. There's sort of an upside. I seem to be doing pretty well with straight acoustic instruments lately. But that's not really why I came to the party. Actually, I think my writing has gotten better. As long as I hold on to that intangible and, apparently, unmeasurable aspect, I'm still hopeful. I'm still writing like a maniac. I'm just submission shy.((((((((((((((((Chris)))))))))))))))))Well, I like you. And I feel your pain, brother.

[guscave]

Hey Casey,I have to agree with Hummingbird. Don't sit down to write a masterpiece upon your first couple of drafts. Re-writing is where I believe the real craft of songwriting comes into play. I usually will sit down and just write whatever the main idea is: Song topic, melody, chord progression. I'll then come back later (a day or 2) and concentrate on re-writing. I think that a lot of us fall in love with our first drafts because getting our message out and onto paper can be both exhausting and exhilarating. Its a bit hard to think that there is a better way to say something that has already taken so much effort to say in the first place. For me, this is why coming back a few days later to re-write is better. I think however that as you get more & more use to writing lyrics, the re-writing process becomes easier to do.

[Casey H]

Wow, a lot of replies.... Thanks all for chiming in... Non-performers have it a bit tougher (not complaining!) because "pulling the trigger" means paying $$$ for the demo. So, even with feedback from respectable folks and some re-work cycles, you can get cold feet. Most of the time for me it's about lyrics; I'm usually can tell on the music side if I have something good (a few clunkers did get through, though ). On the up side, getting just the vocal re-done for lyric improvements only runs me $100-$150. Not trivial, but not the worst either...It's not during the creative process I get anxious as much as when it gets close to, well.... pulling that darn trigger.Anyway, I am babbling on... I have 1-2 songs in the queue. Some think they are worth doing, some don't... But I'm gonna shoot out at least one by early next year. And then I'll take a Valium (or two) and post them for the world to hear... Casey

[jchitty]

Here's how I look at songwriting.....it's like taking a multiple choice test. You check off the easy answers first, and then you tackle the tougher questions toward the end. The main thing you want to do is lay out a framework first.....just 'get it out there.' I agree with Vikki in this sense. The mind can play tricks on us if we let it. It can tell us that we can't write, that we can't even start unless we start with 'perfection.' But I find that 'perfection' comes when you let a song simmer for a while. I am constantly writing, but it takes me six weeks to write a song. I usually have six or seven songs going on at once, and I may write a line or two a day on them. In the end, I average one song a week. I've never had a song start off that well.. It's only through constant rewriting that I'll fall in love with a song (as Guscave points out)....I never fall in love with the first draft. If you write with the intention that you know your first draft is meant to evolve, then you won't be so hesitant to throw away parts of your lyrics which don't fit. I am always trying to come up with a better line. Yes, it's extremely frustrating sometimes. Writing is like bloodletting, but in the end, there is nothing better than saying, 'wow, look how the song turned out, I'm glad I did pull the trigger, but I'm also glad that I could scrap that line I wanted to hang onto.' Because many times, it turns out to be a better song. That being said, some of what I write is pure crap, but that doesn't matter 'coz even the crap keeps the songwriting muscle firm.

[Casey H]

Hi JackThere will always be a difference, to some degree, between what we want to do as art vs. what is commercially viable. That doesn't mean a song can't be both, but often these paths are different. One of the things I've painted myself into a corner with a few times is writing lyrics with very specific story lines or elements, leaving the realm of "universal theme"... I also, like unusual chord patterns- I get bored to death with C, F, G thing... So, often what I enjoy writing has some limitations on the commercial side. But now it's my choice. If I demo the next song and it has a less universal lyrical theme, I have to live with results. I can't complain. Or, I can scrap the entire lyrics for something, and write or co-write it as more commercial. If I recall, you are targeting country. As you know, it's the toughest nut to crack. What kind of feedback are you getting on the production side? That's critical because that whole film/TV market is out there and there is more forgiveness as to perfection in lyric writing and more focus on the general mood, sound, etc.Anyway, talk again soon. Maybe we'll finally hook up after the rally... I know I've got to see you before tax season starts! Casey