Random Musings

Have been real busy with songwriting the last few days.

Got a number of songs to write/complete at the moment, and not just for this Friday’s Songcraft session.

Which is good, actually, cos I usually write songs when I have a purpose to do so. No, make that I only write songs when I have a purpose to do so. Somehow I just don’t feel that I should write songs if there isn’t going to be a purpose to it.

I’m pragmatic in that way.

…

Some of the songs are just killing me.

Songwriting, in a way, is sometimes like solving “musical problems”. At least that’s the way it is for me. (Other more talented people might not have such problems.)

Which direction should the chord progression go from here?
How do I fit all these lyrics into the melody? What about the lyrics that just simply can’t be fit in?
Should I modulate the song to another key towards the end? Is it really necessary for this song?
What’s the best chord figuring/bass note to use at this juncture?
What kind of interesting piano accompaniments can I come up with for this song?
How do I make the next lyric line rhyme when there are no logical rhymes to use?
Does this melody sound too similar to something else?
Is my key suitable for the singer’s vocal range, and if not, what happens if another key just doesn’t sound right?
This passage just doesn’t sound right…how should I change it?
I like the direction this melody is going…but how do I end it?!?
Is the melodic line too convoluted?
The bassline looks like it could be enhanced, but what’s the better alternative?!?

Problems, problems!

…

I don’t usually write while sitting at the piano (cos I’m hardly at the piano nowadays). I usually “write” when I’m in the car. I’ll just sing up some tunes to myself, together with the intended lyrics, and see which ones I like best. And I’ll also mentally work out all my structures while I’m at it.

All whilst driving in my car.

The chords will have to be worked out when I get back to my piano, cos there’s no way I’m able to “hear” the chord voicings and how the progressions work out in my head. I’m not that good.

Yup, that’s how a lot of my songs come about nowadays.

It’s weird, but it does work…for me at least.

…

I recently realised that I’m able to write better when I have a specific singer(s) in mind. In other words, I’m able to write better when I know who’s gonna be singing the song. This makes me “visualise” how I would like to utilise the singer’s vocal capacity, and I’ll write the song that can adequately showcase the singer’s vocal abilities.

It’s a liberating experience for me, cos previously, I’ve always been writing songs only for myself to sing…which kinda restricted my songwriting range, to be honest.

So now if someone else is gonna be singing for me, I’m much more adventurous and willing to explore greater musical boundaries.

“Visualising” the song being sung in my mind really does help me a lot. If I’m writing for an (imaginary) choir, I’ll “hear” the voices in my head, and just work out which melodic/harmonic lines and arrangements I like best. Yep, I’m always trying to “hear” the song being sung in my head, as if it were the final performance version.

That helps me a lot.

Actually, I recently had a thought: Wouldn’t it be easy to write songs if we could all simply imagine what kind of song we would like to hear in our heads, and then simply write out these songs on paper? So basically, you write out what you want to hear, i.e. the good stuff. Sounds easy right?

If only it were that easy.