anyone else feel this way

G

guitardude

New member
ok...

Lets see where to begin. Im so frustrated at myself i hate it. I play good and write good, but never finish a song. Or at least to my perfection I guess. I have been playing guitar and writing songs for about 11 years now. I think I have like 4-5 songs I can play. That is pitiful. There are days I just rant over the same song and wont move on till its perfected or better sounding. At the same time I think to myself if I never let it go i will never move on, but at the same time I want to be happy with stuff I play for people or write.

I'll be at work and i'll hear all these ideas in my head, transitions, and lyrics that I want to try out, and can't wait to get home to play around. So when the time comes and im at home nothing works out right. The guitar will not sound good. Just one of the those wacky guitar days. Like last night i was so pissed off and wanted to smash the guitar. I find myself picking up the guitar like at 3am and thats when things start to sound better. However that is the time I should be sleeping. I don know i think there is something about the late night with lights off and the tv on and picking up the guitar.

So what does everyone else do when they cant move on with a song? Does anyone else feel this way ? (sorry bout the ranting)

I get compliments on my songs and have been told I need to make a record, and play more. I should be pushing this perfection away but its really hard. Maybe things will sound better when I actually record it and hear on the stereo or what not.

so please talk to me....comment, tell me im crazy, or shed a little advice. I would like to hear all your thoughts.
 
Well practice always makes us better...... but you can't prod the creative mojo too hard or you get nothing. Its the law of diminishing returns.
I've written very few complete songs but I get closest when I stay with the momentum of it. Like once you start you just run with it writing line by line and don't stop until you have to........ like to go to work or whatnot. It seems to work better than writing a little, and trying to pick it back up later and work on it again. Its like you lose momentum doing it that way.
I also write down random lines I think sound cool, and sometimes those are worked into a song thats just missing a little something. Always keep pen and paper with you.
As far as guitar, I identify. My ear isn't so great and I realize this, but I still get disapointed when I hear a guitar part or just a melody in my head...... then later can't reproduce it to sound like I thought it should.
So no, you are not crazy.
 
True success in songwriting, as in anything else for that matter, is perseverence. Everyone hits a wall sooner or later. It doesn't matter how much talent you have, it's hard hard and dedication that will get you the last 10% to the goal. That last 10% is the hardest in anything, and is what seperates the men from the boys.

I know sooooo many people who just do not have what it takes to complete things. Getting started is always the easy part, and it's having the work ethic to see it through to the end that is the real talent.

My $0.02.
 
What the previous cats said was very true...In addition to that, what I believe is just as important is that you have to believe in yourself too. Most of us music people are usually are worse critics, but we have to get to some point where we are satisfied with the work we have done, or we will never get anything done. We can always find something better than what we have. It's that grass is greener thing. We need to find a point where we stand on our lawn and say I did my best on this lawn, and it's green enuff for me
 
I've experienced much of what you're describing too, guitardude. What I've found is that it's worst when I'm being too critical of myself, too soon. It sounds like you're putting so much pressure on yourself to be "perfect" that you're not enjoying it anymore. I say, do it so you enjoy it. Relax a little.

When I'm focusing too hard on accomplishing a specific goal, I tend to sabotage myself. This is particularly true if I approach writing a song with too many pre-conceived ideas of what it should sound like. I spend too much time trying to force it to sound the way it does in my head. I've found I'm much more successful when I approach it with an attitude of "let me see what ends up sounding good."

Also, try not to critique yourself too early. If you're in the middle of working on a song, try as best you can to suspend the critical part of your brain until after you're done. If you start thinking "This sucks" before you're even done, chances are it's going to suck. Try to wait until you're done, take a break so you can gain some objectivity, then listen to it fairly, as if you hadn't written it.
 
pointfive said:
I've experienced much of what you're describing too, guitardude. What I've found is that it's worst when I'm being too critical of myself, too soon. It sounds like you're putting so much pressure on yourself to be "perfect" that you're not enjoying it anymore. I say, do it so you enjoy it. Relax a little.

When I'm focusing too hard on accomplishing a specific goal, I tend to sabotage myself. This is particularly true if I approach writing a song with too many pre-conceived ideas of what it should sound like. I spend too much time trying to force it to sound the way it does in my head. I've found I'm much more successful when I approach it with an attitude of "let me see what ends up sounding good."

Also, try not to critique yourself too early. If you're in the middle of working on a song, try as best you can to suspend the critical part of your brain until after you're done. If you start thinking "This sucks" before you're even done, chances are it's going to suck. Try to wait until you're done, take a break so you can gain some objectivity, then listen to it fairly, as if you hadn't written it.
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Hey thanks everyone! I feel this response was the best one so far for me. Really knows how i feel. I can totally relate to what you are saying. I am my own worst critic. I would to read some more people who feel the same way.
I do try to take alot of out my head out on the guitar, or sometimes it will flow and my brain will take it from there.

Cool!

if your interested in my song that is totally a demo here it is: www.myspace.com/kenkusama.

I have came up with two different tunings for this song presently, cuz i feel it could be stronger sounding as a solo song. Right now when you hear the song its pretty much the same but more stuff going on. I hear also piano, bass, and drums for it. So I think when that is all done it will come together fine. As for now playing solo its just me! So yeah my brain needs to chill out a bit.

- K
 
Hey Guitardude:

I'm listening to your song right now. I like it :) I certainly hope you don't get so pissed off that you smash your guitar - that would be a real shame!

Seriously, keep at it. You're doing fine.
 
JeffLancaster said:
Hey Guitardude:

I'm listening to your song right now. I like it :) I certainly hope you don't get so pissed off that you smash your guitar - that would be a real shame!

Seriously, keep at it. You're doing fine.
Click to expand...

I agree on all points...
 
guitardude said:
if your interested in my song that is totally a demo here it is: www.myspace.com/kenkusama.
Click to expand...
Dude, you have a lot to be proud about; this song is a lot better than most songs of its ilk; good movement, lots of interesting moments, your voice is nice and fits the style really well. You really have no reason to be so down on yourself.

Another thing to remember is that it's okay to write a non-perfect song every once in awhile. No one is perfect all the time. Everyone has a certain percentage of songs behind them that suck. The point is to just move on. Write the song, evaluate it, then decide whether to keep it or trash it.

I used to be so focused on perfection that I'd write about 1 song a year. So let's assume my suck-factor is 20%... that means at that rate, I'd write 4 worthwhile songs every 5 years.

Once I relaxed and started to up my output, my percentage of throw-away material stayed the same, but now I complete about 1 song a month. That amounts to about 9 or 10 worthwhile songs a year in contrast.

Of course it's not as simple or formulaic as this, but you see where I'm going.

My last bit of advice is to always have something handy available to record rough ideas with. I use a microcassette recorder. It's purely for taking notes for my own reference. I don't use 95% of what I come up with, but it's good practice and it really helps when I get writer's block or something.

And you're from Jersey? Word up, me too. When you feel ready, maybe we could work out doing some shows together.
 
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