Crappy songs...

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TelePaul

TelePaul

J to the R O C
Im a guitarist whos recently started trying to write his own songs.... i come up with a load of ideas but almost immdeiately dismiss them as crap. Then i wonder what theyd sound like if they were song by someone else....would i feel different about lyrics if Springsteen was singing them? Or would i be more comfortable with the melody if neil young had devised it? I find it hard to decide whether im being honest or overtly critical. anyone else have this happen?
 
I'd keep them all...if you get stuck, you can always come back to it later. I find that I'm overly critical of myself as well. I guess it comes with the territory. If YOU like the way it sounds..great, if not, get back to it later.You might run into something down the line that makes it work...


J.P.
 
This happens to me. If you're unsure about the singing, hum the melody to yourself over the chords and then take the time to pick out the actual notes you are singing, or trying to hit. This will improve your ear and give you a standard against which you can judge your own singing.

You're never going to sound like Springsteen, so accepting the timbre, tone, range and inflections of your own voice is the first step. Leonard Cohen doesn't sound like Dylan, Dylan doesn't sound like Springsteen, and Springsteen doesn't sound like Tom Waits. Become comfortable with the way your voice sounds, then you will be more capable of an analytical, objective judgement on your work.

Keep all the songs. I have recently revisited stuff I gave up on months ago, and been happy enough with the results.
 
this is a major problem of mine as well. i find its one part "yes my original 10 songs were shit", and two parts "im too insecure about my songs that im afraid they will be shitty, because i damn sure think so"

work through it, and a song will form into something desirable if it was started on the right track. see my post "Write Drunk/Record Sober", you may wanna get liquored up and see what your made of. lol jk :D
 
I just had another thought on the subject, the more songs you write the better the chance that you'll like some of them...
 
Any writer that truly wants to improve and develop his/her craft will be critical of thier own work. Is it overly critical - I don't think so. I think we must all write crap to eventually learn to write good stuff. If we recognize the crap, we will then recognize the good stuff when it comes.

I've written a couple of hundred songs (over about 30 years) and have had some sold, published, placed, recorded, etc Out of the 200, I've written 2 that are truly good, and maybe 5 or 6 that are decent. So I'm satisfied with 8 out of 200 and 5 of those 8 were written in the last 2 years (after 30 years I finally think I can consider myself a song writer).

So - be critical, be honest in your self assessment, don't fall for it when your mom or girlfried or whatever says "oh that's good" (you'll know in you heart and soul if it's good). Don't get discouraged, simply strive to get better. When you get better - you'll know, and it will be worth all the self abuse.
 
I agree with Mikeh. Being overly crittical just means you actually give a crap about the stuff you're writing. I've gone back and read lyrics I wrote 5 years ago and I just want to slap myself! I think it's just a learning process. As time goes by, you "find" the right words and phrases to convey to others what you got floating around in your head. Just my opinion.
 
Try to be objective rather than critical, and take the song through the process of development. Whatever first sparked you; a riff, hook, or lyric, may well be unique and worth something. The beauty of home recording these is that tools to develop songs are cheap and always there for you to use.
 
The only way to get to the good stuff is to wade through the crap. EVERY writer of EVERY level writes bad songs.
 
FunkDaddy said:
The only way to get to the good stuff is to wade through the crap. EVERY writer of EVERY level writes bad songs.
Click to expand...

God yes! Dylan, for my money, is the best songwriter of the twentieth century, but conversely, he has written what are unquestionably the worst songs I have ever had the misfortune to hear.

There is a lot to be said for objective study of your own work, but sometimes instinct (first instinct) proves beneficial too.
 
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