Solved Hardest part of songwriting?

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danny.guitar

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What's the hardest part of songwriting for you?

For me, it's lyrics, but I usually write instrumental stuff anyway, so the hardest part for me is arrangement. Especially if I'm trying to add a part to a good song, and I don't want it to mess up the rest of the song...

Also, how many of you use Guitar Pro, or Power Tab, or something similiar to write your songs down? I find it's a lot easier to arrange songs that way, and it helps in the recording process because the whole song is already written and arranged and all you have to do is record. Also, the panning/volume options make mixing a little easier because you already have a rough idea what instruments should go where.
 
i think.....the hardest part of songwriting for me..............would have to be getting myself to keep liking the song after it's done.
 
Yeah I get that a lot too. I think most, if not all, songwriters get that pretty often.

I have about 20 songs I've started but never finished.
 
The hardest part of songwiiting for me is to keep finding fresh melody lines and chords progression that don't continuously resort to the old I-IV-V core. Lyrics come to me relatively easy - but melodies, not so much.

Although not really a writing thing (more of a production issue) - I sometimes have a challenge with arrangements/musical hooks. My main axe is drum kit and while I'm a decent keyboard player and a fair guitarist - interesting guitar hooks and intros to songs don't always come easy.
 
mikeh said:
The hardest part of songwiiting for me is to keep finding fresh melody lines and chords progression that don't continuously resort to the old I-IV-V core. Lyrics come to me relatively easy - but melodies, not so much.

Although not really a writing thing (more of a production issue) - I sometimes have a challenge with arrangements/musical hooks. My main axe is drum kit and while I'm a decent keyboard player and a fair guitarist - interesting guitar hooks and intros to songs don't always come easy.
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Yea I have a hard time with melody sometimes when it comes to guitar solos. I don't know how some people can improvise so well and come up with great sounding solos off the top of their heads.

Usually, though, after several tries I can come up with someting decent.
 
I have a problem when I dont write something all the way thru, If its unfinished and I go back its hard, I end up just leaving it alone or screwing it up.
So I think its best to write it all down at once.
 
The hardest part for me is making enough money to support my music habit. Each year it gets better though. ;)
 
dirtyp said:
I have a problem when I dont write something all the way thru, If its unfinished and I go back its hard, I end up just leaving it alone or screwing it up.
So I think its best to write it all down at once.
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I find that problem come to me way too often also. For the most part I write my songs in one sitting. I feel that if I dont write them in one sitting , I lose the flow of the song by the next time i try to write with it. I lose the train of thought that i should be on for that song. I know alot of people dont like writing a full song in one sitting but im not saying that i dont make adjustments or anything either. But I'm a believer that if I'm going to write a song , I should try to get the whole gist of it within one sitting.
 
dirtyp said:
I have a problem when I dont write something all the way thru, If its unfinished and I go back its hard, I end up just leaving it alone or screwing it up.
So I think its best to write it all down at once.
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I agree, it's best to finish a song all at once, which can be a lot to ask. Or at least finish the majority of it...rhythm, bass, and add the rest later.

up-fiddler said:
The hardest part for me is making enough money to support my music habit. Each year it gets better though. ;)
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At least you're making money. ;)
 
Finishing them is definitely the hardest for me.

I'd say I usually start about 15 or 20 songs for every one that I actually finish.

Granted, these "starts" can be nothing more than the first line of a verse, but I include them because from that line I can definitely gather the basic feel and/or structure of the song.

There are very few songs I'm able to finish in one sitting, though I'd love to be able to do that. I usually get maybe a verse and chorus. Then the song will usually sit for months or years before it's done. I rarely have success when I sit down and try to finish songs. They're usually finished when I'm away from it (driving, in bed, in the shower, etc.).
 
FOr me is the measure and the flow before i used to just rush and everything was crap. Now im taking my time but it's like a song per 2 week instead of a song per day.
The second hardest thing is lyrics. I usually use a wide vocabulary but then again i have to make sure they make sense and appeal to others.
 
For me it's trying to create a story in the fewest words possible and still keep it interesting to the listener. That's what keeps me doing it though. ;)
 
I find the hardest part is knowing when to stop!

You asked about notation. I have just started to use Guitar Pro too, but not got into it too much yet. Impressive software though. Ideally, I'd love to just convert my audio to midi and let it notate automatically. Converting audio guitar to midi is not something I have found a way to do well enough though, so it looks as if I may have to do some work :(
 
Chorus, lyrics and arrangements is what I work most with. The verses and the basic arrangement kinda comes on auto. Part of the lyrics too, but sewing it together is hard work.
 
one of my main problems is the speed i write, to be honest.

i write 95% of the material for my band - they came to me about six months ago and said "andy! write us an album for Janurary, so we've got something to record and gig with till we split up for uni in september!" i'm getting there, but it's slow process.

i tend to sit and go around the same musical fragment/idea on the piano for possibly hours, before deciding how to actually use it in a song. and then of course, half the time i decide i don't like it after all... haha.

the other problem of course is, i like funny time signatures and interesting harmony movement and things. which is great when i'm playing the piano, but i can't sing (well, i'm in tune, but not much happens after that) so the draft recordings, before our singer gets hold of them, are always interesting... :p

Andy.
 
Erockrazor said:
I find that problem come to me way too often also. For the most part I write my songs in one sitting. I feel that if I dont write them in one sitting , I lose the flow of the song by the next time i try to write with it. I lose the train of thought that i should be on for that song. I know alot of people dont like writing a full song in one sitting but im not saying that i dont make adjustments or anything either. But I'm a believer that if I'm going to write a song , I should try to get the whole gist of it within one sitting.
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I'm the complete opposite to this. Although I have done stuff in one go, most of my tunes gestate for a couple of weeks. If I start off with a drum beat and a riff, I'll come home from work a couple of days later & add another riff or 2, without listening to the previous riffs. When I've got 5 or 6 riffs down, then I can start blending and arranging. The hardest part for me is always the lyrics. Mind you it helps if you've got some kind of emotional disaster happening at the time
 
My biggest problem is simply getting it done. I'm most happy with the end result when I blast through it in essentially one sitting. The more I think about it, the worse it gets, and more importantly, the more I lose interest in it. I'm completely crippled when it comes to coming back to finish something.
 
mine would have to be just realising my ideas on the bare bones equipment i have, none of the equipment i have access to of late ever works the way it's intended and since i rely mainly on improvisation when i write a song which involves me sitting at a piano or with a guitar and let my hands do the talking without thinking about it, after about an hour something with a sound structure 'usually' comes out which is then written down or draft recorded, but after that it generally gets left at the way side either because i cant realise it physically or i hate it after listening to it a couple more times (i know im one o the many tortured artists in the world) lol
 
Eccentrica said:
mine would have to be just realising my ideas on the bare bones equipment i have, none of the equipment i have access to of late ever works the way it's intended and since i rely mainly on improvisation when i write a song which involves me sitting at a piano or with a guitar and let my hands do the talking without thinking about it, after about an hour something with a sound structure 'usually' comes out which is then written down or draft recorded, but after that it generally gets left at the way side either because i cant realise it physically or i hate it after listening to it a couple more times (i know im one o the many tortured artists in the world) lol
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Interesting. Many of us have been a victim of this. But thats like beeing a brilliant car mechanic that is great at guessing what is wrong, but has no drive to finish the job. Or other examples.
The first scetch of an idea is just a part of the songwriting. You gotta add stamina and dedication to the process, and then practice it.
It would have been great fun if you could post (or mail) one of your scetches and I could try to make a rough arrangement of it to see how far I can take it (if I can improve it at all), and then you (or one of my vocalists) could add vocals.
What you think?
 
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