I read a friends blog today that dealt with the aftermath or rather the calculations of find representation of creative endeavors and getting rejected. It made me think about the things I’ve gone thru in creating music and above that, recent things in life in general.
In the classic case of a songwriter I notice one of the big paths to failure is to think that the song never needs to improve from it’s first inception. In very rare cases is this ever to be. I’ve found that I can always modify a song at some point or another and it will either improve, stay the same or get worse. While I tend to trust my musical instincts, I also know that coming up with alternate ideas helps to give a song a chance to choose it’s destiny. I know that’s why a lot of my first songs failed – a lack of allowing rewrites. I was too sure that my first ideas were the best ideas.
Once a song is unleashed it’s a good idea to see how people react. If they’re not reacting as anticipated it could very well mean the song isn’t getting the idea across. Which is a great indicator that if the idea is worth saving, then it’s worth tweaking. I know that with a new song that I’m currently working on, I had to take the idea then warp it with the tools that I have at my disposal to figure out the best tempo that got the point across. Interestingly my original groove while great left the concept of the lyric a little flat. Thus after futzing with the tempo it was discovered that by increasing the tempo by a couple of BPM, and then allowing the chorus to get even a little more tempo before coming back down to the verse, it really brought something out of the song. Had I left it as is, the song would likely fail.
The only way to know if something is going to work is to actually do it and see what the result is.
Last night is a good example. I ended up going to dinner with my friend Erin based on a last minute call in the late afternoon. We hadn’t seen each other in a few months so it was good to catch up. After dinner my buddy Mike and I went out to find something to do. The first place we stopped ended up not allowing me in because I didn’t have the right shoes on (WTF?!?). The second place had closed down early due to a brawl during the concert. The third place was no longer in business. By this time it was getting to the point of silly so we decided to call it a night. On the way back he got pulled over by CHP, good thing we weren’t drinking. A failed evening so to speak, but at least the attempt was there.
For songs that I like to post here, I want to show the ones that work. However I think today I’m going to post a song that I wrote that I don’t think worked. One that failed in delivering and one that I didn’t feel needed to be gone back over and done again. With that I bring you Along The Way. An early song for me. Looking back on it I can understand why it didn’t work. The lyrics are too esoteric for the average person to get. To top it off they are pretty darn wordy. Something that I tend to have a problem with. Being simple can really be hard.
I went with the first way that I anticipated and never changed it. The verse is long, there is no real definition between that and what could be a prechorus or even into the chorus. It lacked definition. Making matters worse is the fact that the melody isn’t overly memorable. I ended up going with the first meandering melody that came to me as I was attempting to weave the words over the music. Not the best way to come up with something people will remember.
This is only a demo, but my attempts to create some sort of excitement in the mix using panning and such for different parts really didn’t enhance the song at all. Is it a terrible song, not exactly. Is it a good or great song? No, Hell no. The idea I’ve rolled with in the lyrics isn’t necessarily bad, but the execution of it was subpar.
It’s kinda odd to come back to a song and understand why it didn’t work. I can say though I’ve got a much better appreciation on my current songwriting abilities. I also really like to put the effort in to make sure that it can be more simple in the language such that the idea is still there but easier to digest. Additionally I’ve found the importance of taking time with something to make sure the idea flows and expresses what it should. Will I still continue to hit the mark with every single song I write – no. Though it will mean that I hit the mark more often. And that I can appreciate.
As my friend Mur posted, you need to remember that a sure way to fail is to quit. For those of us in the creative world that stick to it no matter what, quitting is not an option.