Song writing communities? I need some motivation.

JasonE

JasonE

PRS Fan Boy
Joined
May 1, 2012
Messages
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Location
South Florida
I have debated about putting this post up for some time. I have decided to do it and see if I can force myself to get some motivation. I know some of the reasons I have not been motivated for a while and I am working on that as well. This post is about trying to find something that I think will help me.

I am looking for a good song writing community. I have recording equipment and pretty much everything I need to make music. I have been a gigging guitar player for many years and feel like I may be done with that phase of my playing and am trying to find a way to keep my interest up in playing. I have started several pieces but never end up finishing anything when I record. I think finding a good community that is supportive may help me get past this issue. I think once I get through a song or two the flood gates may burst wide open. I have a lot of ideas in my head that could be good songs.

I should also mention that I have spent a good amount of time behind a mixer doing live sound as well as have mixed some songs for other people in my DAW. I just need to get the ideas into music. I am sure this discussion will evolve as it happens. I am trying to take a good honest hard look at myself and see if I can make this work. I think I can but need to figure out why I don't spend the time to do it. I usually have fun and spend a good number of hours enjoying what I am doing when I take the time to set down and focus on it. I just need to find a way to turn it into something I can't wait to get back to.
 
I’m kinda in the same boat.

I had previously gotten invited to songwriting collective thing through one of my wife’s friends. It was alright (there was wine) but it kinda became me helping them produce their songs (for wine) and I totally didn’t wanna get beck into that situation. I had run a project studio for decades and I was done with that.

Fortunately, one of my old backup singer’s Mexican Emo band I had helped out in the past came calling again, so I opted for that instead.

A couple of years went by and then Covid hit.

And… I’ve never bounced back. My ass remains firmly planted on the sofa. I even went and bought a new Lappletop and interface, and have logged a total of two hours on it since buying it like, 8 months ago.

I’ve lost all my ambition.
 
I have some of the same issues. I usually don't have an issue getting an idea started, it's getting it beyond that to a finished product. A lot of times I think it sounds rather bland and formulaic. It doesn't help that I can't sing, so I haven't really written lyrics in a long, long time. (Hey, there's an idea, mayb--- what do you mean "long, long time" has already been used?)

I need to push myself again in this regard. I've had a title and idea kicking around literally for years. I got started on it once a year or so ago, and I really didn't care for where it was going, I may need to get back on that horse.
 
I actually have some partial songs in lyrics too. I think I can do okay in that area as well. I am also able to sing, although I have not tried to record my own vocals yet so I may change my mind on whether I can actually sing after trying that. lol It hasn't stopped me from putting some of my vocals through a mic at a live gig. I just haven't found something to drive me to go back to something once I see it start to take shape. It looks like I am not alone in this. I am both happy and sad about that. Maybe we can find a way to fix it for the group of us...

I am thinking if I had more experienced songwriters to ask questions to or bounce ideas off of that it may help drive the urge to want to get back to it and further the project to completion. Then it would be good to have someone to listen to it and give you honest feedback, not the "great job!" to make you feel better. I am a pretty objective and fact based person. I can take it and probably already have thought what they may tell me.
 
On my side, I did a big push in 2021 to finish an album's worth of songs with the intention of continuing with new releases (EPs?) maybe every 6 months or so. So far: zero. I do have several songs I have written, and started to record, but haven't had the motivation to finish them without a broader objective. Part of that is that while I received some good feedback on my album, the feedback (accolades and lack thereof) was not motivating on its own. (Not that I really expected much).

Note that I have thrown out several songs in this period deciding they were dreary and boring. And I have tons of ideas and riffs, and some lyrics parts that I can put to good use.

Anyway, I don't have much to contribute to what to do here. I think the bulk of heavy users of this forum are *way* more accomplished than I am. But for me, I'm refocusing on performance. I will be interested in the responses.
 
My problem is always getting from "conceptual" to "demo", which is less a reflection of my songwriting than my utterly feeble skills at utilizing a DAW efficiently (something I am actively working to improve upon). If I can get fast at programming some basic drums, I think it will improve my ability to see things through to a more realized level.

The only useful advice I can offer, and it may only be useful to me, is to not put pressure on yourself to write. If I were to sit down with the sole purpose of writing a song, I'd be lucky to decide what chord to start with. But if a riff or melody springs forth organically, I can build from that with purpose. This is why I keep my phone handy and capture things with Voice Recorder. Lyrics are similar, and I have a running note that anything from a clever pairing of words to full verses lives in, waiting to be combined with the right setting. Some of these snippets die a slow, inglorious death...other rise like phoenix from the ashes to become great songs...even if no one ever hears them ;)

Finally...remember, some of the "greatest" songs ever written have stupid lyrics and basic changes. But if you want to rock and roll all night and party every day, you've just got to do it with conviction.
 
FragileThunder said:
My problem is always getting from "conceptual" to "demo", which is less a reflection of my songwriting than my utterly feeble skills at utilizing a DAW efficiently (something I am actively working to improve upon). If I can get fast at programming some basic drums, I think it will improve my ability to see things through to a more realized level.
Click to expand...

This is where I love EZ Drummer - it's very easy to throw a quick drum part together. And I won't lie, I've used EZ Drummer for final drum parts as well. I've fully programmed others. But it's a very quick and easy way to do it. If you're using GarageBand, it can be even quicker w/the drummers they have, but I haven't worked with those as much.

Tim Pierce highly recommends just finding drum loops and working from there to get ideas together.

FragileThunder said:
Finally...remember, some of the "greatest" songs ever written have stupid lyrics and basic changes. But if you want to rock and roll all night and party every day, you've just got to do it with conviction.
Click to expand...

It's like Steve Martin used to say - "Some people have a way with words. Others...well, don't have way, I guess."

I've long had an interest in writing. I think I can string a sentence or two together, but I didn't really think all that much about it until a friend of mine (who was my boss at the time) found out I did way better on my math SATs than on the verbal. He said, "The way you write and talk about sh*t, I'd have bet it was the other way around."
 
I have lyrics everywhere. I finally got most of them collected, though who knows what is in the attic - I know I'm missing some.

I also have bits of music in a number of forms. Some in a state I could call a song.

But...I don't care that much about 'finishing'. The creative part is the interesting part to me. The polish of truly finishing is too much like work, and I've done my share of that. Still, i may create a sister thread.
 
alantig said:
Tim Pierce highly recommends just finding drum loops and working from there to get ideas together.
Click to expand...

This would be smart...except I hear drum parts and some part of me wants them to be what I hear in my head. And since I can't play drums to save my life, I'm hoping upping my programming skills will help. :rolleyes:
 
alantig said:
This is where I love EZ Drummer - it's very easy to throw a quick drum part together. And I won't lie, I've used EZ Drummer for final drum parts as well. I've fully programmed others. But it's a very quick and easy way to do it. If you're using GarageBand, it can be even quicker w/the drummers they have, but I haven't worked with those as much.
Click to expand...

Knowing about zero drummers, EZ Drummer is where I start and finish.
 
I have not released any music since June of 2021. The reason though is not for lack of motivation (I have written probably 100 songs since then), it is due to my concentration on learning to perform (even though 99% of it has been at home).

At the start of 2021, I decided I would release a song a week for the whole year. For the first 13 weeks of 2021, I did just that. After those first 3 months, I stepped back and asked myself why I was doing this and determined that as lofty a goal as it was, it was not serving me very well (most songs were under-produced). Every week I was concentrating on recording, mixing, artworking every song, and it was leaving me no time for anything else. I also came to the realization that even though I had released about 70 songs, and have written about 2,000 of them in my life, I could not play a single one of them live. My focus then shifted learning my music so I could perform it (not that anybody other than me wants to hear it). This then evolved into me also playing other peoples music (which has been sooooo much fun, "Dirty Laundry" and "Starfish and Coffee" are my two new set list additions that I love playing), and between those two elements, I have spent basically zero time in the last 20 months on recording anything other than my sets I play (I am up to 5 hours I can play without any notes/lyrics and another 3 hours or so with lyric sheets - Dylan and his dozen verses to a song). But that changes now, as I have to get my new album out which I have been planing for the past two months or so. Songs are all written, need to start recording!

I wish I could help others with motivating, but that is of course a very personal thing. I think what motivates me most is how much I love what I produce. I have friends who have been professional musicians for decades, and they don't even like listening to their own music. I feel sorry for them! I love listening to my own work, probably due to the fact that I created what I wanted to hear ;~))

For drum parts, I use Addictive Drums (similar to EZ Drummer - VST instrument). I sometimes use pre-configured loops but change the kit, effects and the bpm, stuff like that. Other times I will set up a kit in that program (I think they have really good samples) and play the parts on my MIDI keyboard to get a more real feel. I always do my own percussion recordings and will generally record bongo, cabassa, tambo, clave, eggs and cowbell tracks and then just use the best bits of each track if/when they fit.

Best I can say is, enjoy what you are doing and if you are not enjoying the process or the final product, figure out why that is and adjust as necessary! I know I have been very supportive of all who post anything in the Studio & Stage section here on the forum simply for the fact that these individuals are ready to share and should have support for their visions, regardless of whether I like it or not. Not saying I am going to tell everyone how great they are, but always try to find something good to say about their efforts. Looking forward to hearing music from each and every one of you!!!!

Girlfriend just left so time for me to make some noise! Going to work on the song I wrote this morning (that happens to me a lot)!
 
what i would do is think what story you are telling, cut it up into like 8-10 parts, for each of those make up or rip-off an idea, play it sloppy into the tape, mumble your vocal over that. listen to more music with words you don’t yet understand.

 
rwandering said:
Hopefully not for good; but if so, then there is more fodder for your songwriting.

We are on similar trajectories (not regarding girlfriends), but shifting the focus to performance.
Click to expand...
Ha, no, not for good, not yet! She had an appointment which gave me a couple of hours to play at the volumes I like and not worry about trying new stuff ;~))

As for performance, I am ready to put it out there, but this album needs to happen now. Been writing it for the past year or so, and it is time to record! I must say, the performance work I have done over the past 20 months has immensely helped me improve my song development. This morning I wrote the lyrics to a song as soon as I got out of bed, then went and worked out the guitar parts. It is only they 3rd or 4th time in my life (and all of them in the past 3 months) that I have written lyrics and then immediately worked out the guitar parts very quickly (were talking like 5 minutes before I was able to do a comfortable play through of entire song). Never had that ability prior to all the performance work I did recently and could not be happier with such development!

Best of luck with your projects, I have definitely read a few posts of yours where I noticed similarities in our attitudes, goals, paths, etc.!
 
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