The Joys Of Songwriting

frobisher

This isn't a thread offering or asking for advice. I just wanted to share something. I've spent the morning on and off writing a new song in the sunshine in my back garden. I think the song is pretty cool. But more importantly than that is the amount of absolute joy and pleasure I get from going through the process.

I recently made the move from working for a living to doing music for a living. So I have a lot more time to write. It's amazing. Songwriting is probably one of the greatest joys in my life, it's about as good a thing to do with your time as I have ever come across. It's just so damn great! I hope others are rocking out the same joy and pleasure too!

humberklog

I was doing the exact same this morning on my balcony. Tea, fresh crossants, guitar capped on 5th fret just enjoying going from Cshape to Em shape with a trick here and there and Bingo! Off now to pick up a bottle of wine and some rizzlas to see about flexing some lyrics across it. Its the finest of joys.
Great thread.

Stompbox

From incredible highs to incredible lows when ya simply can't get that sound you really want! But otherwise, a beautiful delight in which I enjoy every indulgence!

Jack DeValera

How in God's name do you people pay the rent?

Sitting around sunbathing and eating croissants and making up music and words - you make me sick!!

I have to make up my songs on the bus on the way to weary work.

Seriously speaking though, I tend not to really find making up songs joyful - alot of the time i find it quite stressful, and weirdly tiring. Performing I find joyful.

Oink

You guys make it sound so easy. I manage to write about half a song every two years, and I have never even managed to finish one.
But this is a good thread. I do love that feeling -whenever I get it-, of actually building a song brick by brick, and put it together.
I would love so much to be able to do it more. This is really something I would love to do. I envy you guys too.

humberklog

Jack DeValera wrote: »

How in God's name do you people pay the rent?

Sitting around sunbathing and eating croissants and making up music and words - you make me sick!!

I have to make up my songs on the bus on the way to weary work.

Seriously speaking though, I tend not to really find making up songs joyful - alot of the time i find it quite stressful, and weirdly tiring. Performing I find joyful.

You drive a smart new astra!
True rent can be an issue but every landlord needs to suffer a little for their tenants art. It's in the contract. A happy tenant makes for a sad landlord, I have the first verse!
I'm surprised you don't get more joy from writing jack.

cHaTbOx

Hi , im only new to boards and just saw this songwriting forum. I saw this topic and i smiled. I've been writing lyrics for the last two years since i 16 and i love it.Theres something beautiful in capturing a thought , a moment or piece of imagination in a way that people may not understand but they can relate to.nice thread :)I will probably post some of my lyrics up for some critism sometime- learning the guitar at the moment so i hope to be able get some songs finished by the end of the summer.thanks

frobisher

random chatbox wrote: »

i hope to be able get some songs finished by the end of the summer.thanks

What the long summer days were made for :-)

cHaTbOx

frobisher wrote: »

What the long summer days were made for :-)

Yeah, sitting back ,relaxing ,workin my fingers to death till they make sweet music.

ken.m

frobisher wrote: »

This isn't a thread offering or asking for advice. I just wanted to share something. I've spent the morning on and off writing a new song in the sunshine in my back garden. I think the song is pretty cool. But more importantly than that is the amount of absolute joy and pleasure I get from going through the process.

I recently made the move from working for a living to doing music for a living. So I have a lot more time to write. It's amazing. Songwriting is probably one of the greatest joys in my life, it's about as good a thing to do with your time as I have ever come across. It's just so damn great! I hope others are rocking out the same joy and pleasure too!

have not tryed to write for ages, you just gave me the boost i needed

RealEstateKing

I finished two songs last night that I had had tunes and chords for for ages but no lyrics.

Just had one of those evening where two songs worth of lyrics just spilled out.

And I was thinking just like you: Damn what a cool thing songwriting is: How cool it is to have an art form where you get to compose music, write poetry to go with it, put arrangements on it afterwards, record it AND perform it live to other people and make them sing and dance and clap along.

Fantastic. Now if only I could find a way to make it pay.

How'd you make it pay out of interest?

KStaford

I'm not a song writer, I'm just a mundane ordinary joe that tries to write songs every now and then. But I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve.

1. I have a favourute arm chair that I sit in every night. Beside that arm chair is an acoustic guitar sitting in its stand. It is there instantly if an idea comes into my head (often while watching TV) to pick up and immediately start playing around with.

2. I have a tiny little USB pen drive that allows me to record onto (a bit like a tape recorder / dictation device) so when I'm going about my business, driving, studying, working whatever, if a melody or arrangement or structure comes into my head, I have a way of humming it into a recorder before I forget it. You'd be surprised how quickly ideas dissapear.

RealEstateKing

I have a tiny little USB pen drive that allows me to record onto

Absolutely. The best tip there is.

I came back to mine recently and there was nearly 70 perfectly decent ideas for songs on there - just chords and a little melody. BUt they'd long since dissappered from my memory - it was as if somebody else wrote them.