Songwriting is a thrill. The process is close to madness and the methods never exactly the same. I love the emotional ride of creating the lyrics, and love the wonder of looking back at some of my works and thinking… “I wrote that?!” One thing is I have to be in the song when I am writing it; there can’t be anything else on my mind for those minutes and hours while I am creating. I find my way through a jungle of ideas and focus on one feeling, and then I usually need 3 hours to get a good grip on a song. A few days later I usually spend another 10-20 hours on a ‘good song start’. The songs I have spent the most time on, ironically, don’t end up being my favourites. Perhaps some frustration seeps into vibe of the song tainting it – so the need to finish it is my nemesis.
If the song continues to move me, then it’s time to record…but not before I really sound like I know the song. So that way you also believe what I am sharing. That takes singing it about 50-100 times. I sing it into my phone about 30 times – no overdubs 🙂 – and try it out on various instruments.
I am a grumpy tense human when if I haven’t been songwriting or recording a long while. Perhaps there’s a build up, like a clog in a drain. Perhaps there’s not enough ‘inspiration’ because I am distracted by life itself (ah the irony). Either way…once I am recording a song I love, I feel like jumping over the moon.
The sound of good headphones, gets me in the recording-mood immediately. I can’t sacrifce what I want and need to hear, for the sake of saving a few minutes. Inspiration is interesting because it’s a moving target. Sometimes taunting, sometimes teasing, sometimes delightful, sometimes in your face, often flirtatious and always fleeting. Recording inspirational moments is the bomb!
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A valuable footnote: I found this humorous description of typical artistic behaviours and songwriting & recording could be behind each image! https://www.theodysseyonline.com/10-thoughts-artist
Check out some of Melanie’s music here
Are you open to other songwriters, amateur sending along a song or 2 to you