Now there has been some great discussion here re; writing and getting out and actually trying to write for an audience. I can honestly say that by going to 3-5 open mics a week for about 5 years with a variety of age groups, I work more successfully at the 18-25’s than my age group or the mid 30 – 40 hippy Eagle lovers.
I do have some 4 minute+ songs which work but mostly I am between 2.00 and 3.30 minutes, tempos from 85 to about 180 bpm, so I have worked on the full gamut actually. Love songs from a whole lot of angles and emotional viewpoints, story songs and some rather humorous ones which may peep over the fence of smutty but are very radio friendly.
It is a buzz when the audience gets it, the intent is always there but I am a big believer in the numbers, if you aint writing enough not enough will get through the fan!
I still don’t know how good my music is or more importantly my lyric whether it is commercially viable etc. My recordings are rather single shot blahhh, (they are post notes not recordings lol).
Having now completed another FAWM and I took it quietly this year with just the 50 ( 30 odd with mostly average one shot melody) there were a lot of road / away songs no doubt influenced by my son leaving to pursue his dream of music in London last Thursday for two years.
I now feel along with the 400+ from the 50-90 last year I am ready to take the next step and capable of not (always) stuffing up if I had to write up. Eighteen months more than I anticipated but the last two 50-90’s and FAWM were important for me to test myself under constraints of time to produce a draft of reasonable quality which made story sense, impacting on the chorus is a different way each time.
Now having tried reasonably hard to develop relationships with players here, no Gherming, see the best way is to get on the circuit and play out so am starting up “Arty Redsocks and the Holey Soles” along with another project with some of my Old Timey friends doing some forgotten Bush Poet’s prose into song along with originals written for this market.
But after watching one of our pre-eminent ‘country’ performers and some say songwriter, last Saturday night I think I finally understand why not many great artists are great writers. Simply it is too easy to take short cuts as they are able to fudge over poor lyric with melodic rises etc. that sound great but leave an empty hole behind. My God you appreciate their singing and playing talent but the giant gap in the lyric tale is why the songs don’t last past the next swig of beer.
There are a lot of people who believe in QUALITY OVER QUANTITY. And that is true. But till you get QUANTITY, you don't get QUALITY. It is a physical impossibility.
So some really great Nashville writers will get more information in a song, in two verses, usually than most people take in four verses. There will be more hooky songs, and more layered information. In Texas, with the long standing "around the campfire" songs, they will take a long time to tell their story. That works when you are the only one out there doing something. When you are in with thirty to fifty other writers, all waiting on their shot, it changes a lot. People tune out faster.
And that is our current mentality in the general public. We call it "Don't bore us, get to the chorus."
That is the main difference in Texas and Nashville. Some like it, some don't. But if people want to come here, they need to live it, learn it, love it. And it makes you be a better, more effective writer. I have never yet met anyone that enjoys being tuned out.
MAB
This is so pertinent to too many songs and trying to be nice about it has been difficult, then, the separation of ideas between verses and the chorus arghhhhh….. then Dr Zeus rhyme patterns, then clichés…
I do jest everyone has to start and learn then develop the techniques and this is where the site I important, it is where critiquing is important to development, this also has to be learnt, then writing more is important…..
I do wish more would get on the lyric site and post and comment and not just one moment reflections but really try and make a difference to others writing, we all start from the bottom, so why not commit to say 2 critiques a week and post two yourselves. This site would be better off and more viable. If we are not writing songs, what are we doing?
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