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Father Time
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7/14/2020 4:54:24 PM
some songs take many years to gestate
the longer the better as it turns out.
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Francesca Tamellini
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7/15/2020 7:07:58 AM
When do you feel the contractions?
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Father Time
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7/15/2020 7:41:59 AM
Now that is an interesting question.
For me working on music I think is more of a product of where I am in my life, a matter of finding pockets in my day to day world that for whatever reason seem condusive to creativity.
but for me it's not so much that songs force their way to the surface. Some do have that sense of immediacy but not many. I just happened to notice that my abilities in regards to finding the right presentation for a song grow with experience, I'm able to hear details I was previously incapable of.
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7/15/2020 1:06:56 PM
---- Updated 7/15/2020 8:43:46 PM
About a 1/2 dozen boilermakers or so is pretty much all the inspiration I need...
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Richard Scotti
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7/15/2020 1:11:43 PM
---- Updated 7/15/2020 2:09:39 PM
For me there’s a different process for writing a new song from scratch and working on a song that is already written. I am never able to write a new song on “demand”. I just can’t force it and lord knows I’ve tried. The new songs come when they want regardless of the day to day
circumstances of my life.
But then that new song enters the category of “work in progress” and I can work on the mix,
the arrangement, the lyrics etc..over a period of weeks, months and even years but it helps to have a nice cup of strong coffee with each attempt!
The thing that always amazes me is how much better a song can get over time. Just when you think a song is ready for prime time you discover that a few tweaks are still necessary. And sometimes you make radical changes or additions that turn a B+ song into an A+ song. When that happens I always wonder why I was unable to make those changes sooner but the answer is that the more time and effort you put into a creative endeavor the more it evolves and improves according to the amount of experience you gain while you’re working at it. You become an expert on your song and you gain a mastery over every little detail. But time changes everything including the songwriter. What you thought was great a year ago or even a week ago may seem like it needs a major adjustment today.
As Pavarotti once said: “I will always be a student. There is always more to learn”
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Francesca Tamellini
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7/15/2020 2:40:02 PM
I agree that you can’t force a song, but don’t you ever feel that the song is forcing its way out? Natural birth!
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Richard Scotti
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7/15/2020 4:51:59 PM
Some songs are born prematurely and others
are overdue. Some even have be induced! But I agree that a natural birth is always preferable.
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7/15/2020 8:48:25 PM
---- Updated 7/15/2020 8:49:01 PM
Is puking your guts another way of a song can force it's way out? I've had a few of those experiences alright...
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Steve April
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7/15/2020 9:37:35 PM
I was a member of a poetry group, The Putnam Poets, many years ago, we'd put out an anthology each year, and one night Dana Gioia, now California Poet Laureate gave a talk on poetry and noted 3 reasons for writing;
1. exorcism, purging, venting...
2. to share with friends and loved ones...
3. to participate in the glory, and joy of creation...
cheers
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The Mighty Jerkules
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7/16/2020 12:49:09 PM
---- Updated 7/16/2020 12:49:56 PM
I have an entire series of songs that all fall into the aforementioned “vomiting out/exorcism” category as well as a few others. I wrote them at a time when I was very much avoiding writing music because I didn’t want to deal with the emotions I knew I would be writing about. These songs you (or at least I) almost don’t feel like you didn’t write them and more like they already existed and you were a mere conduit for their existence. Sometimes a song wants to be born and you, even as the writer, have little to say about it.
By contrast the last song I released (same series) I wrote the music quickly but took 5 years to write the lyrics. (My apologies to my musical partner Mike Lance.) The last part I have sat on since 2009. (Again, sorry Mike I swear I’m getting a demo to you soon(ish)). I guess I’m just saying I can relate to this post as I’ve had these songwriting experiences at extreme levels on both ends.
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Mike Lance
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7/16/2020 10:27:04 PM
The sky will hit the ground again my friend!
Some of my songs willed themselves into existence, "The Passerby" being one. Another one I have been sitting on since recording called "This is Not My Last Song" because I want to add harmonica (which I lack presently), and I'm not sure how much people want to hear a song about mortal anxiety right now.
Most of the material I have been working on has been gestating for a while, years in some cases. It's helped me steer some of them in interesting directions as I am considering their placement and role on an album while writing. I hope to complete and share these songs soon.
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Two Silo Complex
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7/16/2020 10:32:47 PM
So many songs have grown on me and then just hit me out of no where to leave me wondering what the hell took me so long to get it,
The sky may hit the ground in a "Timebomb Syndrome" cover if a certain party can pull his head out of his ass. Its pretty far up there so there is no telling if this can really happen. Its hard to play guitar with ones head impeded in your own ass.
TSC
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Mike Lance
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7/16/2020 10:39:40 PM
Sometimes the creativity just does not flow for a while, I wouldn't struggling to be productive means one has their head up their ass, but is rather recharging their artistic batteries. It can bevan exhausting practice.
I am excited to hear that you want to cover that song, Ken! I'm sure you can knock it out of the park!
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Stoneman
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7/17/2020 12:59:35 AM
Yes. I have lots of songs that I work on, then get distracted by a different song and ultimately forget about. Then, when searching my archives, I come across the songs again and because of my growth in certain areas (yes, I'm still growing) I will get a different vibe and pursue it. Then, there are the songs that get scrapped for whatever reason I may come up with. Sometimes those songs or the original idea for the songs is resurrected and I will let the magic happen all over again. But truly, I think my best songs are the ones that inspired me so much that I just sat here in the studio for a full day and finished it. Those are usually the award winning songs. The creative process is flawed but often timely. Occasionally I get stuck on a part of a song and that leaves me frustrated. It could be something like a bad bridge or flawed percussion's. At the time I may not be able to figure out a solution and so I will put it in the come back file and tackle it at a later date. Songwriting is similar to magic foe me. The ideas just seem to come out of no where. The radio in my head plays night and day. I cannot shut it off so I might as well deal with it.
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Mike Lance
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8/2/2020 9:49:52 PM
My newest "Under a Waning Moon" was based off a guitar line I came up with in 2013. I have tried to find the song for years and discovered it piece by piece and then rearranged multiple times. It's like surgery, cut out a chorus here, transplant a verse from another song long scrapped, even some plastic surgery in the form of sparkling new arrangements and voila, a shiny new Frankentune 7 years in the making.
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