Russell/Ike,

There are a few similar threads over at the www.fawm.org forums. FAWM is February Album Writing Month, encouraging participants to write 14 songs in the month of February.

There are folks there that kick out what you might expect with 2 days to get a song written, then there are others who simply knock-out pop, country, rock, punk, etc. tunes that simply sound much more mature than their 2 day's life.

You may want to join in there simply to re-post what you've posted here. There's lots of cover-only musicians here at PG forums (nothing wrong with that - but generally not songwriters), whereas the entire point of FAWM is to write new songs.

Here's the jukebox from the FAWM 2010 entries: http://fawm.org/jukebox/

It only contains 1000 of the 10121 songs created by FAWM participants in Feb 2010. Refresh the screen to get a new 1000 songs there.

Writing songs under a self-imposed timeline forces creativity (for me and from what I gather from FAWM participants) in an entirely different way than most non-professional musicians experience. We who are not gainfully employed in the music industry don't really have deadlines to get songs written and completed. A common tendency with folks like me is to let a song simmer for far too long, often getting stuck or burned up in the pot as a result. Participation in FAWM and other similar challenges/workshops can be an eye-opening experience.

Here's my responses to your questions:

1. Lyrics are always sparked by a conversation, sermon/teaching that I hear, a riveting image(s), experience from the past/present. I write out thoughts first, rhyme 2nd - relying on rhyming dictionaries and the like
2. Song - I've gotten in a rut lately of verse verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus song structure. I play in keys comfortable to my voice and guitar and/or keys; depending on what I hear in my head.
3. When I have lyrics, I write them first. If I'm just expressing a musical mood, then I often start with the production mood I'm looking for, then craft some chord structure, then melodies (entirely backwards of what you are 'supposed' to do)
4. Percentage of playing time on original music depends on what my current responsibilities are. If I'm prepping for an originals only gig, then I would place the %-age at 80. If I'm prepping for worship leading, then that percentage flip-flops to 20%
5. 3 as a matter of creative outlet, 8 as a matter of learning new techniques
6. 32
7. I teach only upon request by potential students. Right now, I'm 'teaching' someone how to think of chord inversions with his right hand on keys and economy of motion that results in decent B3 organ and Electric Piano voicings for blues songs. He has 40+ years of playing every single 3 note right hand chord with his thumb, index, and middle finger. He simply can't smoothly riff chord progressions using just those 3 fingers. I've taught several kids the basics of guitar. The fact that all of them still play for enjoyment is fulfilling to me.
8. I'll listen to anything at least once. If I can detect either creativity or virtuosity, without offensive lyrics or simply just noise, I generally will like it and try to learn at least a little bit from it. I do have my limits. My son is listening to a band called 'August Burns Red'. Some virtuosity in complexity of rhythms, timing precision amongst band members, etc. But the 'singer' sounds like he is possessed by demons with guttural croaking and screaming being the only vocals. If they just did instrumentals, I would actually dig their whole vibe. Probably my musical mentor would be a guy who let me EQ and mix for the travelling choir I was in in High School. He taught me the basics of my way around a 32 ch Peavey live sound board and an outboard rack of gear and then used my ear to judge his mixing. Eventually he entrusted me with the task of EQing the mains for all of the different venues we played in. It was my first foray into 'critical listening', breaking down music by arrangement, effect usage, EQ, etc.

-Scott

My Songs, photos, writing,etc.
My Sound Cloud