Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
#532910 04/15/19 03:45 PM
Songwriting
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 1,378
Tangmo Offline OP
Expert
OP Offline
Expert
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 1,378
After years of pretty prolific lyric-writing which ended a few years back, I'm just coming up short consistently.

I've come to the conclusion (no matter how temporary) that I really can't write unless I am unhappy. Whether I write to express that mood, or (much more likely) to change it, or just simply to be yearning for happiness, it's that basis of unhappiness which drove my most prolific (and best) lyrics.

I may get mildly annoyed at times, but I'm not unhappy. Don't get me wrong...I don't want to put myself in a self-induced funk just for the sake of puny art, but I can't seem to find a new motivation...at least one that lingers long enough to produce anything I'd want to hear.

Another thing is that a lot of my "starting" lines were drawn from conversation--sometimes ones I was engaged in, and other times from overhearing a snatch or two and stealing it. I don't hear as much English these days (and consequently don't speak it as much). Here, there may be a substitute, but I'll be danged if I know what it is.

Anyway, just venting. Maybe I'll never be as prolific as I had been, and maybe I over-analyze and second guess things to death before anything can come of them.

Any tips, or whippings received with appreciation. Or just join the moan.


BIAB 2021 Audiophile. Windows 10 64bit. Songwriter, lyricist, composer(?) loving all styles. Some pre-BIAB music from Farfetched Tangmo Band's first CD. https://alonetone.com/tangmo/playlists/close-to-the-ground
Tangmo #532920 04/15/19 08:13 PM
Songwriting
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,899
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,899
Tangmo. You could try joining an informal songwriting group. Something like FAWM or 50/90 always provides me with the motivation to write. Even if you only write one song.


LyricLab A.I assisted chords and lyric app. Export lyrics and import directly into Band-in-a-Box 2024.
https://lyriclab.net
Play-along with songs you know and love, download SGU files
https://playiit.com/
Tangmo #532931 04/15/19 11:05 PM
Songwriting
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 40
B
Enthusiast
Offline
Enthusiast
B
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 40
Hi, Tangmo, The human can be such a complicated spirit. I think that the songs that speak to me at that deep connection level are the songs that are born out of the real life emotions of the songwriter. Perhaps a little less stress on yourself to be "productive" and a time to live and re-connect with your emotions may be the key. Regards, from Durban RSA.

Tangmo #532947 04/16/19 04:03 AM
Songwriting
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 9,301
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 9,301
It was said you have to be "hungry" to write. There's some truth to that but there's also truth to finding a good co-writer who inspires you and work with them.

I heard more than one writer who said you don't wait for inspiration. You make it happen. You do this by setting down every day and spending time writing. Kinda like learning how to do anything, at first, it's hard and you're going to fall. But keep at it and soon you will be writing naturally and some of it might actually be good.

Now.... where's my pencil and pad of paper?


You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Tangmo #532960 04/16/19 05:33 AM
Songwriting
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 723
Journeyman
Offline
Journeyman
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 723
I thought your title of your post was sooo interesting "Dry as Dust". Hmmmm! has a lot of potential. Write about that. Write about how you can't write unless you're unhappy. It's a conflict and conflicts create tension which is interesting. Not sure what country you are in but here in the USA, we have dust storms in Texas and Arizona, cowboy towns. Put yourself in the movie, standing out on the range with sagebrush, horse beside you. Dry as the gulch, no rain for months. The whole praire is begging for rain and there's none. You're like that right now, begging for inspiration, creativity, good lines and there are none. Feel the emotion!! Is this all there is? Am I finished as a songwriter, person? Rode hard, hung up dry? The struggle of life in the desert, can it survive, can love survive? Do you just give up and accept your fate or press on for another day? Can life or love change? Don't think about writing a song in it's structure or rhyming, just "free write" as if you were telling a story. Use lots of action verbs and nouns. Lemons to lemonade. Can't we all relate to those times in life, when we feel hung up dry? Is this it? All we've got?

What did other songwriters write about this? "Dust in the Wind?" Life as just dust in the wind. Does anything we do matter? Are we only dust in the wind? What really does matter?

Deep subject to contemplate? Where can you go with it? Old saying "Bloom Where You're Planted" Right now you're planted in the desert. Some of the most beautiful and rare flowers are planted in the desert. Bloom only once at night every twenty years or so "Silver Sword" in Hawaii. Most beautiful and rare plant in the world. Maybe your song could be the best you've ever done. Just planted in this uninhabitable situation. Life is a play of opposites, good against evil, etc. Maybe our best work is created in adversity, dry times, slow lines, etc.

Great potential in being of an age when you have more to write about. A twenty year old is probably just concerned about meeting the opposite sex and all the glories with that. However, being older gives you a perspective more based in reality. So I would say that the cold hard facts of reality are more of a motivator in songwriting, than a fantasy vision of "prince charming and happily ever after".

Even if you aren't unhappy, reality is the still best place to write from. Maybe not that it will be bought by 20 year olds, green behind the ears with a lot of suffering to live through.

So, happily I don't have to be supported by my music sales, so I want my songs to have a deeper message of quality. I want to write and express deeply intriguing, contemplative songs. I feel I do my creativity justice when I write that way, not just to oil the money making machine.

Wishing you the best my friend.

Last edited by Belladonna; 04/16/19 07:37 AM.
Tangmo #532965 04/16/19 06:02 AM
Songwriting
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 2,945
PG Music Staff
Offline
PG Music Staff
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 2,945
I find with art a lot of the time the muse strikes hardest what emotions are high. Not always bad emotions, but really good ones too. I am sure that you will find or experience something that will inspire you soon.


Cheers,
Ember
Tangmo #533127 04/17/19 04:59 AM
Songwriting
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 1,378
Tangmo Offline OP
Expert
OP Offline
Expert
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 1,378
Thanks, all. I'm feeling a bit better about things, though I think I'll have to suppress the "feeling better" thing if I still want to at least pretend to be unhappy.

Belladonna, that was a hell of a post. There was a little crack in the dam reading that, and I think I have one in the oven, so to speak and mix metaphors.


BIAB 2021 Audiophile. Windows 10 64bit. Songwriter, lyricist, composer(?) loving all styles. Some pre-BIAB music from Farfetched Tangmo Band's first CD. https://alonetone.com/tangmo/playlists/close-to-the-ground
Tangmo #533437 04/19/19 01:46 AM
Songwriting
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,056
C
Veteran
Online Content
Veteran
C
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,056
Re: <<< Or just join the moan. >>>


Inspiration can be anything from anywhere. Inspiration hides behind motivation. You just have to expose it.



Your post itself is full of lyrical snippets or song titles.

"I'm just coming up short"
" yearning for happiness"
"I may get annoyed at times, but I'm not unhappy."
"Don't get me wrong"


Yesterday I heard a joke about a 'country' song title - The title, " I kissed her on the lips and left her behind for you". As I read through your comment, "just join the moan" stuck with me in the back of my mind. Looking through the comments of the post, I came across a phrase and immediately an idea based on moaning (woe is me )appeared in my head of a humorous take of a hen pecked man's wife always nagging, fussing and carrying on - but she also was off key as she spoke - humorous in similar fashion to the play on words inspired by the joke I heard yesterday.

Honestly, a cartoon appeared in my head of a older, bald man standing in his cluttered music room surrounded by instruments with his wife standing before him clearly nagging - The cartoon caption came from Joanne Coopers comment post in one of her links - The musician is more upset and frustrated about his wife being off key than the nagging so he is phrasing Joanne's "I'll tune your vocals for a fiver ($5) to his wife to fix her pitch-- A catchy song title and inspiration for a humorous nagging/nagged song possibly.


We think by association. One can link any three random words and our brain will instantly create an image in our mind from an association it has to make. That's what it does. You can literally write 3/4 to a full page from nothing more than describing the image you brain created from three random words.


What image does your mind create from: tree, river, dress?


How about: Book, rock, sandals?


I look at lists a lot for song ideas because the brain will associate the different words into images and it's easy to rearrange the words into obvious links that can become song ideas, lyrics or a song title.


BIAB Ultra Pak+ 2024:RB 2024, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
Tangmo #533508 04/19/19 12:00 PM
Songwriting
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 2,945
PG Music Staff
Offline
PG Music Staff
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 2,945
Originally Posted By: Tangmo


Belladonna, that was a hell of a post. There was a little crack in the dam reading that, and I think I have one in the oven, so to speak and mix metaphors.

That's great to hear! I love that this community can inspire one another. grin


Cheers,
Ember
Tangmo #533559 04/20/19 12:57 AM
Songwriting
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 18,838
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 18,838
Hi Charlie,

Wow.... your below words are lyric writing gold!

Originally Posted By: Charlie Fogle
We think by association. One can link any three random words and our brain will instantly create an image in our mind from an association it has to make. That's what it does. You can literally write 3/4 to a full page from nothing more than describing the image you brain created from three random words.

Never once I have thought of what you've said above. I first read what you wrote early this morning and since then, I've been going over and over your words in my mind. It's incredibly insightful.

One of my approaches to writing lyrics is to think of a noun or concept and then I write around 150 words of sense-based phrases around that noun or concept. By sense-based, I mean I use the words and phrases that involve the senses (taste, touch, hearing, smell, see, body movement, internal body sensations).

Once I have around 150 words, I then pull the phrases and words that I've written out of context and gauge how interesting they are. I also look for sequences of phrases/words that might cause a lyric spark in my mind.

By doing the above, to date, I have always been able to create a first draft of lyrics for one song section. Once I have that section drafted, the rest of the lyrics follow by employing standard development techniques.

I'm going to be trying out your "Three random words" approach. As I said at the start... for me, this is gold!

Thank you so much!

Regards,
Noel




MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2024
Tangmo #533583 04/20/19 05:32 AM
Songwriting
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 723
Journeyman
Offline
Journeyman
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 723
Charlie and Noel, Good ideas. With me sometimes I feel sort of "Dry as Dust" after a long writing streak, out of creativity. I do sort do just free style writing not really focusing on trying to write a song. I also use "sensory writing" as I think it keeps one practicing imaginary, showing instead of telling, painting word pictures. Haven't tried the 3 word exercise, but it does sound interesting, I'll see what I can come up with. I try to keep "priming the creativity pump" as I think it's like working out, you just have to do it to stay in shape.

Last edited by Belladonna; 04/20/19 05:34 AM.
Noel96 #533817 04/21/19 02:33 PM
Songwriting
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,056
C
Veteran
Online Content
Veteran
C
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,056
Thanks for your kind words Noel. Hopefully you will get some benefit from the idea. Reading lists is another mental prompt I use a lot. Looking at the TV Guide menu on my TV set yielded a song idea from the PBS Network listings when two back to back shows were titled "As time goes by" - "Waiting for God"


It's a killer lyric line I've yet to develop but maybe "one day soon" Oops, there comes another!


Lol, you may recall several years back I wrote a song that forum member Tom Adams graciously recorded - because my lyrics were developed from his list of song titles on his web page. He recorded the song nearly verbatim from my demo and I shared co-write credits with him because there would have been no song without his song list. wink


Belladonna, it's easier than it looks and becomes quite addictive to search for 3 word patterns in various places out in public areas.


BIAB Ultra Pak+ 2024:RB 2024, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
Tangmo #533957 04/23/19 04:27 AM
Songwriting
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,414
PG Music Staff
Offline
PG Music Staff
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,414
I feel this is standard for most songwriters, or I guess more so artists in general. It's all part of the trials and tribulations. I personally let is be when I feel this way, because when it comes naturally and feels genuine I'm always more happy with the work I've made as opposed to when I try to force it out of me.

Regardless, happy you find some inspiration in this thread and can't wait to hear what you come up with!


Cheers,
Deryk
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!

The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!

There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.

If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.

We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!

Congratulations to the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!

We've just announced the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!

There are 45 winners, each receiving a Band-in-a-Box 2024 UltraPAK! Read the official announcement to see if you've won.

Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed!

Video: Volume Automation in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®

We've created a video to help you learn more about the Volume Automation options in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows.

Band-in-a-Box® 2024: Volume Automation

www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024full/chapter11.htm#volume-automation

Video: Audio Input Monitoring with Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®

We've created this short video to explain Audio Input Monitoring within Band-in-a-Box® 2024, and included some tips & troubleshooting details too!

Band-in-a-Box® 2024: Audio Input Monitoring

3:17: Tips
5:10: Troubleshooting

www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024full/chapter11.htm#audio-input-monitoring

Video: Enhanced Melodists in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®!

We've enhanced the Melodists feature included in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows!

Access the Melodist feature by pressing F7 in the program to open the new MultiPicker Library and locate the [Melodist] tab.

You can now generate a melody on any track in the program - very handy! Plus, you select how much of the melody you want generated - specify a range, or apply it to the whole track.

See the Melodist in action with our video, Band-in-a-Box® 2024: The Melodist Window.

Learn even more about the enhancements to the Melodist feature in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024upgrade/chapter3.htm#enhanced-melodist

Band-in-a-Box® 2024 DAW Plugin Version 6: New Features Specifically for Reaper®

New with the DAW Plugin Version 6.0, released with Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows: the Reaper® Panel!

This new panel offers built-in specific support for the Reaper® DAW API allowing direct transfer of Band-in-a-Box® files to/from Reaper® tracks!

When you run the Plugin from Reaper®, there is a panel to set the following options:
-BB Track(s) to send: This allows you to select the Plugin tracks that will be sent Reaper.
-Destination Reaper Track: This lets you select the destination Reaper track to receive media content from the Plugin.
-At Bar: You can select a bar in Reaper where the Plugin tracks should be placed.
-Start Below Selected Track: This allows you to place the Plugin tracks below the destination Reaper track.
-Overwrite Reaper Track: You can overwrite previous content on the destination Reaper track.
-Move to Project Folder: With this option, you can move the Plugin tracks to the Reaper project folder.
-Send Reaper Instructions Enable this option to send the Reaper Instructions instead of rendering audio tracks, which is faster.
-Render Audio & Instructions: Enable this option to generate audio files and the Reaper instructions.
-Send Tracks After Generating: This allows the Plugin to automatically send tracks to Reaper after generating.
-Send Audio for MIDI Track: Enable this option to send rendered audio for MIDI tracks.
-Send RealCharts with Audio: If this option is enabled, Enable this option to send RealCharts with audio.

Check out this video highlighting the new Reaper®-specific features: Band-in-a-Box® DAW Plugin Version 6: New Features Specifically for Reaper®

Band-in-a-Box® 2024 DAW Plugin Version 6: New Features Video

The new Band-in-a-Box VST DAW Plugin Verion 6 adds over 20 new features!

Watch the new features video to learn more: Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2024 - DAW Plugin Version 6 New Features

We also list these new features at www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.plugin.htm.

Forum Statistics
Forums66
Topics81,390
Posts732,456
Members38,441
Most Online2,537
Jan 19th, 2020
Newest Members
Ernest J, ingridguerci94, Izzy, BenChaz, Csofi
38,440 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 195
Al-David 124
DC Ron 113
dcuny 87
rsdean 83
Today's Birthdays
CeeDee, SethMould
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5