The latter half of this year for me has been defined by a deep plunge into a more intensive practice of songwriting. I’ve always had a musing interest in it, but I would rarely force myself to sit down and write songs. This year has been different.
Without intending it, I’ve ended up with a daily routine of creating basic vocal melodies and chord progressions during the mornings, listening to those melodies on the way to and from work, and finally polishing those melodies back home. After arriving home, if I don’t eat immediately, I usually set my laptop on the table, grab an acoustic guitar, and begin to write.
This routine has given me a steady stream of songs to work on at all times; usually three or four at any given time. Some weeks result in few songs, some productive nights may result in many; the important bit here is practicing and participating in songwriting every single day.
Another important aspect of my songwriting routine is when first writing a song, I try to complete it in that sitting. This doesn’t mean writing all the lyrics at once, but rather creating all the sections I need (which usually means a verse and chorus). This allows me to get a feel for how these chords sound when played over the course of an entire song without losing my momentum.
The worst thing you can do when you’re songwriting is to arbitrarily split up the work; if you have begun writing a song, try as hard as you can to finish it. Often it is nigh impossible to pick up an old, incomplete thought and finish it; your brain was a completely different thing at the time it was made, so trying to recapture that is usually futile.
This doesn’t mean the song is done, of course; over the next week or month, I will continue to listen to and improve the song. Sometimes, there’s really nothing there and the song fades away, being left in a tangible, but unfinished state, though I try to avoid this (by reason of discipline). Often though, after a few days, I begin to hear the song’s voice and its unique identity becomes apparent to me. I may switch out the chorus or add a bridge, but its personality is evident. From this point on, the song enters my practice rotation.
Concert nights
Each week, I like to have one or two "concert nights" where I play many of my finished songs all the way through consecutively. This is the part of the songwriting proceeds where you get to enjoy the fruit of your labor: you get to play genuinely enjoyable songs that you yourself have created, all the while still making important progress on each song’s completion. This stage is where you become truly comfortable with your song and know more closely what you want to be.
An interesting fact you may notice from this last stage is that it never really ends; no one can confidently say when a song can be considered “complete,” so you will find yourself playing songs you’ve made months ago, still finding new ways to improve it. A song isn’t a one and done deal; it’s a living organism that changes and grows as you do.
Every time you play it, there will be slight variations. Despite all the variations, however, you will see through every performance, every recording, and every iteration that a truly good song through it all will still maintain a recognizable soul that can’t be lost to chance.