My personal thing is to be open to changes.....let the songs evolve. I've grown to hate some stuff that I've kept a certain way over the years. I love to hear someone else do a song I've written, really breathes new life to them.....also it's fun seeing "baby" walk. : )

pm-

If I'm lucky enough to capture the moment of inspiration on tape I usually don't sweat it because I'll either 1) continue writing, rewriting etc until it's done and I like it 2) continue destroying, redestroying etc until I hate it. In the event of #2, I can (and many times do) leave it sit there for years and come back to it, hopefully recognizing the what makes it "work" and start again...alas, some will never get finished

Rob

Hey pop...not for a year???

Well, in that case I would do a basic rough recording to cassette and then just shelve it until you are close, and then take it out and think about arrangements/recording ides.

Even playing it over and over on your acoustic might kill it. Man if you have a year before you can even think about laying anything down seriously...I have one suggestion...just keep writing!

Bang out as many tunes, recording just a rough draft, and just keep tossing them on the shelf. When you get close to really recording, then break 'em out and start thinking about final production.

The only thing I would do is finish off all lyrics/parts...that might take extra time for some songs...sometimes months if it ain't coming easy.

But if you feel good about the basic chord/melody structure, and all the lyrics are talkin' to you...PUT IT AWAY...it'll be there when you're ready!

Pop,

Been there, done that. And yeah it's totally counterproductive to keep playing your rough demo over and over. Far from giving me new ideas, at a certain point it starts to lock me in to the way I did it on the tape.

Instead, let this period of time be a test of your true imaginative powers. Get your rough demo down just so you don't forget the song, but then put it away as Miroslav says. And when you're in the car or you're drifting off to sleep or some other suitably quiet time, just THINK of the song in your head. Imagine it the way you want it to sound when it's recorded. If any "reality" (your demo or just sitting and playing it on guitar) intrudes on that, it will weaken the vision, if you follow. Yeah you might need to play through it every once in awhile just to make sure that say, an instrumental melody line works against the chord changes. But in general, actually play it as little as possible but imagine it as often as possible. In your head, you have access to unlimited instruments, recording tracks, and gear. That is where the best possible treatment for your song will happen.

At least, that's how it works for me! Hope that helps.

--Lee

I say strike while the iron's hot! Put it off for a year? Why? If you met a beautiful woman, would you plan to date her a year from now? If you care about this project, dive into it. The only reason to put it on the shelf is a creative roadblock, you know, when you have to let the idea grow in your mind before you can proceed.

I don't see any problem with listening to your rough demo, just don't overdo it. Absense makes the heart grow fonder.

put it down on tape IMMEDIATELY. but dont listen to it. put it away until you can record it. then tinker around with it live on acoustic to refine until you can record it for real. since you cant listen back, it doesnt have that same killing effect that listening to a tape over and over can.

then right before you record it, pull out the demo and give it a couple listens to spur ideas before you go in and see if it was really that good compared to where you got it just playing it live.

Call me weird, but that doesn't usually happen to me until I record the final version.

Listening to a rough demo over and over...I get new ideas...ideas for arrangements, etc. Also really cool if you can play it for someone else with a producer bent that hears cool arrangements.

But, I told my wife one time, "What do you do if you have a song you really reeeeeaaallly want to hear? You put on the CD, or go out and buy it. But, what if the CD hasn't been recorded yet?"

So, you're really listening to the song, but you haven't heard the real thing, all the parts, etc., not until you record it properly. And, I wouldn't wait.

Oh, and remember, it'll be brand new for everyone else.

my little advice is to stop listening to the song over and over...forget
about it for a while,because it's surely going to come back at you when
you're not excpeting it...and most of all,trust your instincts.
the moment you hear something in your head that gets your heart beating a little faster than usual,you know you've just had a good idea.

You can't avoid the need to listen to your rough sketches.
What i've been trying to do is get down say 4 versions of the song. Get it down with different structures and sounds, and whatever changes you've been considering. Then from there you can try to maintain your enthusiasm by having a firm direction to take the track. I think you've got to get down as much as possible to eliminate that fog that comes with one version, where you just go fuck it this is good enough.

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Ed

pop - I feel your pain, but life is short, man. You've gotta find a way to make your dreams happen. Confront your anxieties and brainstorm ways around them. I guarantee that your neighbors can't hear you singing over their televisions as long as you have the windows closed. Install some acoustical treatment. Rent an electronic drum kit. Buy a SansAmp.

Do it, man! DO SOMETHING!! Record your song and post a link to it here so we can all enjoy it. Don't delay! Delay is a good tactic in sex, but never in music. Music is meant to happen now.

Why not consider supporting one of your local recording studios?

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Mac Bowne
G-Clef Acoustics Ltd.
Osaka, Japan
My Music: http://www.javamusic.com/freedomland

[ 02-13-2002: Message edited by: macle96@yahoo.com ]

Don't be afried of redoing !! if you have an udea for a song record it with the means you have and feel comfetable with (be it drum sampels) so you'll have a rough demo. Then let it sit. When you'll have access to a studio, a real drummer etc... redo it.
For example : My wife (the producer) will often use guitar samples while writing a song - we can't play it. If the parts works we'll later have someone play it in with all the extra notes my wife hears in her head

We uselly write a song in 2-3 days, rough mix it , and let it sit. After a couple of weeks (even longer sometimes) when we return to it - everything can change or nothing... don't fear working for days on something you later wont use - you learn as you work.
Keep enjoing

Danny



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Visit http://www.DarlingNikkie.com/sounds for free MP3's

I'm with Dan....just get er down the best way you can. There's a few CD's going around Virginia Beach that were almost entirely recorded in apartments. Pretty amazing stuff, with Sansamp/POD/Vdrums/synths you can really do it. You might want to do vocals or drums somewhere else...or whatever, but it's all doable.

I go through this a lot. There comes a point where i eventually dislike every song i ever written.