Writing crap songs

dav | 2021-03-01 07:10:16.051984+00:00

I was watching a YouTube video on the weekend. The presenter suggests a formula for writing an album (LP) as follows:

• Write 30 songs
• Record 20
• Mix 15
• Release 10

I can definitely see the point of using a formula like this - i.e. don't just write 10 songs and release as chances are, not all of them will be of good quality. But it seems to me a heck of a lot of work. Particularly if you have work and other responsibilities. 

Perhaps you can mess with the formula a little but keep the same rough proportions (e.g. write 18, record 12, mix 9, release 6). That seems a little less daunting and would work well for releasing an EP. Maybe it'd help to think about it like this: when you're writing songs you often get a sense of what's worth pursuing and what's not. You might write a verse and chorus and then realise it's probably not your best work and put it aside. In other words, for every song you decide to record you've probably written - or partially written - at least 3 songs or ideas anyway. The truth is, I think most of what I write is utter crap, but it seems to me you gotta get the rubbish out of the way to find the gold.

Well I think you get the idea.... I hope it gives you something to think about. As Tim Molan says in his book The Do-it Youself Labotomy (which I haven't actually read by the way, I just read a review)- crap ideas are fertilizer to help you grow better ones!!!

D