I’ve heard many songwriters wonder about this. Quite a few have asked me the above question. When do you stop? When does ‘tweaking it’ become ‘putting it through the deflavorizer’? When are you making a song worse, not better?
I have to admit that previously I’ve never had a good answer, even for myself (unless there’s a deadline – then that’s the answer. But otherwise…). Obviously, it’s personal; different for everybody. But lately how this works for me has become clearer.
I know a song is finished:
1) When nothing in the song is bothering me anymore.
I realized that I work like this: I get a song to the point where it can be called close to complete – not always in detail, but overall. Then I start to pay attention to the things that are bothering me, and I try to fix them. It might be a note here, a word there, it might be a whole melody or section.
But if something inside me is uncomfortable with it, it’s not right, and I need to try to make it better. So, if I can get a song that I like to the point when nothing in it is really bothering me anymore… it’s probably done!
(Number 1 is a best case scenario. Numbers 2 and 3; not so much.)
2) When the I’ve reached the limit of my ability to improve the song.
Sometimes I’ve gotten in over my head. I know something’s not right but I don’t yet have the writing chops to fix it though I try.
A case can be made for putting the song aside for a while and coming back to it with more experience and a clearer eye – though after a bunch of months, at a late stage in writing a particular song, I rarely do this; I’d just as soon write a new song.
3) When the song is just not worth the time anymore.
Sometimes I work on something and it’s just not happening. I think it’s OK to admit song defeat sometimes (but not to make a habit of it).
Sometimes the original idea is just not as good as I thought it was at first; sometimes I end up just not liking the song anymore (not a good sign).
4) One more. When numbers 2 or 3 happen… I basically give up… but then come back to it and realize that it’s fine… maybe even good.
Or I play it for someone and either it now sounds good to me or they like it – I hear it through their ears, so to speak, and I realize it’s not as bad as I thought.
It’s good to remember that when a song is performed, it can become a different song… and also that my judgement is far from perfect, particularly when it’s my song… and I’m the prosecutor, defendant, judge, and jury.
How do you know when your song is finished?
Please let me know your thoughts in the Comments section below:
Tony, I believe there are many creative processes with the same problem, notably mixing. And even tweaking a soup or stew. My personal solution for this is that as some point, I began to recognize a creative stage I call “Not Better, Just Different.” That’s when I stop. NBJD.
On a related issue: One late night, I got into an argument with my (then) music partner about two mixes of the same piece. We both defended our preferences with great and righteous energy and conviction (to put a pleasant spin on it). There was no way either of us would give in, so we decided to sleep on it. The next day – and this is no exaggeration – neither of us could even tell the two mixes apart, nor remember which was our respective preference! So, tell me – what was all the excitement about, 12 hours previous?
Rich,
You make two points that really resonate. I actually came to the realization about how I write when I was mixing, more or less how you described it. That’s when I realized that I pretty much finish my songs the same way I finish my mixes – when nothing bothers me (too much).
I have had the second experience you describe many times and try to keep it in mind when obsessing over a musical detail – a not uncommon experience.
Thanks for the great response!
Best wishes and happy holidays,
Tony