Back when playing the bass guitar was my main obsession, I’d sometimes get depressed about my lack of progress. Usually I’d figure out that the reason I was stalled was that I was practicing less. When I started practicing at my previous rate, progress resumed.
2015 has so far been a slow period for my songwriting; I’ve been less productive than usual. Even though I’ve been fairly prolific over the last few years and have a backlog of songs, I hate it when my output slows down. I’m pretty hooked on writing new songs and I feel it’s important for me to keep making new work. And, as Robbie Kondor said to me years ago, ‘Writers write’ (which depressed me at the time – I wasn’t writing much – but he was correct).
I try to have faith that this slowdown is all just part of a natural ebb and flow… but you never really know that, do you? This could be IT. The ebb without the flow. Written out. This sounds melodramatic and silly but… well, fears are often melodramatic and silly. That doesn’t necessarily make them any less scary.
Eventually I started to notice something, though. I’d always been very careful about writing down or recording anything resembling a song idea… no matter what I was doing at the time.
Sometimes I wake up with a song idea, or have one when I’m just about to fall asleep. I used to force myself to get up and put it on a piece of paper as best I could before going back to bed. Family, friends, students, fellow musicians and subway riders often saw me me pull out a piece of paper and scribble. People who called me got used to hearing, ‘I need to call you back in a few minutes’.
Although I tried to be as polite as possible about all this, when it came down to it I was actually pretty ruthless in transcribing these impulses. Then, later, when I sat down to go over my ideas, I’d often find things that I liked from these odd moments. Often I’d forgotten all about them. These have been starting points for many of my songs.
Anyway, as you can probably guess by now… what haven’t I been doing this year (until I started again, recently)? That’s right. I’ve been letting these ideas float away, lazily telling myself that I’d surely remember them. Me, who’s never been able to predict what I would or wouldn’t remember about anything! When I’d get an idea while drifting off to sleep I’d either tell myself, ‘That’s a lame idea; forget it’ (In my semi-conscious state, how would I know this?) or, ‘I’ll remember this title/this melody in the morning’ (delusional).
Writing ideas down right away is, like most things, a habit; and I was losing it. In short, I got lazy.
Lately I’m trying to mend my ways. So far, the results have been promising. The reasons the simple act of writing down an idea when I get it is so positive are twofold, I think. One is that of course I’m not throwing away a potentially valuable idea. I’m not rejecting what my subconscious, my songwriting antenna, whatever you want to call it, is giving me. The practical result of that is now I have more to work with, and I’m more willing to write down the next thing.
Secondly, when I let ideas slip away, I’m disrespecting my creative impulses. That’s an action that has deep psychological ramifications, I think. Put simply, I believe that the more I respect my artistic subconscious and process… the more likely it is to take care of me and supply me with useful ideas. And useful ideas are what I need!
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“Disrespecting my creative impulses.” Wow! That phrase is powerful and reminds me to be more respectful in my process.
And with today’s technology, it’s easier than ever, yet I still gravitate toward dollar store notebooks, sticky notes, backs of envelopes, gum wrappers, speeding tickets, anything to seize the moment.
Wonderful insight!
Regina,
Great to hear from you. Thanks for writing, and for the encouraging words.
Let me put in a word for my personal favorite… the back of receipts!
Best wishes,
Tony
I refer to my smart phone as my “Butterfly Net”. Tony, like you, songs and lyric ideas come out of nowhere. Often in dreams & upon going to or coming out of sleep… they flutter in front of my semi-consciousness. And quickly I run for my net. Sometimes I spend a few moments to “sing” out loud what I’m hearing… so I can pull it out from the depths of my sub conscious. Lyrics tend to come from everyday moments…Words from others, words spoken by others that bounce off my ears. Sometimes I make connections while I’m doing everyday tasks. The words come from the inside, not form the outside. In this case I grab, pen & paper or smart phone to write down the lyrics. I have lots of scraps of paper with lyric ideas, song titles etc.. Lastly… When I feel like I’m in the songwriting doldrums… It’s so helpful to go through & look & listen at all the butterflies… there are lots of moths in there too… then start out writing a new song…. I really enjoy this and it helps to remind me that I am productive, even when I FEEL I’m not.
Andy,
Really well put. Thanks for writing!
Tony
I have had that same bad habit this past year of thinking I will remember, or just assuming it wasn’t worth writing down an idea, verse, or a short melody, that will come to me just before sleep. I am also guilty of being lazy when I’m fully awake with my phone available for my immediate use.
I really needed to hear that is was disrespectful to my creative impulses. The second I read that, I knew it rang true for me. Today when I was practicing drums for a rock song I just finished writing, a fill came to me that I hadn’t remembered playing before. I repeated it a few times and thought “i will remember this.” A second later, I remembered your post and got out my Ipod and recorded it. Thanks Tony! I am making a commitment to keep at this.
Moe
Moe,
Thanks for reading and writing. It’s great to know there’s an impact; thanks for sharing that with me.
Best wishes,
Tony
I am enjoying the inspiring 25 song lesson challenge that has given me goals and guidelines to new and interesting songs; getting lazy about good habits is a cue that faith is waning in (esp) the creative nature that we all have. Thanks, Tony.
Thank you, Joyce!!
Tony, another great blog entry! I really enjoyed this one.
I keep song ideas in my flash drive. When I feel tapped out, that’s one place I go for fresh inspiration. I’ve had ideas in that flash for years, and a few have eventually turned into some of my best work. I got on particular song idea from reading The Onion in 2008. I wrote the song in late 2013 and recorded the demo in 2014. What if I hadn’t stored that idea for later? (I really like eating pickles. Somehow, there seems to be a connection here. Are those ideas in my flash drive marinating and maturing in some kind of unseen, creative brine?)
There’s another song idea I’ve had for too long to know when it first occurred to me. I found it a few weeks ago and saw immediately that it belonged in a group of songs I’m writing now for a group I love. When I first had the idea for that song, I hadn’t met the band, hadn’t heard of them, wasn’t even into that kind of music. Thank goodness, I kept the idea for later. Now, it’s part of my current project and I’m really excited about this song.
Another good habit is to back up your flash drive — because it contains your work and your great ideas and potential songs. There’s a great temptation to get lazy about this but I keep a copy on my hard drive. Once, I did lose my flash drive. Got a new one, copied the backup onto it, and went right on writing. Also, I am often tempted to get lazy about running anti-virus program on my flash drives. But I do it every day.
It’s your beautiful stuff from your beautiful mind. Take care of it and it will pay you back.
P.S. I once wrote a song. Felt it didn’t quite work. Kept the lyric in my flash drive. A few years later, I changed the ending. The song won me the Abe Olman Award.
What if I had junked that lyric because it didn’t work the first time?! I needed to learn something about myself that would eventually give the song a satisfying ending. Honor your work whether you think it pans out or not. And revisit it from time to time. No one’s looking over your shoulder. Maybe that song will work better now than it used to.
Great ideas, Annie. As usual!
Thanks,
Tony