Comments on: Why Are Some Songs Easy To Write? And Some A Slog? https://tonyconniff.com/why-are-some-songs-easy-to-write-and-some-a-slog/ Songwriter, Producer, and Coach, based in New York City. Fri, 08 Mar 2019 04:17:23 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Tony Conniff https://tonyconniff.com/why-are-some-songs-easy-to-write-and-some-a-slog/#comment-7522 Fri, 08 Mar 2019 04:17:23 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=4074#comment-7522 In reply to Wally Stewart.

Well said, both of you!
Thanks,
Tony

]]> By: Tony Conniff https://tonyconniff.com/why-are-some-songs-easy-to-write-and-some-a-slog/#comment-7521 Wed, 06 Feb 2019 05:46:29 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=4074#comment-7521 In reply to Wally Stewart.

Thanks so much, Wally. I appreciate hearing from you!
TC

]]> By: Tony Conniff https://tonyconniff.com/why-are-some-songs-easy-to-write-and-some-a-slog/#comment-7520 Wed, 06 Feb 2019 05:45:31 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=4074#comment-7520 In reply to Daniel McBrearty.

That is nice!

]]> By: Wally Stewart https://tonyconniff.com/why-are-some-songs-easy-to-write-and-some-a-slog/#comment-7519 Fri, 01 Feb 2019 05:46:10 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=4074#comment-7519 In reply to Jon Gordon.

Good comments Jon. Peserving those fleeting moments of magic is crucial to in any kind of writing, for it is very likely that they will only visit us once.
I now write poetry instead of songs, agree with everything you said, and send you my best wishes for your writing.

]]> By: Wally Stewart https://tonyconniff.com/why-are-some-songs-easy-to-write-and-some-a-slog/#comment-7518 Fri, 01 Feb 2019 05:38:25 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=4074#comment-7518 Thanks for this great article Tony. I no longer write songs, now it’s poetry- though 3 people are wanting to write music for my newest poem-and especially appreciate your thoughts that we perhaps get the “gifts” because we are willing to “slug it out” with the harder ones. A lot of the time writing feels like a bare knuckles fight, with the poem always winning, regardless of how many rounds it lasts-if it doesn’t doesn’t we both lose.
Though I’m not writing songs I greatly enjoy your columns and get a lot of insight and help from them. Thanks for providing this service to more appreciative people than you may ever know. I send my best wishes to you.

]]> By: Daniel McBrearty https://tonyconniff.com/why-are-some-songs-easy-to-write-and-some-a-slog/#comment-7517 Sun, 20 Jan 2019 23:00:57 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=4074#comment-7517 I like it best when they kind of sneak up on me

]]> By: Jon Gordon https://tonyconniff.com/why-are-some-songs-easy-to-write-and-some-a-slog/#comment-7516 Sun, 20 Jan 2019 16:32:25 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=4074#comment-7516 Great post Tony!
What it underscores for me is that songwriting is never an entirely predictable process. It depends on preserving flashes of insight – a particular scrap of lyric, turn of melody, rhythmic idea or set of chord changes that for some reason is evocative at that moment, and that may be gone forever 15 minutes from now.
So I think it is important for songwriters to value their moments of inspiration enough to record or write them down in some form right away. Whether it’s a whole song or a spark that will take months to fan into a flame, it will surely disappear if you don’t do something right away to preserve it.
I think that is the basic leap of faith and investment in oneself that a songwriter must make. The details of the subsequent process will sort themselves out.

]]> By: frank canino https://tonyconniff.com/why-are-some-songs-easy-to-write-and-some-a-slog/#comment-7515 Sat, 19 Jan 2019 06:37:41 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=4074#comment-7515 In reply to Tony Conniff.

And then there’s the performance of the song – I used to play with a musician who would get frustrated if the song didn’t give him the part quickly. Do youse think that it’s a reflection of the quality of the song if the parts aren’t easily created?

]]> By: Tony Conniff https://tonyconniff.com/why-are-some-songs-easy-to-write-and-some-a-slog/#comment-7514 Thu, 17 Jan 2019 19:08:15 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=4074#comment-7514 In reply to Lou Esposito.

That’s great!
What I wrote may be true for most, but certainly not for all, or all of the time.
Some great songwriters always write fast, or trust their instincts in a way similar to you.
Thanks for sharing your process!
Best wishes,
Tony

]]> By: Tony Conniff https://tonyconniff.com/why-are-some-songs-easy-to-write-and-some-a-slog/#comment-7513 Thu, 17 Jan 2019 19:05:39 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=4074#comment-7513 In reply to Seth Glassman.

Thanks, Seth!

]]> By: Lou Esposito https://tonyconniff.com/why-are-some-songs-easy-to-write-and-some-a-slog/#comment-7512 Thu, 17 Jan 2019 16:05:17 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=4074#comment-7512 This will sound crazy, but for me l feel a presents on my left side, like something is there. When that happens the song writes itself. When l have to make myself think about a song, it doesn’t quite flow as much. I have had good songs come both ways, but the left side thing is much better for me.

]]> By: Seth Glassman https://tonyconniff.com/why-are-some-songs-easy-to-write-and-some-a-slog/#comment-7511 Thu, 17 Jan 2019 15:24:32 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=4074#comment-7511 Great column, Tony. So true. You can’t look a gift horse in the mouth – if it comes easy it might be great. But it’s great because it’s great, not because it came easy. Conversely, if it’s hard it doesn’t mean it’s good, you might just be laying a bigger egg.

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