Do You Have Creative Seasons?

This is my last day in Amsterdam,Holland, I leave tomorrow at 8 am for Rome, then Florence, Venice and back to Los Angeles by next Thursday. I've been wandering around and the music scene here does not noticiably support acoustic music. Lots of rock and roll and hip hop, which has even infected the dress. My first trip to Holland, I was amazed at how they dressed; all ages,so elegant and cosmopolitan. Now most of the young seem to have embraced the baggy jeans, the layered clothing and American rap music. They have Dutch rappers here that you have to hear to believe. I couldn't find any acoustic rooms and I probably walked about ten miles yesterday, all over the city. Whenever I can't find a music scene to engage me, I turn to books, but this time, instead of reading several books, I've been working on lyrics to some new songs. I am actually working on about five songs at once; all in various states of completion; which is standard for me. I am always working on the lyrics to something and guitar motifs which stand out as I improvise.  But this gave me an idea for today.  Songwriting.

With regard to composing thru the years, I've noticed something  of which I recommend you try to be aware.

One is that during warm up before a performance, I frequently come up with something engaging that I've never heard before. When I have the presence of mind to break out the small recorder that I always (ALWAYS) have with me, I record it, sometimes I don't want to stop.   And sometimes I do record it only to find that the act of recording it is enough.   Don't get caught in that trap.  Sometimes, I don't go back to the recording for months, so I recommend, when the muse shows up, stop what ever else you were going to do and follow that spirit to its destination. Shel Silverstein, the cartoonist, satirist, author and songwriter never let a social obligation get in the way of a creative wave. He surfed it to the end and created an incredible amount of work. Here is one site (www.shelsilverstein.com) but google him, you'll be amazed at how prolific this fellow was. In any event, I noticed that when I am relaxed and just letting my fingers do the talking, they find fun stuff on the guitar. So trust your muse and see what happens.

The second thing that I've noticed is that I frequently write the words out of order. I know this sounds peculiar, so let me explain. I have the idea of the song. I know what I want to say (that is the biggest hurdle--what do I want to say? I rarely write a song that doesn't have an underlying theme that I think is important; a point of view; a gem of wisdom that I've discovered. Every once in a while, I write a song that I just wanted to write for the groove of it; or so that other musicians could play along without a chart, but even then I start thinking about how I can elevate it above the mundane).

As I was saying, I know what I want to say and then I begin writing the couplets. I try to write as many as I can think of; many of which may be similar; it doesn't matter. What I am trying to do is to find exactly the right words to say exactly what I want to say. When I am out of couplet ideas, I step back and I look at what I have written. Invariably I notice that, perhaps, these first two lines actually go with those last two lines in the fourth couplet. That's what I mean by writing it out of order. Sometimes the verses are jumbled together and I must rearrange them after they get out of my head and onto the paper, or the screen. (The fact that I can type as fast as I can talk does help alot...learn to type, you'll be glad you did.)

So, the digression be damned, we're back at the songwriting. I keep at it until a narrative arc is apparent to me, then I begin to hone that. And I continue to hone it untile every word there is one that I wanted, on purpose, not by accident, and not because I couldn't think of anything else. I am always amused by a critic who doesn't seem to think that I chose the words to the song on purpose. 

Paul McCartney's Yesterday started out as "scrambled eggs", but it ended up where he drove it. Make the song say exactly what you want it to say; exactly the way you want to say it. And making certain that it has a narrative arc makes it easy for other folks to get it, sing it, remember it; which is certainly one of the joys of writing a song--having someone else actually want to sing it.

The third thing that I have noticed is that there are, for me, periods of being intensely creative and times of being essentially fallow. Think of yourself like a field from which you harvest a crop. You can't continually plant the same crop and harvest the same crop without depleting the soil. Your creative juices are the same, I believe, and weirdly enough, I've noticed that there are times of the year when I am most creative, just like there are seasons to plant and seasons to harvest.   To everything, there is a season...ecclesiastics.   I always write a bunch of songs as spring approaches and a bunch of songs in the fall. And fallow fields notwithstanding, I am always working on something. During my creative periods I record so many ideas, that during fallow periods, I break out the tapes and listen to them. The ideas that still resonate, I take off the tape and work on. But the fact that I always get lots of ideas in the spring and fall also has the psychological effect of relieving me of any anxiety that artists sometimes create--have I dried up? Don't ever entertain those ideas. They are just a waste of your time, energy and attention.  If I don't have any ideas right now, I will during my creative period.  No worries.

So put down your ideas when they come, and if you can get away with it, work on them right then. See if there are certain times of the day, week or year when you seem to be more creative and make certain that you set aside that time for the muse to appear. Step back periodicaly and look at your work. Are there lines out of order? Is there a narrative arc? Is there a momentum to the lyrics; the melody; the narrative? Is there a payoff. And check the song against what you consider to be your favorite songs. How does your song compare? If it isn't as good, then you are not finished writing it yet.

Okay, I'm going out into the streets of Amsterdam and soak up some inspiration, perhaps a dubbel bock and a herring or two. Talk to you later.

Comments

[Max]

James--Thanks for the great composing tips. Having that recorder always handy is a great idea. I know Keith Richards will agree with you 100%. Had he not recorded that lick for "Satisfaction" before he passed out, the song may have never been born.

Have a great time in Rome.
Max

[james lee stanley]

max, thanks for the post and the kind words. keith was lucky, i woke up from a sound sleep and put down what i thought was the next "let it be" when i woke up i had written a song called poodle trees without no knees. needless to say, it wasn't a keeper.
james