What If You Just Wrote the Same Song Over and Over?
Does the world really need another song? The answer is super firmly no. We all keep writing, but why? My why is to play live or add something new to the old. I've been listening to a lot of 80s country, and there's definitely a pattern here. I'm gonna start charting the great ones. Maybe not spreadsheet it, but really learn the song form.
Last semester in the songwriting group, we did, or I did, blues forms. Pretty popular. Responses were great. So: check. And no one said: hey you’re just using the blues form you idiot. So I’m again gonna keep it very simple this semester. (We’re already on our third song.)
Simple = just two parts (and A and a B). If I need something different I’m gonna chop one or theater up for a break, but I’m keeping it very cool and fundamental because really how many songs are there out of all the songs you love?
How many actual songs are there? 10? Maybe?
I still use and reuse two melody lines I wrote early on in the teens, when I was just getting into all that stuff. May use them multiple times this semester.
Maybe I'll find a song for my life and maybe I’ll stick with it. And maybe be the world will be all right and survive me writing the same song over and over, hoping that I’ve got an imperfect mirror--even to myself--because the world doesn’t need a new song especially not a new one, but maybe there’s something that you can do. Get better. Write better. The world surely needs another, better song!
It’s close to the same with my electronica live set -- I’m going to establish a few very fundamental forms and then mess with them live. I don’t need to change that much. (Later in the blog I go track by track as to the "why.")
"What do I want to hear?" has changed to "What am I in the mood for?" Subtle, but there's a difference. And so maybe you go with one feel, one mood, one style, and then dig in deeper than anyone ever has.
The good news is the point = nothing. It’s the same as dancing. There’s no point to it but when you’re doing it, you’re doing it and when you’re writing, you’re only writing and when you’re listening to your stuff, boy are you only listening.
It's a meditation, really. So even though the world doesn’t need more songs, keep doing it. The world doesn't care if care if you write the one song over and over (or not).
What if you had a really good one and you just kept writing it over and over.
Maybe I’ll do that this semester in our songwriting group. Would anyone notice--you know, if you just changed the words and key? 80% definitely no way. But if someone does notice, they may be your fan.