Have you ever began writing a song and everything seems to be coming together perfectly? Then after a few more hours of working on it you seem to no longer love it? In fact you start questioning everything and end of backtracking and changing things? In this article I hope to shed some light on what’s actually happening when you are experiencing this common occurrence among songwriters.
Newly Acquainted Â
Have you ever discovered a new song that you love and then after listening to it over and over again you notice your excitement and admiration of it diminishes significantly? Are you just now noticing that the song was never that great in the first place? I don’t think that’s the case and here’s why.
When something is new to us it’s unfamiliarity causes it to be more interesting. We are curious creatures and love having new experiences. But once that experience becomes familiar to us the excitement of it will subside and we will perceive it as the norm. It reminds me of the saying “You want what you don’t have and once you get it you don’t want it”.
This concept applies to so many things. It could be a new kid at school or an employee at work. A new piece of clothing, a new car, new food or how about a new song?
Take Notice In The Beginning
See when you begin writing a song you have something very valuable that you won’t have for long and that “thing” is called a fresh perspective. Everything you write in the beginning is going to be new and fresh to you. It’s important that you not forget the excitement you feel once you add new lyrics or melodies to the song. If you don’t like something in the beginning that’s also a good indication that you should go ahead and scratch that part.
Fatigued
But if you find yourself no longer liking parts that you initially loved in the beginning then it’s safe to say that this is an indication you have lost your fresh perspective and are now experiencing ear fatigue. This is different than writers block. The more our ears hear something repetitively the more predictable it is and the less exciting it becomes. This is why it’s important to not forget how you felt in the beginning so you are not deceived once you lose your fresh perspective.
Reset
And there is nothing wrong with giving your ears a break. Sometimes walking away from a song for a few days can do wonders for you once you return and it may just help you regain some of that fresh perspective again. So remember don’t be tricked by ear fatigue’s temptation to make unnecessary changes to your song. Tho you may have listened to it a thousand times before you release it the listener will be experiencing it for the very first time and they will have something you no longer do, a fresh perspective!
How Did I Do?
I hope you found this article helpful! If you have any questions or comments I would love to hear from you so make sure you drop your 2 cents in the comments section below!
Words of wisdom as always Mr mize. Thanks for sharing this just writing now lol. So I will keep this bookmarked.
Hey Darren, thanks so much for reading and commenting! I’m glad this article was useful to you. Yeah keep it bookmarked so you can have it in the future. Keep it up bro! 🙂
Hey, Nice article, and yeah this happens. I have a song that I used to love and now its just there. I still like it and listen to it but its not exciting anymore.
Hey Hunter, I’m glad that you enjoyed this article! It’s good information to keep in mind in the future. Our ears can be kinda of tricky at times 🙂 Take care bro!
Great point Cole! I have experienced this many times and it can be decieving 4 real! Next time it happens I will be prepared.
Thanx 4 the heads up!
Hey Adem, I’m glad that you enjoyed this article! Yes it can be very deceiving! Keep up the great work and the pleasure is all mine! 🙂
Hey cole mize I been stuck working on this song for a few days I’ll come up with a good 8 bars but once I rap them over and over I’ll get ear futigue and end up spending so much time tweaking and perfecting it I never get to finish the full song
Hey Eric, you may want to try and set some time boundaries or try to approach the writing process in a more thought out and methodical way in the beginning by using a story board approach. Writing A Song using Story Boards
I advise approaching the writing of a song similar to writing a story board to a movie. So for example before I would start writing lyrics I would map out the story and how I want to present it. So here’s and idea of what it would look like.
Song Concept “Not holding back, giving my all, overcoming my adversities, people trying to hold you back “bad/negative influences” facing my fears, believing in myself, managing my time wisely, not getting caught up in distractions, “these are just brain storms that can be referenced to when structuring the song”.
Verse 1 “presents problem (unhealthy influences)”begin verse as if speaking directly to someone who hopes you’ll fail, make it dramatic, magnify it larger than it is in real life and end the verse like your ending the conversation. Make this someone close to you who means a lot and don’t come off at first as being super confident but more hurt by the persons negativity
Verse 2 navigating through the aftermath of your loved ones discouragement. Begin verse down and out, beaten, doubting your purpose and or ability. Maybe halfway through the verse you remember something really encouraging someone said to you that changes your course of thinking, there is hope, there is light at the end of the tunnel right before the hook comes in.
Verse 3 Call to action Now that you realize others negative opinions don’t define you and you can do this you start listing out your call to action. Staying focused, cutting out all distractions, less idle time, picking some new friends, setting goals, doing what ever it takes
I hope this gives you an idea of how you can approach a song in a more thought out way in how you wish to tell an overall story using the verses as different scenes to a movie.
Cole, recommend me please some efficient ways to share my music with people while I’m unknown as a performer.
Hey Constantin, That’s a very loaded question! If you want to dig deep into it we should do some coaching together. In short you need to start building relationships with people. Take time to get involved in different communities online and work towards building your own platform such as a website and use third party platforms like YouTube, Sound Cloud etc.. to put your music every where you possibly can. But the most important fundamental is it comes down to being a social butterfly and building relationships with your future fans. I hope this helps. 🙂
I really appreciate this info.
My pleasure! Thanks for reading and commenting! 🙂
Love how you wrote about reminding yourself to keep that fresh perspective your felt when you first began writing the song. & especially how you killed it with “Tho you may have listened to it a thousand times before you release it the listener will be experiencing it for the very first time and they will have something you no longer do, a fresh perspective!” – Cole Mizester
This is so true Joseph! Keep getting that KNAWLEDGE BRO! Much respect! 🙂 – Cole Mize
Another powerful tools from you again, thanks so much Colemize
Thanks Jupiter! I’m glad you enjoyed it man! 🙂 – Cole Mize