In class yesterday, one of my new songs got ripped to shreds. Well, not really. They loved the melody and concept, but felt they were mismatched -- and that the "story" in the song was unclear. I hated hearing that, of course.
Except, today, I love having heard it. Because now I know how to approach a rewrite.
Being a songwriter is such a pain. When an idea is new, it's THE GREATEST IDEA ON EARTH, and then you start singing it and the fresh new car starts getting dings and bumps and scratches. Or, they were there but you just didn't see them because NEW IS ALWAYS GREAT!
But, how valuable to have informed, honest reactions. You cannot grow without it. You have to suck it up and look at what you've got and then fix it. And fix it again.
That's a metaphor for life, btw.
It never gets easy. It only becomes familiar. But if your life is easy, you're either dead or you've lost the meaning of life.
OTOH, the two other songs got a splendid reaction. I still think there's work to do, but at least I feel I can see the runway and can land pretty smoothly.
Except, today, I love having heard it. Because now I know how to approach a rewrite.
Being a songwriter is such a pain. When an idea is new, it's THE GREATEST IDEA ON EARTH, and then you start singing it and the fresh new car starts getting dings and bumps and scratches. Or, they were there but you just didn't see them because NEW IS ALWAYS GREAT!
But, how valuable to have informed, honest reactions. You cannot grow without it. You have to suck it up and look at what you've got and then fix it. And fix it again.
That's a metaphor for life, btw.
It never gets easy. It only becomes familiar. But if your life is easy, you're either dead or you've lost the meaning of life.
OTOH, the two other songs got a splendid reaction. I still think there's work to do, but at least I feel I can see the runway and can land pretty smoothly.
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