My Song Fragments

In a recent post I talked about how it can sometimes be difficult to finish a song, even when you're off to a good start and feel like it has potential. I've made a list of 5 song fragments that I have. I hope to have the first 2 finished by the end of the month and all 5 finished by the end of the year.

1. Despite the Things You Say
2. Dream
3. A Way That I Can Understand
4. Wish I Could Breathe
5. You've Got a Way

Obviously these titles don't mean anything to anyone reading this, but I wanted to give an example of what I'm working on. I've got five song fragments, I've prioritized them, and I've set goals for finishing them. This gives me a way to focus on those projects that aren't finished yet without overwhelming myself or wasting too much time.

When I look at the song fragments I have, it helps to think about what I was doing or what I was thinking about when those ideas came to mind. An idea is usually sparked by something someone else says or does. Thinking about those events put me in the mindset I was in when I originally started writing the song. And remembering where that song came from and why you started writing it is crucial to finishing it.

The problem I run into when I try to complete a song is that I'll come up with a few lines that follow the same topic, but don't go well with what I have already written and was trying to finish in the first place. Then I am left with two song fragments and the frustration of being unable to finish either one. I can't predict whether that will happen with any of the items on my list of song fragments, but I will do my best to have all 5 completed by the end of the year.

~Eliza

Two More Contest Submissions

This month I submitted lyrics to two contests. I submitted the song "Damage" to the Paramount Song Competition and the song "Can't Take Away Who I Am" to the American Songwriter Magazine Lyrics Contest. I will post the responses when I receive them.

~Eliza

Those "To Be Completed" Projects

My songbooks have a lot of lyrics in them. And I think some of them have a lot of potential. The problem is that some of the ones that have potential aren't even finished.
I'll be at work or I'll be at home thinking about a person or an event. Suddenly an idea will come to me. I can hear it in my head. It sounds great. And more importantly it sounds promising. Then suddenly the inspiration is gone. And I'm left with a few lines of a song and no idea how to finish it.
Now it's a matter of prioritizing the song fragments I have. I have to ask myself two questions. Which pieces have the most potential? And which pieces will I be able to finish the fastest? Both questions are equally important and help me manage my time by directing my focus in an efficient manner.
I have too many projects in my songbook that still need to be completed. So this week I'll be putting together my list of the song fragments I want to finish. And by the end of the month I want to have at least three of them completed.

~Eliza

Using the Past for Inspiration

Inspiration for songs can come from the most random things and hit you at the strangest moments, but waiting for inspiration to hit before you get anything done can waste a lot of time. Use your past as inspiration to keep writing.

A journal is something that can really help with this. If you don't use one now is a good time to start. You don't need to write on a daily or even weekly basis. Just write about the events that effect you the most-that person you can't stop thinking about, your financial struggles, the drama at work, your friends sudden illness, etc. Keep a journal in which you write about those moments that evoke strong emotions in you.

Thinking about your past in a general sense can be less productive than focusing on specific emotions or moments. Use these prompts to help you develop ideas based on moments from your past.
-school fight
-a time you were really sick
-the first time you ever felt really guilty about something you did
-your first crush
-your first day at your first job
-an audition or interview you were nervous about
-your first date
-something you've always wanted to accomplish
-a nasty rumor someone spread about you
-a time you wanted to get revenge on someone who mistreated you
-a time someone assumed something negative about you
-a time you tried to impress someone who didn't like you
-your first bad grade or failed project
-a time you didn't get to do something you really wanted to do
-your first sexual experience
-the first concert you ever attended
-the first time you tried to write a song
-a bully that intimidated you
-a time you got in trouble at school
-an event that made you really late from something important
-a time you had to apologize for a big mistake
-a time your boss blamed you for something that wasn't your fault
-a time you blamed someone else for something you did
-something you said to someone that you've regretted ever since
-a moment you wish you could go back and change
-a moment that you feel defines who you are as a person

There are plenty of other moments you could use as inspiration, but hopefully this list at least got you thinking about some inspiring moments in your life. If nothing inspires you right now, look through a journal, a yearbook, or maybe even an old calendar. You might find something interesting.

~Eliza

Songs that Deal with Grief

On the 10th anniversary of 9/11 most of the songs that come to my mind are songs that deal with grief. They are either about releasing grief or overcoming whatever hardship caused the grief.
People often say that the purpose of music is to make people happy and spread joy. I believe that the purpose is to help us feel and not every emotion we feel is happy. I have found many times that I didn't realize just how much I needed to release my emotions until I started singing along to a song that helped me release them. Songs don't bring back lost loved ones or make all of our problems go away, but they do help us recover when we are hurt.
The hurt that was felt in the United States on September 11, 2001 is difficult to comprehend. I was only eleven years old at the time. Since I couldn't remember much from that day, I looked at some of the newscasts, images, and phone calls from that day. The phone calls were the most painful, but I'm glad I listened to them. It's important that we never forget that event and listening to those phone calls was a good thing for me. When we look at the images, it's so easy to just see a couple of buildings with smoke coming out of them, but when we hear the voices on those phone calls and see the images of people jumping from windows to escape flames it is a somber reminder that those were real people and real lives that were lost that day.
I remembered 9/11 today through videos of the days news, but when I finished these were the lyrics that stood out to me, the lyrics that I wanted to sing.

Oh, beautiful, for spacious skies for amber waves of grain
For purple mountain's majesties above the fruited plain
America, America, God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea

It's not that 9/11 makes me think of beauty. That was a very ugly day, but it reminds me how glad I am that I'm still here, how glad I am that there haven't been more attacks like this, and how glad I am that I'm an American. And as an American I will always remember this day and the lives that were lost.

~Eliza

Lyric Critiques

Lyric critiques are an important part of the revision process and help songwriters make the changes they need to make so their work will be the best it can be. I won't be posting very many of my own lyrics on this blog, but I will on occasion. I will also be posting my own critiques of lyrics by some of my favorite artists. This is also a good exercise for songwriters because it makes them think about what they like to hear in lyrics and incorporate those interests into their own writing.

I would like this aspect of my blog to be more interactive as I update more regularly and gain more readers. In the meantime I will pursue my dream of having my lyrics recorded by local artists.

~Eliza

Bits and Pieces

Occasionally I will be working on a song and all of the lyrics will come to me at once. This has only happened a couple of times, with songs such as "Angelface" and "Damage". Most songs will come to me in bits and pieces.

It will often be one single moment that I write about, as opposed to an event in my life. And because it is only one moment I will only be able to write a few lines. Since so little happened in that moment I find it difficult to complete those songs and build an entire song based upon those few seconds or minutes, yet for some reason those few lines tend to be the most provoking and meaningful lines in my songbooks. It may be because those single moments can still be the most memorable. For example, I have written two songs about an illness I struggled with in high school, but I have written dozens of lyrics that are still incomplete that were inspired by a sentence or two someone said to me.

These songs that come to me in bits and pieces are very frustrating. I want to finish a song, but if I force it I am unhappy with the outcome. That's why I've learned to write down every lyric. When it comes to me I'll grab whatever's nearby, which can happen 0-20 times a day, and save it to look over later. (They usually tend to come to me when I'm busy with something else.) When I have time I'll read it a few times and if I think it has some potential I will then write it in my songbook.

It can be an irritating process, but it's better to save those lyrics that have potential and take a lot of time revising and completing them than missing out on those opportunities. Just because a project can take a long amount of time doesn't mean it's not worth it.

~Eliza