I've said it before, Tidus, but that song is definitely awesome. Pumped for new work.

I'm collaborating with some friends on my usual rock/pop stuff, but I also just did something totally new to me - offered up lyrics/vocals for an electronic/synthpop track. I can't post anything until it's all set, but both the producer and I are really excited about how it's coming along. I think his production/songwriting is excellent and he thinks my vocals/lyrics fit the song just right, so it's just a matter of doing some proper takes and waiting for him to finish mixing and arranging.

[quote="Tidusauron12"]

Thanks! I'm one of those types that can't stand to hear his own voice, so I often spend a long time going over vocals on a project. I'll take "unique". Will have some more music to share for sure, soon.

I checked out your stuff, I like the lo-fi experimental sound. Also, I just realized while on your bandcamp that we both live in Jacksonville! Haha[/quote]

Well, unique is refreshing; please take that as a compliment! I do the same for my voice, to an extent at least. Looking forward to hearing more work from you!

thanks for checking out the work. Any advice? That album was more of an experiment attempt towards alt rock kinda. My newer release will be a reflection and a little slower. Glad to meet another Jacksonville local! My location is also under my name
Have you ever played live here? I like going to the 1904 every once in a while.


[quote="Marekenshin"]

I'm collaborating with some friends on my usual rock/pop stuff, but I also just did something totally new to me - offered up lyrics/vocals for an electronic/synthpop track. [/quote]

Anticipating this!

Hey everyone!

As always, I'm open to criticism and any advice anybody has to give (it helps me grow and expand on ideas!)

https://dewith.bandcamp.com/

This album is based on my time spent living in Willow, Alaska. Worked with a few new instruments/sounds, so it's a bit different from my last release. Hope ya'll enjoy!

Tidus, nice song you got going there! I liked the melody, harmony and the lyrics, definitely has that alternative pop-rock thing going on there!! I dig the chord-progression as well. The harmony and melody kind of reminded me of early Radiohead.

Dewith, to be frank, I felt like a lot of the songs on the album felt incomplete and unfinished. Was this the general idea or concept to the album? I also felt some not-so-short songs felt like they were builds up to something more substantial like Welcome to Long Lake Road, and Star. Without knowing the concept of the album, I'm going to suggest for your next album making the unfinished songs longer, like 2-3 minutes long. I also recommend toying with song structures that would also make your songs not only longer but to have substance as well. Start with [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verse%E2%80%93chorus_form]verse/chorus[/url] or [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-two-bar_form]AABA[/url] structures (examples, verse/chorus - Hybrid Rainbow, AABA - Shroi Natsu to Midori no Jitensha, Akai Kami to Kuroi Gita-), and see what you can come up with. Start off with six sections (i.g in verse/chorus, that would be verse-chorus x3) that would definitely make your songs reach the 2-3 time length! If you get stuck in a rut when writing a song, don't hesitate to ask for help from any of us on here!! Usually having a co-writer or some feedback to finish your unfinished song can lead to something big!

On the up-side, I enjoyed Townsite! I felt this song felt more complete for it's duration. But it had a catchy happy-go-like melody and harmony. I really liked your guitar playing here, simple but effective! More of your poppier material. And I love poppy stuff! lol

Finally got around to giving Willow a listen (been super busy lately - I'm doing a bit of freelance work writing up an interview, volunteering some translation work, collaborating on that electronic track I mentioned, collaborating with two friends for semi-weekly jams, and continuing to work on my own songwriting here and there lol).

I really liked Desolate & Beautiful, Star, and It's Hard to Leave Home. I like the way that the bass tone and your vocals complement each other, particularly on the front half of the album. There were some songs where I don't think the tones of the instruments really necessarily complemented each other as well, to my taste, and I felt overall that there could have been a few more moments that you went a bit more upbeat while still keeping that echoy, introspective, laid back vibe. (A band that may interest you if you haven't already listened is Yo La Tengo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRRO2BX ... o_rO_c9IO4)

I was a bit surprised when the Wolf didn't build into something more upbeat, as the first part of it suggested to me that the album was getting ready to ROCK somehow haha. Something to consider for future projects - that would have been a VERY interesting pivot point, and a chance to establish a first and second half that have very unique identities from each other. Like Carnval said, there were several parts where it seemed as though it was going to build into something "bigger" but it instead just relaxed back down.

And maybe that matches the feeling of Willow, Alaska, quite well! I haven't been there, but I do recall you saying this was about your time there, so if you feel it really captures the sense of what it was like to be there, then that's pretty cool - this album felt very laid back and comfortable for the most part, with a bit of tension in songs like Townsite and Watching the Sun Go Down (or so I felt, from the tones in Townsite and some clashing notes? used in WtSGD).

Keep working on the singing, keep working on the production skills. I dig some of the cool things you did in WtSGD with the violin and guitar solo, and I think the songs with big, round bass tones really matched your voice well on the front half, as I said before. I'm not always as huge a fan of your lyrics, but on songs like It's Hard to Leave Home you make them work based on the way they're sung and fit into nice, even rhythms on the song.

[quote="CARNVAL372"]
Dewith, to be frank, I felt like a lot of the songs on the album felt incomplete and unfinished. Was this the general idea or concept to the album? I also felt some not-so-short songs felt like they were builds up to something more substantial like Welcome to Long Lake Road, and Star. Without knowing the concept of the album, I'm going to suggest for your next album making the unfinished songs longer, like 2-3 minutes long. I also recommend toying with song structures that would also make your songs not only longer but to have substance as well. Start with [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verse%E2%80%93chorus_form]verse/chorus[/url] or [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-two-bar_form]AABA[/url] structures (examples, verse/chorus - Hybrid Rainbow, AABA - Shroi Natsu to Midori no Jitensha, Akai Kami to Kuroi Gita-), and see what you can come up with. Start off with six sections (i.g in verse/chorus, that would be verse-chorus x3) that would definitely make your songs reach the 2-3 time length! If you get stuck in a rut when writing a song, don't hesitate to ask for help from any of us on here!! Usually having a co-writer or some feedback to finish your unfinished song can lead to something big!

On the up-side, I enjoyed Townsite! I felt this song felt more complete for it's duration. But it had a catchy happy-go-like melody and harmony. I really liked your guitar playing here, simple but effective! More of your poppier material. And I love poppy stuff! lol[/quote]

For this particular album, a lot of the "shorter/unfinished" songs were in fact meant to be as such. The album as a whole was a reflection on my time spent in Willow; some moments were very uplifting and seemed like they lead to something greater, but later cool down. A lot of the shorter "unfinished" songs were meant to reflect moments and how much they impacted my memory. So songs like "alone, on thin ice," "clear skies,northern lights,"Salmon are running," "sroufe blvd," and "Jenny" we really just moments that stood out but didn't capture my immediate memory. I was also going on a timeline (hence the song order and how it can be misleading of the "building up to something more") There were a lot of build ups but like living in Willow, they usually wind down to a calmer state. In my own experience, I felt as though I nailed it in that concept; only thing is, it seems like the people who have shared this experience get the absolute idea and relation I was going for.

Here's something neat, however. If you mentioned anything about the "unfinished" songs a couple weeks ago, I would have completely disagreed. Now! Since I have been reflecting and re-listening to my older music, I do realize how bland and unfinshed a lot of my songs were. I've been in the process of mainly of remastering/re-editing my older songs because (just about 50% of them) I feel as though they were good concepts but just were not complete (even if they were 2-3 mins songs). Revisiting my songs while looking at your comment really sparked a note of interest. I am still recording new material while keeping this in mind too (while of course making a remake of songs to put in an album). Thanks a ton Carnival! I also made a soundcloud account that way I can upload demos of single songs and get opinions (like you suggested about getting up and what not )

Townsite, i believe, had a few rough patches (after further reviewing) that I could have tidied up, but i'm glad you enjoyed it! The song really captured what I thought of that little gas station/convenience store haha.

[quote="Marekenshin"]Finally got around to giving Willow a listen (been super busy lately - I'm doing a bit of freelance work writing up an interview, volunteering some translation work, collaborating on that electronic track I mentioned, collaborating with two friends for semi-weekly jams, and continuing to work on my own songwriting here and there lol).

I really liked Desolate & Beautiful, Star, and It's Hard to Leave Home. I like the way that the bass tone and your vocals complement each other, particularly on the front half of the album. There were some songs where I don't think the tones of the instruments really necessarily complemented each other as well, to my taste, and I felt overall that there could have been a few more moments that you went a bit more upbeat while still keeping that echoy, introspective, laid back vibe. (A band that may interest you if you haven't already listened is Yo La Tengo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRRO2BX ... o_rO_c9IO4)

I was a bit surprised when the Wolf didn't build into something more upbeat, as the first part of it suggested to me that the album was getting ready to ROCK somehow haha. Something to consider for future projects - that would have been a VERY interesting pivot point, and a chance to establish a first and second half that have very unique identities from each other. Like Carnval said, there were several parts where it seemed as though it was going to build into something "bigger" but it instead just relaxed back down.

And maybe that matches the feeling of Willow, Alaska, quite well! I haven't been there, but I do recall you saying this was about your time there, so if you feel it really captures the sense of what it was like to be there, then that's pretty cool - this album felt very laid back and comfortable for the most part, with a bit of tension in songs like Townsite and Watching the Sun Go Down (or so I felt, from the tones in Townsite and some clashing notes? used in WtSGD).

Keep working on the singing, keep working on the production skills. I dig some of the cool things you did in WtSGD with the violin and guitar solo, and I think the songs with big, round bass tones really matched your voice well on the front half, as I said before. I'm not always as huge a fan of your lyrics, but on songs like It's Hard to Leave Home you make them work based on the way they're sung and fit into nice, even rhythms on the song.[/quote]

You're quite the busy man Mare; that's a good thing! I will add a thank you in advance for putting in some time to listen to my album!

When reflecting on a time spent somewhere, for me, it is either one mood or another for certain songs because each song tells a story or rather a moment in this case. I will say I've tried to experiment with alternating moods through a song and I'm slowly getting the concept. Thank you for showing Yo la Tengo; I actually had an album by them that I played constantly a couple years back ( i believe it was their "and then nothing turned itself inside-out").

A good thing to take from your comment is the bass tone correlation I have going with my vocals and songs leading into other songs. As i mentioned with Carnival, it pretty much was a reflection of my time spent in a cabin out there in Willow; some moments were short and sweet, others were memory engraving moments (stuff that really stood out). I was thinking the same thing about "The Wolf" song. On any other album, it would have made a great lead into something more upbeating/rock&role/ something-something, but for this album, it was just a memory in a timeline of other things that happened during my stay. I actually did have a one on one stare down with a wolf and it felt like forever.

Out of that, I will take in account that I should work on pivot points and lead ins to other songs for my later work.

On an entire note, I want to add that the reflection of my past work has lead me to believe I am not taking enough time to really listen to my work over and over without a break. This leads to empty songs that could use a lot more attention when it comes to adding things or taking out certain things. I feel like I need to "complete" (so to say) the album and revisit it after some time has passed in order to hear/spot out any lacking parts or excessively used parts/notes (maybe this is why artist take so long to put out new material?).

With all that said, I have put out A LOT of crap songs. Thanks for dealing with them and giving honest feedback. I'm slowly realizing certain traits and skills along the way and it's majority of the time thanks to you all here. I could go on and on about what advice you all have given me, and that's really special! Revisiting and remastering/re-editing songs have really put into perspective how much more I could have done.

For now, I'll be really taking my time and revisiting my music before releasing it. I will also be here to help any others who need feedback too, of course

[quote="Dewith"]When reflecting on a time spent somewhere, for me, it is either one mood or another for certain songs because each song tells a story or rather a moment in this case.

it pretty much was a reflection of my time spent in a cabin out there in Willow; some moments were short and sweet, others were memory engraving moments (stuff that really stood out). I was thinking the same thing about "The Wolf" song. On any other album, it would have made a great lead into something more upbeating/rock&role/ something-something, but for this album, it was just a memory in a timeline of other things that happened during my stay. I actually did have a one on one stare down with a wolf and it felt like forever.[/quote]
That's awesome, and helps me understand the album a lot more. You absolutely conveyed the emotions and memories that you were trying to reach back into, and I think that's quite impressive. Turning these personal emotions into a concrete *thing* that you can share with others, where they can actually see a glimpse of that personal emotion, takes a lot of artistic work/talent. Nice job.

[quote] Thank you for showing Yo la Tengo; I actually had an album by them that I played constantly a couple years back ( i believe it was their "and then nothing turned itself inside-out").[/quote]
That's my favorite album of theirs, and the song I linked is on it. Something about the dreamy, floating feeling that they have going on that album in particular really moves me.

[quote]I feel like I need to "complete" (so to say) the album and revisit it after some time has passed in order to hear/spot out any lacking parts or excessively used parts/notes (maybe this is why artist take so long to put out new material?). For now, I'll be really taking my time and revisiting my music before releasing it. I will also be here to help any others who need feedback too, of course [/quote]
Nail on the head right here; bands will write a slew of songs, but the main work of getting an album done is the months-long process of arranging, recording demos, rearranging, more recording (loop those for a while), then eventually you get to a point where you're happy enough with the thing to start mixing and mastering in earnest. The guy who I'm helping with vocals for an electronic song has been working on this track for about three months now, working and reworking various melodies, levels, etc. Never be afraid to take as long as a song needs to feel done for you...but also, I think it's okay to have a "basic" version of the song laid down and then come back later to do your "real" version - just depends on your approach and the time you have to work on the various aspects.

[quote="Marekenshin"]
That's my favorite album of theirs, and the song I linked is on it. Something about the dreamy, floating feeling that they have going on that album in particular really moves me.

[quote]I feel like I need to "complete" (so to say) the album and revisit it after some time has passed in order to hear/spot out any lacking parts or excessively used parts/notes (maybe this is why artist take so long to put out new material?). For now, I'll be really taking my time and revisiting my music before releasing it. I will also be here to help any others who need feedback too, of course [/quote]
Nail on the head right here; bands will write a slew of songs, but the main work of getting an album done is the months-long process of arranging, recording demos, rearranging, more recording (loop those for a while), then eventually you get to a point where you're happy enough with the thing to start mixing and mastering in earnest. The guy who I'm helping with vocals for an electronic song has been working on this track for about three months now, working and reworking various melodies, levels, etc. Never be afraid to take as long as a song needs to feel done for you...but also, I think it's okay to have a "basic" version of the song laid down and then come back later to do your "real" version - just depends on your approach and the time you have to work on the various aspects.[/quote]

Definitely (after re-listening to this album) believe my favorite song is You Can Have It All. So catchy and uplifting in its own way.

touching back on the releasing album topic, I always wondered why I was putting out songs frequently; guess I thought I just had a lot of ideas all at once and, unfortunately, they weren't complete haha. This is good advice. Glad to hear others take a while on just one song. There is nothing wrong with having a basic layout, but you're right. I should wait to release whenever I feel it is right and truly complete. I feel like i'm taking a class here on IM, haha(very beneficial).

[quote="Dewith"]For this particular album, a lot of the "shorter/unfinished" songs were in fact meant to be as such. The album as a whole was a reflection on my time spent in Willow; some moments were very uplifting and seemed like they lead to something greater, but later cool down. A lot of the shorter "unfinished" songs were meant to reflect moments and how much they impacted my memory. So songs like "alone, on thin ice," "clear skies,northern lights,"Salmon are running," "sroufe blvd," and "Jenny" we really just moments that stood out but didn't capture my immediate memory. I was also going on a timeline (hence the song order and how it can be misleading of the "building up to something more") There were a lot of build ups but like living in Willow, they usually wind down to a calmer state. In my own experience, I felt as though I nailed it in that concept; only thing is, it seems like the people who have shared this experience get the absolute idea and relation I was going for.[/quote]

Sorry for thinking about your songs for being incomplete because of its duration. I had no idea it had a purpose in the album. And while I like the concept of the album capturing your experiences in Willow, however I think songs like "Welcome to Long Lake Road" and "Star" lacked dynamics which would lead me to believe your experience in Willow was dull at those points. So having some type of dynamic slope in those songs would reflect your experiences with Willow a lot better. Think quiet and loud dynamics for example. Matt Blick explains further of the process in one his tickets-to-write [url]http://beatlessongwriting.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/ticket-5-make-sections-contrast.html?m=1[/url] posts. I also think like you stated before in your last post that you should have lead-ins or pivot points to your songs kind of like a medley. So maybe for your next album if you do come across this idea again, try to make the album into more like a medley ala Abbey Road.

[quote="Dewith"]
Here's something neat, however. If you mentioned anything about the "unfinished" songs a couple weeks ago, I would have completely disagreed. Now! Since I have been reflecting and re-listening to my older music, I do realize how bland and unfinshed a lot of my songs were. I've been in the process of mainly of remastering/re-editing my older songs because (just about 50% of them) I feel as though they were good concepts but just were not complete (even if they were 2-3 mins songs). Revisiting my songs while looking at your comment really sparked a note of interest. I am still recording new material while keeping this in mind too (while of course making a remake of songs to put in an album). Thanks a ton Carnival! I also made a soundcloud account that way I can upload demos of single songs and get opinions (like you suggested about getting up and what not )[/quote]

This how I felt of my other super short songs as well! So you're not the only to be guilty of it. That's what happens when you start writing a lot of songs, you learn to craft better song by song rather than just sitting on it for perfection. I'm glad you found my suggestions helpful and you're welcome! About remaking songs though, I think you should leave them the way they are. Instead, apply those suggestions that me and Mare have gave you to your next upcoming songs! I think the advantage of creating bad songs is that you have something to reference to towards making your new songs. You can see on what ideas worked and what didn't work and use that to your advantage on writing better songs in the future. Because once you remade the bad song into a great song; those ideas (good or bad) are lost forever. Whenever you take a break from songwriting (it will happen at some point); and later come back to it; you'll end up with no song to reference to for your next song. The ideas are gone, and you'll most likely to retread in those pitfalls yet again like you did in your former bad song! Yeah, I see that you followed me on soundcloud. Thanks a ton! Yeah I think it's a lot easier to do reviews on songs than on albums. I feel quite guilty for not coming up with new songs lately. Been very busy with all sorts of things happening in life. But I will eventually get back to it.

[quote="Dewith"]
Townsite, i believe, had a few rough patches (after further reviewing) that I could have tidied up, but i'm glad you enjoyed it! The song really captured what I thought of that little gas station/convenience store haha.
[/quote]

It didn't seem like it to me though I have to listen to it again. Actually I'm thinking of relistening to your album this time with a refreshen mind and see how I think about the album like that.

When it comes to finishing a song, I prefer to do it as soon as I started on writing the song. A lot of songwriters don't realize that limitations and deadlines is what truly challenges the creative mind into writing songs. It forces you to make quick decisions, and not only that but forces you to stay with the song as well until it's finished! When I started out writing songs before hearing about limitations and deadlines was about, I would worry on my songs being a perfect product, and in the long run I would have held those songs for months to the point even for me to believe these songs will never finish. Not only that but I felt quite frustrated over the process! Not only it was frustrating but it was also discouraging to me. Now, when I started applying deadlines and limitations to writing songs, I was able to finish them and not have lugged them on for months! It was also less stressful to work on my songs knowing I have a deadline to finish it. No disrespect to people who would rather sit on a song for months for perfection. But that approach never worked for me.

Another method I prefer to use when writing songs is to work one song at a time. So that way, I never lose track of the song and it allows me enough space to immerse myself in the song than to work on several songs simultaneously. This was also my mistake when I started songs, I would work on them simultaneously well not really but after days of working on the song, I would drift to another song I wrote in the past for tomorrow or attempt on writing new song.

Dewith, I support the way you write your songs actually! Better to release them frequently than to never release them at all! I just think you need a little helping hand in it and that's where we come in! The IM Songwriting Squad!! But like I said earlier, if you need help on writing a song, don't hesitate to reach us.

[quote="CARNVAL372"]

Sorry for thinking about your songs for being incomplete because of its duration. I had no idea it had a purpose in the album. And while I like the concept of the album capturing your experiences in Willow, however I think songs like "Welcome to Long Lake Road" and "Star" lacked dynamics which would lead me to believe your experience in Willow was dull at those points. So having some type of dynamic slope in those songs would reflect your experiences with Willow a lot better. Think quiet and loud dynamics for example. Matt Blick explains further of the process in one his tickets-to-write [url]http://beatlessongwriting.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/ticket-5-make-sections-contrast.html?m=1[/url] posts. I also think like you stated before in your last post that you should have lead-ins or pivot points to your songs kind of like a medley. So maybe for your next album if you do come across this idea again, try to make the album into more like a medley ala Abbey Road.[/quote]

Hey now! You didn't know. No need to be sorry, haha; that's something I should have mentioned. Believe it or not, there were some moments that were dull and just straight to the point about living in Willow. I mean, it's over 60 miles away from the city Anchorage and kinda just a place you just happen to pass by. I will agree that the beginning song should have had a little more to it, but it's truly how I felt when I got there; I was alone with no friends and to be honesty, it didn't hit me right away how much things I liked about it, but I did see it as an opportunity. The song Star on the other hand, was just a moment I spent with my self outside contemplating things and really questioning who I was as a person as well as how people perceived me. A lot of people believed that where I lived was to no benefit and or it didn't correlate with my lifestyle; in fairness, I tried to depict both sides of that argument in that song. In the song "WSGDTT" (the long one), I also mention in the lyric that "some think it's simple, I see its treasure..." This is true! I made what most people would have seen as a dull experience and turned it into something I really enjoyed. To say the least, the album may be a correlation of how I felt and what people perceived in that sense. I am not trying to disregard the fact that some songs may lack content or other things, but rather a sort of understanding from both points of view.
I will definitely be checking out this link you shared this week. Matt Blick does a great job analyzing and portraying music; thanks!
As for the next album, it will be a whole new approach filled with advice I have gotten here. I imagine it'll be completely different from Willow in where it won't be portraying a specific time and place. Gonna try and shoot for that medley
[quote="CARNVAL372"]
This how I felt of my other super short songs as well! So you're not the only to be guilty of it. That's what happens when you start writing a lot of songs, you learn to craft better song by song rather than just sitting on it for perfection. I'm glad you found my suggestions helpful and you're welcome! About remaking songs though, I think you should leave them the way they are. Instead, apply those suggestions that me and Mare have gave you to your next upcoming songs! I think the advantage of creating bad songs is that you have something to reference to towards making your new songs. You can see on what ideas worked and what didn't work and use that to your advantage on writing better songs in the future. Because once you remade the bad song into a great song; those ideas (good or bad) are lost forever. Whenever you take a break from songwriting (it will happen at some point); and later come back to it; you'll end up with no song to reference to for your next song. The ideas are gone, and you'll most likely to retread in those pitfalls yet again like you did in your former bad song! Yeah, I see that you followed me on soundcloud. Thanks a ton! Yeah I think it's a lot easier to do reviews on songs than on albums. I feel quite guilty for not coming up with new songs lately. Been very busy with all sorts of things happening in life. But I will eventually get back to it. [/quote]

For sure I have benefited from your advice in this area; that is, making song after song. I will say, however, that I strongly believe that a few of my past songs (not all obviously) could benefit to a revisit and remastering. They are songs I genuinely enjoy playing and kind of paint a picture of who I am. In my current situation, I have about 15% of time during the week to truly play an instrument and make a new song; in turn, I turn to editing because it's a quiet process and still involves me learning the process of editing. This ^ being said, I do still write new songs and do not just focus on editing old songs from the past. I can see how just focusing on re-doing old songs can deplete my creativity process, so I agree in that aspect. It's something I haven't experimented with yet (re-editing/remastering old songs), so I'm going to give it a shot while recording new songs. I think for me, I have to actually do something in order to understand the reason behind it, haha. We all have busy lives to lead, but I do look forward to seeing you back in action!

[quote="CARNVAL372"]
[quote="Dewith"]
Townsite, i believe, had a few rough patches (after further reviewing) that I could have tidied up, but i'm glad you enjoyed it! The song really captured what I thought of that little gas station/convenience store haha.
[/quote]

It didn't seem like it to me though I have to listen to it again. Actually I'm thinking of relistening to your album this time with a refreshen mind and see how I think about the album like that.

When it comes to finishing a song, I prefer to do it as soon as I started on writing the song. A lot of songwriters don't realize that limitations and deadlines is what truly challenges the creative mind into writing songs. It forces you to make quick decisions, and not only that but forces you to stay with the song as well until it's finished! When I started out writing songs before hearing about limitations and deadlines was about, I would worry on my songs being a perfect product, and in the long run I would have held those songs for months to the point even for me to believe these songs will never finish. Not only that but I felt quite frustrated over the process! Not only it was frustrating but it was also discouraging to me. Now, when I started applying deadlines and limitations to writing songs, I was able to finish them and not have lugged them on for months! It was also less stressful to work on my songs knowing I have a deadline to finish it. No disrespect to people who would rather sit on a song for months for perfection. But that approach never worked for me. [/quote]

If you'd like, give the album another shot! I have had friends who really enjoyed it and friends who could have cared less. Maybe I should have gone more in depth about the idea behind the album
I agree that there has to be some sort of deadline of some sorts, but like mentioned earlier with Mare, there is a lengthy process when it comes to writing an album as a whole. I have no idea how long some of my favorite artist spend on a song until completion, but I am sure they do believe it has to be done at some point! This brings me with my problem of producing songs and not sitting on it. I end up revisiting the songs and say something along the lines of "man, I should have done more with the piece" or "I really should have redone these vocals!" Whenever I was done recording, I would say "man, this is actually pretty good" and then say it's complete. I'm going to take a break after I think it's done and revisit it after a couple weeks; with this method, I'll be sure to catch stuff I didn't hear before as well as have the chance to produce something a little more "eye catching" for the audience. Like you said before, everyone has their own approach and I'm definitely open to suggestions and other methods; however, I will probably resort to which ever method works for myself in the end, so long as it shows improvement and song quality.

[quote="CARNVAL372"]
Another method I prefer to use when writing songs is to work one song at a time. So that way, I never lose track of the song and it allows me enough space to immerse myself in the song than to work on several songs simultaneously. This was also my mistake when I started songs, I would work on them simultaneously well not really but after days of working on the song, I would drift to another song I wrote in the past for tomorrow or attempt on writing new song.

Dewith, I support the way you write your songs actually! Better to release them frequently than to never release them at all! I just think you need a little helping hand in it and that's where we come in! The IM Songwriting Squad!! But like I said earlier, if you need help on writing a song, don't hesitate to reach us. [/quote]

That's a neat approach! I usually write a bunch then work on the songs whenever I had an idea of really what would fit in them. Sometimes I'll think when working on one song "wow, this little effect would go great with this other song I'm working on...." I might try this method, but again, it would acquire for me to take time and revisiting. I have a good chunk of free time until I move to Washington, so maybe I'll give it a shot. I think working on other songs then revisiting other songs was sort of my way of taking a break and re-listening in order to catch improvements to be made.

You may be right Carn. I may just need another set of ears for a single song I feel as "finished." I am, however going to try the approach of waiting an particular amount of time whenever I believe a song is finished and then revisit. I will, too, utilize everyone's ears here on IM. Same goes for everone here (about Carn's suggestion/comment). If you all need some one to listen to an unfinished song, I'm here as well!
We all have different styles, but that's the beauty of working together with people, to find out missing parts or things that might work. I know one of my favorite artists who records alone has now started to work with others and I can see some differences already on his upcoming album.

More of the usual "sloppily thrown together acoustics and sangings" that I upload:

https://soundcloud.com/midnight-down/stay-with-me

Made a little pop song thing, I like the way the prechorus transitions into the chorus.

[quote="Marekenshin"]More of the usual "sloppily thrown together acoustics and sangings" that I upload:

https://soundcloud.com/midnight-down/stay-with-me

Made a little pop song thing, I like the way the prechorus transitions into the chorus.[/quote]

ahhhh. This is nice. I'd like to hear more "final product" songs from you Mare. You have a great voice that shows passion.

How's that littler project you've been working on?

Guy I've been working with lost the computer he was using to work on stuff so while he has the files for that project, he can't finish it until he gets another comp. He got a mobile program for production that he started using to keep writing in the meantime, though - I'll be working on vocals for a second song in the near future and hoping he can get a proper computer again sometime lol.

I'm very lazy about recording (because I kind of hate it), lol.

[quote="Marekenshin"]

I'm very lazy about recording (because I kind of hate it), lol.[/quote]

Is it a time issue or just a general issue? haha

I know there are times where I just don't want to open the program or don't really have the time to.

Part of it is not having the right interface/setup for my ideal approach, part of it is time, part of it is simply disliking the act of recording as opposed to writing and playing in general. It's a mix of things, lol, but I have a general plan for how to obtain all the things I need to make the kind of music I aim for, starting with a new computer down the road sometime.