Stephanie G. Mathis Some songs are a quick fix, such as Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You, which was composed in 15 minutes by a three-person collaboration, while others take years to complete, like Bon Iver’s iMi, which required 28 people, five years, and a piece cardboard!
What does it mean for us if there’s a huge difference in the time taken to write a song between wildly successful artists? (15 minutes to five years)
What is the average time it takes to finish a song if these extremes are not true? You might be asking yourself: How long should I take to complete a track?
This question of “how long should you write a song?” raises several important points, and I believe that it is a good one.
The outcome of the trial is not known.
You have no idea what the song will be like when it’s finished. Or if the audience will enjoy it. You have no idea if the song will be a success or not.
There’s no cookie-cutter tool in the songwriting arsenal. Every song is unique – partly because of the audience’s desire to be surprised, partly because songwriting is an art, even though it is a business. And finally, each songwriter brings their creativity to every song.
Ed Sheeran was not going to release the shape of you by himself. The session with Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid produced a song that exceeded all expectations. That was a good day of work!
Don’t give up.
Some songs are not immediately apparent. Keep going if you find something good in the proto-song. Keep digging. Bon Iver’s perseverance and artistic insight throughout the creation of iMi shows that there is no such thing as an overnight success.
He was confident that he knew what he was doing and pursued the idea until it was complete. It took him as long as he needed to get the song right.
Sometimes, the tide is in, and the songwriters are at their peak, but other times, the tide has gone out of control, and everyone is left gasping. Then, you need to marshal all your resources and resilience. (see point 7)
Match fitness
Both Ed Sheeran & Bon Iver have reached the pinnacle of their careers. For years, they have been full-time songwriters while also developing their craft, processes, and teams around themselves. Both have written a lot of songs. Some of the songs along the way are awful, and they don’t get published.
Like any other art form, songwriting takes practice, but it is not only about starting a tune. Knowing how to end a song is also important. Most songwriters are good at starting, but far fewer finish. By creating many finished songs, you’ll be able to improve faster.
You will have some that are better than others. Most will be average. Some will be a dud. You need to write enough material to move the middle material to the front. You, indeed, have to make a lot more mistakes before you can write a good book.
A good number of songs will also help you develop your style. Every song you complete teaches you something and gives you a feeling of accomplishment.
This makes you more flexible and objective. You also become less attached to cool ideas that might not serve the song. You become a more relaxed and accurate writer.
Make songwriting a habit, and practice every day. You’ll be able to produce your best work when you are fit.
Pre-write/ Pre-work
Restocking means allowing idle time for you to daydream, mull, and let your thoughts wander. This paradoxically encourages creativity and incubation. Ideas can come up and collide with each other. They might be the start of something, or they could work together. As a songwriter, this time is just as important as sleep!
Filling up your tank is a great way to keep your creativity flowing. It is important to continue learning, exploring, and studying new techniques. Listen to new music and artists. Consider what you enjoy and why. Watch tutorials or books on songwriting and other artistic practices. Prime the pump and put it all into your songwriting.
Stocking up on raw materials is also important. For example, you could keep a bank of song title ideas or lyrics. You can also collect cool rhymes, weird words, voice notes, chords, and tunes that you can use in your songwriting sessions.
To do this, you need to keep a journal to help bring your subconscious ideas for songs to the surface and clear your mind. These two actions are the basis for songwriting, in small fits and starts. They’re not exactly work, but they’re preparation.
Constraints spark creative solutions.
The use of constraints is another issue that arises from the variations in the length of time it takes to finish a piece of music. This feels like a paradox when you think about how creativity can be supported. Constraints can be useful as guardrails. By reducing the number of options, you can simplify and speed up creative decisions.
These come in two forms: how you write and what you are writing. Ed Sheeran’s example of how Shape Of You was created quickly included a collaborative constraint: having three songwriters all writing simultaneously in the same room. Nobody was going to go away and think about it, then come back the following day. Bookings were made. A time limit was also involved roughly 3 hours.
You can react to constraints. You can use them to control any part of a song. You can pre-set the type of song, a theme or tempo you want to begin with, or even a chord progression and synth patch to work within.
Say, for example, you choose a theme, such as jealousy, before the session. You can also bring a ‘jealousy lyric’ mind map to the session if you are working with others. Here’s how self-imposed constraints can give you a head start.
Constraints don’t necessarily mean blind obedience! You can focus on a specific problem that they have identified.
Keep out of the shallows.
The song doesn’t have to be good just because it finishes quickly. Don’t forget depth. Bon Iver’s and iMi’s jjourneystteachus this lesson. Even the greatest artists can have a cul-de-sac. Different rates of completion are also normal. The composition can be done in bursts rather than as a continuous stream, with a phrase here and a chord there. You may write a fantastic chorus but find the verses a chore. Or you might finish verse 1 but not verse 2.
It’s normal to be frustrated but also annoyed. When you crack one part, you will raise the bar on the rest. As your song develops, keep exploring and thinking of new options.
In the interim, you can use placeholder lyrics or even syllables. You can also leave blanks in your rough mix and upload them to your phone to sing along with your next subway, car, or walk. You will be more motivated to finish it. You will be able to renovate other sections if you have improved the first section. The song might need a lot of work to become a cohesive whole.
Parallel project is a useful concept. You can have a number of songs or music projects in progress and work on them alternately. Switch to another project when one fails. It identifies the neural circuit that is sputtering over the difficult song and gets those waiting on the sidelines pumped up to play.
A second set of ears can also be useful. Use your Feedback Loop, or ask for help from a Mentor. A new perspective from someone with experience can be very helpful.
Writing a song is not factory work. It is not possible to produce great songs at will using a reproducible process. There is no online manual.
Even at the smallest level, most of your favorite songs have been rewritten multiple times. The songwriting process includes rewriting and editing. It’s exciting when a song comes to you in an instant, but it is utterly normal if the process takes a little longer.
