Jan 21, 2015

[Niveous]

Niveous, checking in from one of the busiest workdays I've had in a while. I keep finding myself sidetracked by things and in this momentary breather I have, I ask you guys:

How do you organize your time when you are doing a songfight?

For me, I'm always scrambling for the brief seconds I can put towards making music. It's only recently that I've become better about my planning. Hopefully in future entries, I will be able to set aside time on one day to write lyrics, another to do music, another to do the vocals, another to clean it all up, instead of my previous running-on-all-cylinders do-it-now-or-it-doesn't-get-done ways.

[iVeg]

My life seems to be constant interruptions, so my process tends to be:
* Constantly carry a pen and scrap paper with me at work. Keep pen and paper handy at home. Especially near the toilet. I have a notebook so I can organize all my scraps/ recopy/ re-order/ revise.
* Think about the title, and try to come up with some chorus ideas. Unfortunately, a lot of times this happens while I'm out running, so then I'm looking at the side of the road for discarded pens or pencils, or sharp twigs, and something I can write on. Also, I've noticed that songs when I'm running are in 3/4, 6/8, 12/8 etc. [Phyllis Wheatley, Three Stars, etc.] Weird. You can always leave a message on your phone, too. I don't do that. If I have to, I sing the same part over and over in my head for miles, until I find something, or get home.
* Between interruptions/ other tasks, I work on chorus until I have something fairly memorable, and some ideas where I might want the song to go. I rough notate the melody using dots and dashes to get the main flow.
* Sing parts in my head while I do other things, if they don't require total concentration.

When I get a chance to grab a musical instrument:
* Check the melody - see what key I'm in, and what chords I might want to use against it. If I get a chance, record a basic background track, so I can work out verse and melody parts over it.
* If I have time, do another take, or a different part.

Record what I have, when I can. For "Je Suis Charlie", I had written and discarded a lot of stuff. I had the first half of my chorus, the entire chorus melody. I wrote the first verse and the rest of the chorus, and a line of the second verse in 10 minutes while I was sitting in a hallway, waiting. An hour later, I had fifteen free minutes, and was near a computer with recording software. I was in a storage room/ office next to an industrial laundry. So I sang what I had, one take, saved it. Sunday morning after midnight I had a few minutes to finish verse 2. I went into my bedroom and sang in a whisper at 1 am. One take. Saved it. "Mastered" it at 2 am on a better computer.

Some weeks I may actually have a 3 or 4 hour block of time. That's when I'll go more crazy with eight overdub vocal harmony parts, or something. Or harmonized guitar parts.

[Hoblit]

I've been really struggling with this over the last few years. I fell off of Songfight!'s radar as I started working in two bands, trading off music time for music time.

But then the bands ended and I'm not kidding, directly after that...I mean just a week or so afterward, I met a girl.

The girl took over and I lost any balance I had. I put down the guitar for a little while and the longer I didn't pick it back up, the harder it was to do so.

But I'm now finding that balance again because it as it turns out, it's almost as important as this girl.

The girl became my wife and in that, we have our foundation and are beginning to remember ourselves. She's getting back into her art and I, mine.

So how do I do it? I don't know yet, I've entered a Songfight! recently and I want to keep Songfight! on my radar in order to keep my art in the forefront of my life. I sure missed it.

[fluffy]

Hoblit: Holy cow, congratulations!

QOTD: I only participate in Song Fight when I have inspiration for a song that comes together on its own. Whenever I try to force a song it never wants to work. But these days I spend most of my free time on comics. That's cyclic though, and even when I'm in comic-making mode, I'm always doodling around on my various instruments and recording little scraps for later. (Or using the voice recorder or GarageBand in my iPhone if I'm nowhere near my computer.)

This weekend I'm going to participate in a game jam and my intention is to work on music and sound effects instead of programming. I hope it will be a real launching-off point for me as a game musician rather than my occasional flirting with it.

[HeuristicsInc]

one girlfriend i had, i never seemed to be able to find the time to make music. i left that relationship. these days i compress much of my music into february, strange.
then i am setting aside a month instead of scattered time through the year.
-bill

[iVeg]

Girl/ wife/ bands/ jobs were my excuses. I could never finish a song, so I did some cover art for a few fights. Then Nur Ein VIII came around, and I said - Hey, it's just a few weeks. I didn't last very long, but I kept on with the Nein, because I was having fun, and seeing improvement. Tried a couple fights after, did poorly. FAWM, but lyrics only. Tried Nein IX. Knocked out exactly the same point. But I've been doing the fights since, even if I hate the title.

[Mostess]

Hi Hoblit!

Child #3 knocked me off the SongFight! wagon. April 2008 that was. I've managed to get a couple songs written and submitted since then but it takes some effort. Luckily, kids tend to grow up and become more independent and give their parents some extra free time. I see more SongFighting in my future.

I started something for "Je Suis Charlie" but didn't get any vocals done in time. Also I didn't really like where it was going so I just bailed on it. Here it is, if you're curious.

My best secret is to know exactly what I'm going to do when I sit down to record. As soon as I feel like I'm dicking around, I pack it all up because whatever I end up doing is going to sound terrible to me tomorrow. I can walk around all week writing the thing in my head in the little spaces in the day. If I think of something compelling enough that I can spend 10 minutes writing it down or planning it out in detail then it's probably worth recording. I make a mix of the incomplete song and listen to it on repeat at work and while commuting so I can figure out what parts I need to add or delete. That rule is a huge time-saver and lets me still do my job and pay attention to my family.

[j$]

I find a childish refusal to acknowledge my need for sleep is the only way to get everything I want done in the time allotted.

Yes, that's why I look like I'm on drugs most of the time. If only!

j$

[HeuristicsInc]

Yes, what j$ said. At such times as I finish anything, that is why.
-bill