Sex?

A cold beverage (of your choice) on a hot day?

Passing gas?

Just putting the finishing touches on the lyrics to a new tune I wrote and reflecting on the process b/c it can be such a maddening pain-in-the-ass to say the least. So being reasonably happy with the finished product is a great feeling. I can't wait to see what the fellas in my band will add to it and how it will be received by our audience the first time we play it out.

Are they ever finished? I build a song, then it often goes through endless revisions until I can't find anything I don't like about it. It's a great feeling when you know a song has a great feeling to it, a great vibe.

Yep, to me they are. I craft to the point the tune, lyrics and vocal arrangement are done and then I leave it alone . . . save a few small tweaks. I put so much of my efforts into the front-end development stages that by the time I'm ready to present it to the band, it's the final draft. I refuse to re-work the life out of a song. I do see where you're coming from though, Hyde, but I'm not that gifted of a musician or song writer, so my tunes are pretty simple in composition, and thus I generally don't see endless possibilities for a song. If you keep picking at it, it will never heal.

Now when the fellas get a hold of it and add their parts, the arrangement or feel can definitely change or morph into something different. That's how a blues/rock song I wrote turned into a pretty decent reggae song . . . I would never dream of sitting down to write a reggae song.

Here are a couple of examples of my songs and you'll see my point . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Every song takes on a path of its own. I've sat down & written a song in a half hour. Those types of songs are pretty simple & hooky, usually. some seem to get written on a basic idea & just take a while to come together. I don't look at it as an endless tweaking. I look at it as a project. Most songs need to be molded into shape. Nothing wrong with writing guitar part & handing it off to someone to add to it.

Ah, I get you. We're not that different. I was envisioning McCartney-esque noodling or Prog-Rock explorations.

"is there anything more satisfying than finishing a new song ?"

yes, having it recorded by a long time friend.

I hear the tune/arrangement finished in my head. Including production style. All I've ever had to do was get it out of my head.

Much easier 20 years ago .

But maybe the most satisfying part is listening to the playback. Over & over & over & over & over.......

Yes. Finishing an 18-song song cycle.

Yes. Finishing an 18-song song cycle.

Wow! I'm happy to just finish one. I'm am not the most prolific of song writers to put it mildly.

Full disclosure, the cycle I allude to here doesn't include original lyrics. In fact, they are as far from original as can be. They are 2500-3000 years old. Only the music is new.

having it really come to life,good songs take on a life of it's own....

I hear the tune/arrangement finished in my head. Including production style. All I've ever had to do was get it out of my head.

Much easier 20 years ago .

But maybe the most satisfying part is listening to the playback. Over & over & over & over & over.......

Recording and playbacks are great . . . hearing it on the radio is pretty cool as well!

...one thing better...people listening to it!

...wisdom

Recording it is an even bigger joy. I can spend HOURS doing it.

I'll go with S.Rock on this one, but with a slight twist... Hearing someone you don't know at all playing one of your songs is like meeting someone who full of praise for someone who turns out to be your child.

Being a long time songwriter, and past president of the "Prince Edward Island Songwriter's Association", I can vouch for the well deserved natural high that comes with finishing a song. Nothing is quite so thrilling as having your work recorded by great vocalists and producers however. I've had about 30 pieces recorded by various groups and artists over the years. Even had an entire album of my material recorded in Nashville by Kim Albert ( a great vocalist from the east coast). Alas, no major hits, though many have received at least modest airplay and two made into commercial videos. Still, it's a great high to listen to them from time to time and think about the roads one or another has traveled. It's also a lot of fun to cash royalty checks (no matter how humble the amount). Regards and congrats to all songwriters here.

To be honest, part of the satisfaction comes from the fear in between the time span between the last song I've completed and the current composition that I'm working on, in that I will never write another good (to me) song. I'm always afraid that the both the muse and craft will desert me, and I'll just start churning out shite.

I hear the tune/arrangement finished in my head. Including production style. All I've ever had to do was get it out of my head.

Much easier 20 years ago .

But maybe the most satisfying part is listening to the playback. Over & over & over & over & over.......

Recording and playbacks are great . . . hearing it on the radio is pretty cool as well!

Abso-tively!

i'll tell you what's more satisfying that finishing a new song: going out that night and playing it for the first time and having the whole place pick it up and start singing with you by the third chorus. i almost cried.

this may be a little off the subject, but it's kinda cool to have someone say, "hey, play that song you wrote". I've had it happen a few times and it always surprises me. I guess I never expect anyone to be listening or be able to tell the difference between my song and someone else's song that I play. so yeah, it's a good feeling to have that happen. especially out of the "blue".

yeah it's great to watch the chicks shakin' it to a song you wrote.

Yeah, I'll second that one. It makes me feel like a "real" song writer. . . .a song writer of "real" songs, that is.

yeah it's great to watch the chicks shakin' it to a song you wrote.

I appreciate chicks shakin' it to ANYTHING I'm playing!