jamestoffee

Thanks, John! Daddies and Daughters https://open.spotify.com/track/1Nur6CM6zB3ufu3U6xxj5T?si=5932bdf361a449a6 https://youtu.be/ADG0CNHxkE0 SING ALLELUIA TO THE LORD https://open.spotify.com/track/5DNU1fSIaYFjU2IWRpVQJu?si=73306d7c4863445a https://youtu.be/wvGw2sdiXRY You Comfort Me https://soundcloud.com/jamestoffee/2020-6-you-comfort-me-1?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing https://open.spotify.com/track/76yX96pJWKcarzS4qp0lLz?si=08da0f5d118b4c42 https://youtu.be/tDl22tB-1sI

Fun topic!

Hi Tom, Thanks for sharing your concerns. It seems a bit catch 22 to want to create something "original" meaning not done by anyone before, but you want it to be pleasing and liked by yourself and others....the commonalities of what people like have to have something in common, but having something in common musically means someone will have done something like it before. >James -- An interesting take on the subject indeed, but I don't think it's exactly the same issue. I saw the parallel as photography being related to the visual world and songs/music to the auditory world. Thanks again. James

Here is an interesting take on the subject: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/11/of-course-its-been-done-before.html

I often start with the lyrics..... Once I have an idea, I can get to finishing the song.... Until I have I idea, I have a routine that I follow until I find the idea to write about. I often start with a title then ask a lot of questions about that title. For example: What does the title mean literally? What does the title mean figuratively? Asking the W questions: Who is saying this title and to whom? Why are they saying it? Where are they saying it? When in the day, calendar year, when in the relationship (beginning middle end)?.....etc If no ideas came, I find rhymes for each word in the title (Pat Pattison's idea)....this not only gives me rhymes, but also sparks ideas of what the song can be about. If no ideas came, I'll Google some quotes or jokes about what topic might fit the title. If no ideas came, I sleep on it and see what my first thoughts are in the morning.....I'm no longer surprised when I get the idea during a morning shower. Usually by this point and idea has come.....but..... If no ideas came, I'll take a musical approach......I'll sing the title 3 times as the chorus to see how the words fit. If I like the chords, I'll think of the tension chord I want going into the chorus Then I'll think of the verse chords that contrast the chorus If an idea still doesn't come, I will start writing a first line and then keep asking, "And then what.....and then what,,,, and then what" I write a song a week. (and have been doing so for the past 6 years) By committing a week to an idea, an idea almost always gets made into a song. Once I finish the song of the week, I spend the rest of the time reading or doing something regarding songwriting to keep learning. Having developed a routine helps me make the most of my waiting time until I get that idea. Here is a link where I post my song-of-the- week: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=896900&content=music