So far I've been talking about inspiration and intentional writing as though they are two different things. This is natural due to the constraints of human conceptualizations and the limits of language. But as with all things of this universe they are polar opposites but also suspend a huge area of common ground between them where they meet & mingle....
On the far end of the scale exists "pure inspiration" and I have been lucky enough to experience this phenomena numerous times. Very often, a chorus, a chorus plus a verse, or even an entire song will drop on me suddenly complete with its arrangement. All I have to do is work it out to reflect what I've heard and take care of the details (though even this is no small task).
This is the way the majority of songs have come to me in recent years. Since my life has changed since getting married and running a household, there is little time for me to keep my mind open for inspiration during waking hours. I am occupied. So they have been coming to me in dreams.
I will hear a song in my dream, or the central theme of one complete with lyrics, melody, support. My job is simply to get it written down upon waking before I forget. This is not a new thing to me. I have always had some come in this way. But it has become the rule more than the exception.
Then there is another form of inspiration that is nearly as dramatic. The song "On the Freeway" is the epitome of this type. (This tune is not yet released as of this writing...it exists but the vocal has not yet been recorded, nor has it been mixed)
In Dec. 1988, I went to California to meet my (eventual) wife for the 1st time (we had been writing back & forth for 6 months). After spending a couple of weeks of unmitigated fun with each other, one day in January of '89, we took a very memorable (adventurous & cold!) ride on her little scooter, and something broke loose in my consciousness. It was a combination of many factors & influences that brought it on, and I felt as though it began on my first car ride with her to her home after she had picked me up. It simmered in the back of my mind over the following weeks, and finally bubbled over on that scooter ride.
When we finally made it back home after traveling over treacherous, often icy, roads, I dismounted the bike and announced to her, "I just wrote a song..."
Naturally, she asked "How does it go?" to which I replied,"I can't tell you."
The reason I couldn't tell her is because it came as a sort of amorphous, illogical creative bubble which I can only decribe as spiritual...It sounds crazy to those who aren't involved in the creative process...It had melody, but was made up of no notes that were recognizeable in this world, it had not words as such, but an abstract conceptualization that could be put into words with some effort.
And so, my job then, was to act as a "translator" of this otherworldly song into something that could be understood by the human race in general. And in 2 weeks "Freeway" existed as a home recording, and I sent it to her.
So then, even though we're still at the "inspiration" end of the scale, already we see intention starting to enter the picture. The only way I was able to "translate" that creative bubble into something others could share was due to the skills I have aquired in the craft of songwriting. Musical & lyrical choices to express the mood and essence of what I had experienced could only be crafted because of long-time study and knowledge of these things.
Often when a tune comes in a rush, but with pieces missing, I am called upon to use this learned craft to sort of "fill in the blanks" to make the tune whole...but always keep it in line with the original inspiration.
But sometimes the tune will grow while writing or even recording it. Here we have the middle of the scale: inspiration entering even in the midst of writing with intention. The two are not mutually exclusive and many great songs have been written this way.
I am thinking now of Paul Simon, who according to the liner notes of his later albums, has abandoned the method of writing the song, then arranging, then finding musicians to fill the tracks. If I understand him correctly he usually now makes a great track, comes up with an idea that seems to fit, and begins looking for the creative bursts that will help him write lines to fufill the idea. This too is inspiration, and I find this idea fascinating. To me it seems to dwell most comfortably in the realm of collaboration. I cite Will Ackerman's music as an example.
The far end of the scale is what I call the "Nashville songwriter" syndrome. And by this I truly mean no disrespect to Nashville songwriters in general. Many of these are truly talented individuals, who seem to have their own creative muse and are masters of the craft of writing as well. But far too often I see those who are possesed of some skill in the craft, but are using it in a more or less prostitutory manner. They rack their brains searching for a clever idea that will resonate with the public, craft a song to the idea, and then twist and polish the lines & rhymes to try to hide the seams to make them appear natural.
They may pull the wool over the public's eyes, but as someone who lives close to the other end of the scale, it's just disgusting.
As an example, my Dad was a carpenter who built many houses in his time and had the gift of craftsmanship. Whenever we would enter a building or sit down in a restaurant, he couldn't help pointing out the flaws..."Look at the gaps between those boards, they're all over the place"..."Who the heck put that moulding on, they must have been drinking..." "Why didn't they bother to...?"....etc...etc...
Well, when you become good at anything, this tends to happen. As a songwriter who cares about my work, the flaws in other people's writing become obvious. I see the seams. I see their mind working, making one choice & rejecting another. Many sucessful tunes I have heard, I would have thrown out had that idea come to me...in fact I've heard ideas that have come to me, been rejected, and later have turned up on TV or radio...And I still don't like them.
It sounds as though I'm being really judgemental but I assure you, in reality it is not the case. It's just the pitfall of discrimination that all artists must use in order to create a work of quality. We must be very sensitive to what's good and what's bad.
Those people who own the restaurant don't really care if the boards are on crooked, just as long as the building doesn't fall down. Different things for different people. Different music for different purposes. That's the freedom of it. Make your own choice.
Just remember that success and quality don't neccessarily equate.
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