How do you rate yourself songwriting-wise?

[genereaux]

No, I'm not asking you to rate yourself on a scale from 1-10...

I'm asking how do you GO ABOUT evaluating the songs you write?
I presume we all write for ourselves, but when you're ready to reach for outward approval, where do YOU go?

Myself, I have a few barometers; I come here. I find every JSer who takes the time to put an ear on another JSer material to be a welcome critique. Further that, of the handful of JSers that I hold the most respect for, half of them have provided me feedback and I listen VERY carefully to THAT- Because I feel if I can win THOSE ears, the rest of the world will likely fall into place.

But beyond Jam Session, I also have a few other 'sonic super-delegates', if you will.
My drummers wife place sax. EVERY sax. She talks about horns like we talk about guitars here. She teaches music every day, plays in 7 different jazz ensembles, 3 different 'hotel' bands, and plays with the symphony when they need a sax section (evidently, the saxaphone wasn't invented till the 1870's, so most all classical music doen't have sax parts written for it).
We rehearse at the drummers house, so she has had to endure EVERYTHING Lust For Glory has to offer. And she told Lance that she LIKES our music-I took that as a HUGE compliment.
Likewise, his 14 year old son is quite the fantastic drummer himself(he's got his own band; the Accomplices), and he said we're his favorite band that Lance is in (he's in 5 at the moment).


So who's input do YOU seek?


sean

[Disaronno]

I'm still new to songwriting. Hasn't been a full year yet.

I can see myself progressing which is pretty cool.

You're right I do write for me but when I want outward approval I'll post a tune up here.... Play it for friends... Throw it on the myspace...

I like to do open mics and get vibes from the crowd on my stuff. The open mic community can be helpful and I'm looking forward to hitting the open mic circuit when I get home.

Folks at the bars where I'm playing open mics.

My favorite approval so far was when I was playing one of my originals and during my solo people at the bar started cheering. I enjoyed that.

Although no matter what input I get I still don't feel like my stuffs too good unless it comes from somebody whose musical talent I respect ya know?

I've seen lots of guys get up and play two chords and sing over it and have people go, "Wow, That was great!" so I take everything with a grain of salt from those that aren't musicians.

Although after reading This Is Your Brain On Music my opinion in that regard is slowly starting to change.

[Lazy Bee]

So who's input do YOU seek?


sean


I'm learning to be honest with myself when I hold a song up to a professional standard. I know if it's weak or if it has already been done and done better. Besides that....

Ralph Murphey, V.P. at ASCAP

Rick Beresford, private song coach and song writing professor at Belmont university.

Nashville Songwriters Association International and their song evaluation staff.

Tennessee Songwriters Association International and their guest evaluators. i.e. publishers, producers, hit song writers.

Any publisher that will meet with me.

My mother, she's "brutaly" honest.

My 3 yr daughter, if after a few days of writing, tweaking, recording, and mixing she's not screaming at me to shut it off or write something new.... I figure I may be on to something.

Then when I'm tired of being told what's wrong with it I post it on JS for a little lift. Most folks here will tell me it doesn't stink to bad. :) It's nice to share music.

[mishmannah]

I'm really tough on myself...

So much so, the songs I am writing have taken more than a year.

I time test them, analyse the lyrics against the melody...

The most wonderful piece of advice given to me from a professional singer/songwriter earlier this year is to write songs for YOURSELF. After all, songwriting is meant to be an expression of your creativity, your reaction to the world around you.

That advice was very liberating. If you try and write material for other people (to please them), you will find you won't please everyone.

How would I rate/evaluate my stuff? Well other people can be a good barometer in this instance; people can tell straight away if a song "doesn't work"...luckily I have had good, constructive feedback from people, and although I think it's quite unlikely I won't "make it" in any way, it's great to compose music for the sheer fun of it.

[Mr. Boston]

Well, if my wife doesn't like it I'm definitely trying too hard to make "art" and forgetting that music is supposed to be fun and have a nice beat. Not to say she can't get into "deep" music too; but she's primarily interested in music that makes her want to dance, and choruses she can sing along too; so if something of mine doesn't grab her attention I go back to the drawing board.

I think I'm a better lyricist than "composer" I usually write the chords and lead lines first, then let the mood of the music tell me what to write words about. I can play and sing together decently enough, so I like to try and use the meter of the words to add whatever the beat of the song might be lacking. The guys in my main weekly band are more or less yes-men when it comes to my lyrics, cause none of them write songs. So I go to some people I've been playing with longer, including my oldest friend and my younger brother. They've been playing and writing with me long enough to give me the straight dope. If something is over-wrought they tell me; and I go back and simplify and pare things down.

Some things I'll post here and on review threads on Soundclick to get feedback from other musicians. That's usually when I have a basic idea for a song, but could still make some major style changes if I felt like it. Sometimes the perspective of other songwriters can be very helpful.

The next step is to play it live for people who know me, mainly the band's wives and girlfriends. They're not HARSH with criticism, but it's plain to see which songs get a good reaction and which don't.

Lastly, play it for strangers, people who have NO concern for my ego or emotions, lol. Their reaction to the bad ones might be harsh, but I know their reaction to the good ones is honest and genuine.

[Hitman!]

I entirely trust my writing partner's opinion, if he says it's good, it is. He's rough on me but that's what we need, I do the same for him. Then, to see if he was right, I look at the radio charts.

[millrat]

I'm proboably my biggest critic, but I have a couple people who's opinion I trust and value.

Pete Goble; well known bluegrass singer/songwriter

Jeff Back; the praise & worship leader at our church, he's brutally honest, but tries to put it nicely if that makes sense.

I run my stuff by these guys, and if they like it I know I have something. If they don't they tell me.

my family also lets me know
my 2 daughters 8 & 11 go around the house singing some of my songs
my wife will tell me right away if it's corny, or it just stinks, or if it's good

i only have a couple things that i've posted here, i should post more, but just haven't taken the time

rob

[1ZeroReapeR1]

If I like what I'm making up song wise, there are bound to be others. But thats not where the problem lays. Its getting the darn tracks recorded to how I like it that makes me not like the song as much

[Furious Lopez]

Radiohead is my favorite band...so getting approval isn't my biggest goal...heh

Actually, the happier a song makes ME the better I feel about it. Though some of the riffs and licks I hate are the ones people like the most. Stupid poppy crap. hehehehe