You’ve got an idea for a song. Maybe it’s a catchy chorus, maybe you even have a verse as well! But you just can’t get any further. It’s a common problem, one that has been had by every musician ever at some point! Here’s how you can get finish a song.
Tip #1 – Maybe it is finished already?
Firstly, have you considered that your song might already be finished? If you’ve succinctly expressed a feeling in a minute-and-a-half song, maybe it doesn’t need any more.
Tip #2 – Work out what your core concept is.
I love a good bike ride. But sometimes I need the motivation of a destination to get me out on the saddle. The same is true of songwriting! If you don’t know where you’re going, it’s impossible to keep going. In song, your concept is your destination, and your chorus should be the anchor of your concept.
The Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby has
“I look at the lonely people”
Which tells us that the song is about all these characters who are alone.
I Love You, Honeybear by indie folk icon Father John Misty keeps going back to its titular line, contrasting its rather more crude verses with the sickly sweet sentiment at the heart of the song, revealing its concept as being about this contradiction – being soft at heart but also embracing the messier and uglier side of love and lust.
Phoebe Bridgers’ Scott Street keeps going back to “Do you feel ashamed, when you hear my name?” to remind our listener that the song is not, in fact, about the mundane details of “walking down Scott Street” and asking “how is your sister” but instead is a seething indictment of a past toxic relationship.
Importantly, these examples show how the chorus interacts with the verses in order to make the song complete. But, you can only do this if you have worked out what your core concept is – so work that out first!
Tip #3 – Get a fresh pair of ears
It’s easy to get stuck in a rut when you’ve been sitting alone working on one song, hearing various iterations of the same line a million times over. Sleep on it, and make a decision in the morning.
If that still isn’t working, get a really fresh pair of ears – collaborate with another songwriter or artist! The accountability helps get it finished.
Reach out to musical friends, approach people whose music you admire at open mic nights, or work with someone offering co-writing sessions as a service (like me!). Nothing helps get a song finished like knowing that you’ve made a financial investment in getting it done.
Tip #4 – Commit to a specific time to work.
Tell yourself that tomorrow, at 6pm, you will sit down for two hours and by the end of that two hours you will have the song written and you’ll record it as a work tape that you can give to a producer to help get it release-ready. Tell a friend you’ll finish it, or announce on socials that you’ll post a demo at 8pm.
This is a bit of an expansion of the technique Nick Cave uses – he rocks up six days a week to his office and writes. No procrastination, no waiting for inspiration, just writing.
Again, the accountability here stops you from being too much of a perfectionist, and helps you make sure that you finish your song.
If you have a song idea that you need to finish, get in touch – even if you’re not sure if you’re ready, send me what you have and I’ll let you know how I can help you finish it!