The Verse Curse
To say it has been a day or two since my last post would be the definition of an understatement. To be honest, life has been a bit crazy. Layton, my co-writer turned boyfriend, relocated to Orlando this summer. Still living in Indiana, a lot of my time and effort have been dedicated to job hunting, researching the housing markets, searching for a boarding facility, and, in general, attempting not to panic about the uncertainty which will come with leaving my life behind to start over. Needless to say, with the stress that I'm under, and because my favorite co-writer is living several hundred miles away, songwriting has not been at the top of my priority list...but that's not to say it hasn't been on my mind.
I have completed a few compositions since my last post, even sharing a very rough video demo on YouTube. However, most of my new concepts have been oppressed by The Verse Curse. Every week, on multiple occasions, I excitedly rummage through my work bag and dig out one of my little black hook books. On a fresh page, I scribble down ideas, images, my hook, and a few key phrases. In my head, generally within a few minutes, the first verse is complete. At this point, it's common practice to move on to the chorus. Remember, I'm suffering from the verse curse, so I come up a little short, or over-analyze my chorus to the point that I toss it out. During my moments of frustration, I usually get an idea for the second verse, explore that tangent, then return once more to the impossible chorus. I have several, for the most part, complete songs, as well as a few dozen random verses, but no choruses. This has not been a passing phase. Last night I was just humming and suddenly the first verse came right to me. I already have ideas for the second verse and a turnaround in the bridge, but no clue on how I should present my hook.
Words like frustration and angst cannot even begin to describe my current state as a songwriter, but I am hopeful that the curse will break and prove to be a valuable lesson. As I've learned during my five years of writing with Layton, with our quirky conversations and session sidetracks, songwriting is a journey, filled with tangents, lame jokes, big fish stories, and the occasional drunken bugs bunny sitting on the curb who, I can only assume, is beginning to question his life choices. I know, with all of my random verses, I will eventually get from point A to point B, and I'll hopefully continue to gather more verses and concepts along the way.
I have completed a few compositions since my last post, even sharing a very rough video demo on YouTube. However, most of my new concepts have been oppressed by The Verse Curse. Every week, on multiple occasions, I excitedly rummage through my work bag and dig out one of my little black hook books. On a fresh page, I scribble down ideas, images, my hook, and a few key phrases. In my head, generally within a few minutes, the first verse is complete. At this point, it's common practice to move on to the chorus. Remember, I'm suffering from the verse curse, so I come up a little short, or over-analyze my chorus to the point that I toss it out. During my moments of frustration, I usually get an idea for the second verse, explore that tangent, then return once more to the impossible chorus. I have several, for the most part, complete songs, as well as a few dozen random verses, but no choruses. This has not been a passing phase. Last night I was just humming and suddenly the first verse came right to me. I already have ideas for the second verse and a turnaround in the bridge, but no clue on how I should present my hook.
Words like frustration and angst cannot even begin to describe my current state as a songwriter, but I am hopeful that the curse will break and prove to be a valuable lesson. As I've learned during my five years of writing with Layton, with our quirky conversations and session sidetracks, songwriting is a journey, filled with tangents, lame jokes, big fish stories, and the occasional drunken bugs bunny sitting on the curb who, I can only assume, is beginning to question his life choices. I know, with all of my random verses, I will eventually get from point A to point B, and I'll hopefully continue to gather more verses and concepts along the way.
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