4 Reasons You MUST FINISH Your Songs!

[@keymasterseven]

Oh man, I didn't realize that my struggles were so common! This is so helpful and full of wisdom! Thank you!

[@htws]

Thanks Eric, glad it was helpful. And yes, every songwriter I've ever spoken to has this problem... you are not alone! Happy songwriting and good luck finishing!

[@SeanSullivan6119]

This is one of the best advice pieces I've ever seen. I can beyond relate and I now know that many others suffer from the same. It happens to my with stories, the novel I'm working on, my songs... I imagine this advice can be applied to any sort of artistic pursuit. I am motivated. Thank you!!!

[@htws]

You are so welcome Sully, glad it resonates with you! Thanks for the support!

[@JBugz777]

Probably the most important video on your channel

[@ulfsvensson9710]

I try to use my unfinished music as bridge, pre-chorus, chorus and so on, when i get stuck in newer work or collaborate with others in wrighting. Works more often then you would guess.

[@htws]

This is a great technique, thanks for sharing!

[@stokedupart4078]

Ideas sprout momentum. Capture it all.

[@MiriamEHC]

Fantastic video. I had been thinking of my pile of unfinished songs as a little treasure box of ideas that I can use later. When I struggle to finish a song, I just add it to the pile and think maybe some part of it will find a home somewhere else in the future. But you’ve got me rethinking that now. I’m going to try to finish one or two of them - if I don’t feel good about them after completing them, that’s fine; I can put them back in the box to maybe repurpose later, but at least I will have grown and learned something from the practice (labor) of completing them. Thank you!

[@htws]

Hi Miriam. Thanks for your comment... glad the video resonated with you. Going back to old material is such a unique experience and also a deeply personal one. I hope you find a way to reconnect with some of those songs and like you said, the process of doing so is valuable in itself. Good luck!

[@ivanl.8201]

Thank you so much. I've been interested in writing instrumental songs for as long as I know myself, but have really been so afraid of it that I ended up focusing on computer science and computer programming instead. But then I got to my late 40's, and realized that I do want to get these ideas into a song form, and have really realized that a lot of my fears come from a lack of experience in this process that includes everything from significant gaps in my playing ability and music theory knowledge to not knowing how to sequence/mix/arrange etc etc. And I do get stuck a lot, but I feel that the only way I will ever learn this is to just keep going, no matter how good or bad the outcome is. Your words have completely validated and confirmed what I've been feeling like it's been this internal truth, trying to present itself to me.

[@htws]

So many great points Ivan… and yes, the only way is to keep going. We all get stuck and we all have gaps in our knowledge - the question is how do we get unstuck (with systems and daily habits) and how do we fill the gaps (by first identifying what they are then finding a method that we align to) Thanks for sharing, happy songwriting!

[@m1chacha]

This is definitely something I relate to a lot. I start a lot of songs but rarely finish them. I do feel like sometimes I can tell if a song idea isn't going to work or turn out very well, but then again a few of my finished songs that I do quite like have been ones that were at one stage abandoned until I eventually came back to them. It's something I've been trying to work on though, finishing at least most of the songs I start writing and then after they're done making the value judgements on them. Interestingly enough, one of my songs, "Leave It Alone" was partially written about my complicated relationship with the writing process, insecurities in my abilities and not finishing songs. Thanks for the video Ben!

[@htws]

Hey Michacha, great to hear from you. Love the way you've articulated the challenge... Always hard going back to a half-finished song but sometimes it pays off, which complicates the situation further and tempts us to return to more of our older material. Keen to hear "Leave it Alone" when you've got a demo ready. Cheers

[@m1chacha]

@@htws I actually released Leave It Alone at the end of last year, here's the video for it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6qsfImBh7Obg5Y

[@tiemanspace7679]

Songs I wrote when I was young have basically dissolved into my musicianship improvements. Some of them make new song ideas when combined. They are not compositions but instead ideas and bits and pieces of musical sentences. One's heart draws the final conclusion. The chord changes draw the perspective of the song. The landscape and the environment of a song course the lyrics into place and vice versa. Like swimming in a pool of leafy water or water with a bunch of rubber duckies or plastic spoons in it. Yeah. If you can poetically swim in it then it's a song. (:

[@Lukas-rv4lc]

Last year, I started setting deadlines for my songs, and it really worked out for me. Writing and producing songs is like embarking on a long hike that I have to finish. If you're struggling with your song, then maybe you should try hiking as a source of motivation.

[@Pr0fess0rG]

Wow! This is an outstanding, meaningful set of reasons. Really resonating with me right now.

[@michaelchadwick6424]

Thanks you for this video. It sure resonates with me. I write the music first and leave the words till later. And later. And later. Never doing it. I love cobbling bits of music together such that they sound like coherent songs. But they're not songs until there's words and melodies. They sit on a hard drive waiting for me to commit to finish them. I've done a couple of online collabs and it's a great feeling to finish a song. I need to do more of that. Sometimes you can't do everything on your own. Thanks again

[@htws]

Hi Michael. Glad the video resonated with you. Great point about collaboration ... sometimes we get in our own way by trying to 'do everything on our own' ... and maybe that phrase 'I'll come back to it later' is also to blame... whatever the reason, being aware of it and taking steps to build habits around finishing sure feels like a step in the right direction. Thanks for your support!

[@HaharuRecords]

*also note that what makes those songs and Artists great(est) is that eventhough they didn't finish one third of their work they always engage in something to ther belief and alway dedicated to the work...Finishing is just a matter of time..no matter what you try depends on how you want or manage..

[@superduperdom]

Excellent tips. Changing the world one finished song at a time! Even if some of the lyrics are a bit meh, for now. Recording them on a smart phone and listening back, gives me just enough distance to also see what works, or doesn’t.

[@htws]

Love the process of recording demos on the phone and playing them back for review... really great way to use technology. Thanks for sharing and thanks for the support!

[@julianflaman]

Great video! Thank you for these advices. So much inspiration

[@therealjohngalaxy]

Great tips! Thank you! Everyone needs to hear these!

[@htws]

Thanks John, much appreciated!

[@brianolson_music]

This is awesome. I’ve recently started the practice of finishing every song, and I totally agree. I rarely finished anything prior to this. It’s improved my songwriting significantly in a short amount of time. Thanks for the video 🙏

[@leonardcortez7963]

Thanks for this advice it makes complete sense

[@johnmirabile3535]

IM THE CHAMPION OF WRITING 2 VERSE, 2 CHORUS SONGS....THEN HOPING TO FINISH THEM ON HE DAY OF RECORDING...WHICH JUST ADDS TO SONG MAKING PROCESS....THIS VIDEO IS ON THE MONEY...THIS MORNING MY BROTHER, TOLD ME 'FINISH THE DAMMM SONGS' THEN I SEE THIS...YA KNOW, I THINK THERES ALMOST A FEAR FACTOR IN THE WRITING PROCEES, THE FEAR BEING ONCE WERE SATISFIED WITH THE HALF FINISHED PRODUCT? WERE AFFRAID OF RUINING IT, SO ITS EVEN DEEPER THEN THIS SOMETIMES..GREAT WORK

[@htws]

It's a great point John... the fear of finishing is definitely a factor - especially the fear of it not being 'good enough' or as beautiful as we had in our minds. Hitchcock talked about this idea with film making - the film never turned out as well as it was in his head, he just had to accept that this is the way it goes... our creative vision is perfect, however the reality of making things in the real world must factor in limitations - budget, time, physics etc. Thanks so much for your comment and support. Good luck!

[@johnmirabile3535]

@@htws RIGHT! THE FINISHED PRODUCY MOST OF THE TIME IS NOT WHAT WE HEARD IN OUR HEADS, THEN AGAIN I HAD A SONG I DIDNT EVEN WANT TO CUT, AND TURNED OUT ONE OF THE BEST ONES, DURING THE RECORDING PROCESS...ALSO, I REALIZE, SOMETIMES WHEN I FORCE MYSELF TO KEEP WRITING SOMETHING I MAY NOT BE CRAZY ABOUT IT TURNS INTO A WHOLE DIFFERENT SONG.....BUT IM WRITING AN EP AS WE SPEAK AND I KEEP WRITING 75 PCT, OF A SONG THEN MOVE ON, ITS INSANE...LOL...IM ALWAYS LEAVING OUT THE LAST VERSE....I HAVE ABOUT 20 NEW SONGS WRITTEN ALL WITHOUT A 3RD OR FINAL VERSE, CRAZYNESS!

[@schoontube]

Your content is outstanding. This one was especially helpful to me today. Thanks!

[@htws]

Thanks Michael, glad this one was helpful and really appreciate the support!

[@stevesaba1613]

Always the voice of reason Ben! Love it 🙏

[@TheHarmonicaBarge]

This video was made for me, right now. Subscribed Thank you

[@htws]

Glad you liked it. Thanks for the support!

[@ChristopherOrth]

Fantastic words. Thank you!

[@htws]

You are so welcome :)

[@mikeswell9021]

Thanks for this 🙏👏🏼

[@htws]

You're most welcome Mike, glad it was helpful!

[@steveseattle]

Needed to hear this... thanks so much!

[@htws]

You are so welcome!

[@Tom-Strummer]

This is really good advice. Just what I needed to hear.

[@htws]

Thanks Tom, glad it was helpful!

[@jameschandler_]

Very valid points! Thank you for your wisdom :)

[@htws]

Glad it was helpful!

[@burtcocain1986]

You've contradicted yourself there. So in #3, if your old material is taking up room and distracting from the "important work" and so.... it needs to be "finished". Then a second later, you say we need to move on from the songs we're stuck on and not to go back to an old folder of songs. But... I'm supposed to be finishing those songs so I can learn to finish more songs. So which is it? Go back and finish my old songs, or move on and start new ones?

[@lemmonsAREyellow]

best video of yours yet !!! Thanks for sharing your ideas and advice ❤️

[@htws]

You're most welcome Michael, glad it resonated with you. Thanks for the support!

[@liquidsolids9415]

Great stuff, as usual. Thanks for the inspiration!

[@htws]

You're welxome, thanks for the support!

[@MAFALDINO1165]

Thank you! This is inspiring

[@htws]

Thanks Antonio, appreciate the support!

[@jeremyholcombe3202]

"Songwriting is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration". (Steve Earle IIRC paraphraseing Thomas Edison)

[@jaguarandi2]

yea but what constitutes a finished song? Is it a completed mp3 track, you singing the song accompanied by acoustic guitar or piano?

[@alanredversangel]

I set out to finish one song this year and a few months later I've started 5-6 more of them and still not finished the first one! And to make things worse the more I record/mix it the less it sounds like the rough mix i like the most.

[@htws]

Hi Alan. It really is so tempting to start a new song - the thrill of exploring a new idea is much more appealing than digging deep to complete an existing idea - this is where I think good technique and strong habits come into play! Amazing how often the original demo sounds / feels better than later versions or mixes. Some songs want to be left in a more 'raw' state, other polish up nicely... the challenge is working out which ones are which. Thanks for your comment. Best of luck finishing more songs!

[@IconicWIZARD097]

Done

[@garymcmurdie6058]

I'm feeling like this is directed at me personally. I am the unfinisher!

[@htws]

Haha, I think most of us feel that way... I love your phrasing, perhaps it could be the title of a new song ... "The Great Unfinisher"

[@jcsanmiguel6270]

this is me 😄

[@htws]

Haha… this is most of us

[@deesee2008]

‘Learn By Doing’ is my own mantra. I would never call a phase ‘ The Swamp Of Despair’ that is just silly and a bit sus.

[@htws]

Hi Dee. 'Learn by Doing' is a great mantra and one that I also personally subscribe to. The 'Swamp of Despair' phase is a concept that was featured in another video of ours: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eIrPiKWOlsZ4qrc It's a concept that gets talked about a lot in relation to other creative fields and we were exploring how it applies to getting 'stuck' in the middle of a song, also referred to as '2nd Verse Hell' Hope that gives you some more context. Thanks for sharing

[@benhaltro1758]

se sei ispirato e' meglio che crei ex novo se le vecchie cose erano incomplete un motivo ci sara'

[@MissVonDunajew]

I struggle so much, cause I struggle with the guitar, getting ideas for rhythm etc, I am so frustrated!

[@htws]

Hey Lo! We will be running a Workshop on this very thing later in the year! Different strumming, picking, and rhythmic approaches for songwriting on the guitar. Please email me if you’d like me to let you know when it’s up, [e-mail]

[@gasparucciox9706]

i have so many unfinished songs! 🙄