Song Club #67: Prototyping

Using listening and iteration to make songs better

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“So, how do you deal with not knowing how good a song is?” I remember asking a friend. He was starting to find success as an engineer and producer.

This was his very decisive answer: “Make a finished version. Listen to it a lot. Take some space. Listen again.”

(The same friend also taught me to save a new version of whatever song I was working on each day I worked on it. Date at the beginning of the title, numbered year-month-day.)

So began my habit of prototyping albums in order to understand when they were done.

One of the final prototypes of my latest album, Unfurl. The final version of which is below.

I do this kind of prototyping at the song and album level. My aim when writing these days is to get a finished version of the song recorded in my first writing session. Then, I export it to one of a handful of playlists on the Music app (honestly not the best, but it works fine). I listen to these playlists off and on, usually when commuting or walking around my neighborhood.

What this opens up:

i) Opportunities for casual listening, for the songs to wash over you. What you notice about your own music when bopping around doing errands or heading to work—what sticks out—can be rather instructive.

ii) Opportunities for the song to reveal itself. When I listen this way I find that new parts or lyrics arise, and arise with consistency. As in, the same idea will occur to me over and again, even when I listen weeks apart. I like to trust these gifts or instincts.

iii) Opportunities to understand what songs belong together. This is also information that seems to reveal itself. You don’t have to think too hard, you will just start to know that Song A belongs with Song 7, so on and so forth. An album appears.

This week, I’m sharing Entry Points that offer guidance on this kind of prototyping and listening.

Wishing you new understandings of your work,
Lucy

‘Entry Points’