SongLab Deep Cuts Vol. 28: Maybe Your Song Isn’t Good Enough Yet

There is a sentence that I think a lot of artists need to hear.

Maybe your song just isn't good enough yet.

Not bad.

Not hopeless.

Not proof that you aren't talented.

Just not good enough yet.

And honestly, that might be one of the most useful things you can realize as a songwriter.

Because sometimes we spend an enormous amount of time trying to solve a problem that isn't actually a production problem.

We change the drums.

We hire a better producer.

We add guitars.

We add synths.

We stack vocals.

We buy another plugin.

We spend thousands of dollars making the song sound bigger, cleaner, louder, and more expensive.

And then we listen back and wonder why it still isn't connecting.

Sometimes the answer is incredibly simple.

THE SONG NEEDS MORE WORK.

The Composition Comes First

This is something we talk about constantly in our sessions.

The production can make a great song incredible.

It can give a song identity, emotion, dynamics, and a world for the artist to live inside.

But production can't magically turn a weak composition into a great song.

A great song should have something underneath all of that production.

Take everything away.

Take away the drums.

Take away the vocal stacks.

Take away the effects.

Take away the production tricks.

Sit down with a piano or a guitar and sing the song.

Does it still work?

Does the melody make you want to hear it again?

Does the chorus feel like a chorus?

Does the lyric take you somewhere?

Does the structure make sense?

Does the song build?

Does it have a moment you remember after the song is over?

Because if the song doesn't work when it's stripped down, there's a good chance the production is covering up a songwriting problem rather than solving one.

A great production can make you fall in love with a great song. It shouldn't have to convince you that the song is great.

There Is a Reason Six People Wrote That Song

Look at the credits on a lot of successful contemporary records.

You'll often see multiple writers.

Sometimes five.

Sometimes six or seven.

And there is a reason for that.

It isn't necessarily because none of them could write a song by themselves.

It's because songwriting is collaborative.

Different writers bring different instincts.

One person might be incredible at melody.

Another might hear structure differently.

Another might have a completely different lyrical perspective.

Another might instinctively know when the second verse needs to be shorter.

Another might hear a rhythmic pattern in the vocal that nobody else in the room was thinking about.

Another might say, "That's a great pre-chorus, but I think the chorus is actually hiding inside it."

That kind of outside perspective can completely change a song.

This is why co-writing is so valuable.

You're not just splitting up the work.

You're putting more songwriting experience into the room.

Experience Matters

There is something else that is difficult to explain until you've been doing this for a long time.

You develop an instinct.

After you've written hundreds of songs, been in hundreds of sessions, listened to thousands of records, and watched songs succeed and fail, you start hearing things differently.

You begin to recognize when a section is too long.

When the chorus hits too late.

When the second verse repeats too much information from the first.

When the bridge doesn't actually take the song anywhere.

When the melody is beautiful but doesn't give the singer anything memorable to grab onto.

When the lyric is saying something interesting but the music isn't supporting it.

When there are simply too many ideas fighting for attention.

That instinct takes time.

You can't download songwriting experience.

You have to write.

And rewrite.

And listen.

And collaborate.

And fail.

And write again.

Get in a Room With Someone Better Than You

This is one of the best things you can do for yourself as a developing songwriter.

Find people who are better writers than you.

Seriously. Like, do that!

Get in a room with someone who intimidates you a little.

Someone who has written more songs.

Someone who understands structure better.

Someone who hears melody differently.

Someone who can tell you why something isn't working without being afraid to hurt your feelings.

It can be uncomfortable.

Good.

You should be learning.

Pay attention to what they do.

Pay attention to what they don't do.

Watch how they approach a chorus.

Watch how quickly they throw away an idea.

Watch how they know when something is finished.

Watch how they simplify.

And then steal the lessons.

Not their songs.

Their process.

That's how you get better.

You're Probably Thinking About Melody.

What About Rhythm?

This is one of the biggest things I see with developing writers.

They're thinking about the melody.

They're thinking about the lyrics.

But they're not thinking enough about rhythm.

And rhythm can completely change a song.

Two people can sing the exact same notes and the exact same words, but change the rhythm and suddenly it feels like an entirely different song.

Great songwriters are obsessed with how a lyric feels in the mouth.

Where does the word land?

What syllable gets emphasized?

Where does the singer breathe?

Where does the melody rush?

Where does it sit behind the beat?

Where does it leave space?

Where does the phrase repeat?

Where does it surprise you?

Have we used enough triplets in this?

Sometimes the answer isn't changing the melody.

It's changing the rhythm of the melody.

That's a songwriting skill.

And the more you experiment with rhythm, the more interesting your writing can become.

Does the Song Actually Need That Bridge?

Here's where experience really starts to matter.

Does your song need a bridge?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Is your song too long?

Is the post-chorus actually the most interesting section?

Could that post-chorus become the bridge?

Does the bridge need completely new music?

Does the story need a tonal shift?

Does the second verse actually need to be the same melody but with a different rhythm than the first?

Are there too many sections?

Are there too many ideas?

Are you trying to prove how much you can write instead of figuring out what the song actually needs?

Are you “performing” the song too much and taking away from the composition selling itself?

Sometimes the best decision you can make is to remove something.

Simplify something else.

Great songwriting isn't about adding more. It's about knowing what matters.

And some of the most memorable songs ever written are incredibly simple.

That's not an accident.

Simple is hard.

Making something instantly understandable, emotionally effective, and impossible to forget is an enormous songwriting skill.

Maybe It's Not Ready to Be Produced

This is the part I really want artists to think about.

Your song does not have to be ready to record just because you finished writing it.

I will repeat that.

YOUR SONG DOES NOT HAVE TO BE READY TO RECORD JUST BECAUSE YOU FINISHED WRITING IT.

Those are two different things.

Maybe you've written something good.

That's great.

But good doesn't automatically mean finished.

Maybe the chorus could be better.

Maybe the second verse needs to change.

Maybe the bridge isn't working.

Maybe the song needs to be shorter.

Maybe the melody needs another pass.

Maybe the lyric is saying too much.

Maybe it isn't saying enough.

Maybe you need another writer in the room.

And if that's the case, don't spend thousands of dollars producing it yet.

Rewrite the song first.

It's much cheaper to rewrite a song with a piano than it is to rebuild a fully produced record.

Don't Fall in Love With the Demo

This is another trap.

You make a demo.

You spend weeks on it.

You start getting attached to the guitar sound.

The vocal.

The drum pattern.

The little production moments.

And suddenly you're afraid to change the song because you're actually protecting the demo.

DON’T.

The demo is not the song.

The song is the song.

If changing the chorus makes the demo worse but makes the actual song better, change the chorus.

If deleting your favorite production moment makes the composition stronger, delete it.

If the melody you spent three hours writing isn't working, throw it away.

Your job isn't to protect your ideas.

Your job is to make the song better.

Good Is Not the Finish Line

This is where a lot of artists get stuck.

They write something good.

Their friends like it.

Their producer likes it.

They've spent money on it.

They've listened to it 500 times.

So now it feels impossible to ask the most important question:

Can this be better?

The answer is almost always yes.

That doesn't mean you should endlessly rewrite every song until you hate it.

There is a point where a song is finished.

But learning how to recognize that point is part of becoming a better songwriter too.

And sometimes the difference between a good song and a great song is one more rewrite.

One better chorus.

One better line.

One rhythmic change.

One section removed.

One section added.

One person in the room asking the question you didn't think to ask.

You Don't Have Bad Songs. You Have Songs That Need More Experience.

This is the part I want you to remember.

If your songs aren't getting the response you hoped for, don't immediately assume you need better marketing.

Don't automatically blame the algorithm.

Don't assume you need a bigger production.

Don't assume you need another plugin.

Don't assume you need to spend more money.

Ask yourself something much harder.

Is the song actually great yet?

And if the answer is no, that's okay.

That's not failure.

That's songwriting.

Go write another version.

Bring it to somebody better than you.

Strip it down to a piano.

Change the rhythm.

Question the chorus.

Question the bridge.

Question the length.

Question the lyric.

Question everything.

Then build it back up.

Because the goal isn't to write songs that are good enough to release.

The goal is to become good enough to know how to make a good song great.

And that takes time.

It takes experience.

It takes collaboration.

It takes humility…

And sometimes it takes admitting that the song you thought was finished isn't finished at all.

Final Musings...

Maybe your song isn't good enough yet.

Good.

Now you know what to work on.

Keep creating. Keep rewriting. Keep collaborating. Keep learning.

-SongLab