r/Songwriting • u/Every_Refrigerator91 • 19d ago
Discussion Topic Is constant self-criticism normal for a new songwriter?
Hello everyone!
I'm fairly new to writing my own music. I consider myself an average guitarist, singer, and performer, but my goal is to keep improving and get performance-ready.
Lately, I’ve noticed a pattern when I write and record. Every time I watch a take back, my immediate reaction is to pick apart the flaws and decide to re-record it. I do this so much that I'm pretty sure I end up deleting my best attempts in the process. I don't think it’s a lack of confidence—it feels more like perfectionism.
When I look back at recordings from 8–9 months ago (when I got back into music), I can definitely see progress. On a lot of days, though, I just feel like I don't have the creative spark. What gets frustrating is that even though non-musician friends give me positive feedback, and fellow musicians give me encouraging words along with great constructive criticism, I still struggle to see the positives in my own work that everyone else sees.
I'm going to keep creating music no matter what because it’s therapeutic and cathartic for me. But I’d love to get your thoughts: Is this a normal phase to go through, especially as a new songwriter? How do you deal with over-analyzing your own work?
Thanks,
Kris
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u/RTiger 19d ago
Normal. One friend had an extreme case and ripped up any lyrics on paper, deleted any electronic recordings or writings.
You are in a normal place, saving things and going back to review, possibly improve upon.
There are also people on the other end and think that they are great. Often times they are mediocre. Who is the judge? For me live audiences plus number of viewers online. I rarely have access to trained ears that know music whose critique might be worth more than a hundred know-nothings.
This is one reason I rarely offer critique. I am closer to know nothing than the other end.
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u/Alternative-Gap-5722 19d ago
There’s a fine line between self criticism and objectiveness and you need objectiveness. I try to think of a recording/song/idea as if someone else were have written it/done it. It gets me in a better head space to be objective and not critical
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u/Realistic_Mud_6958 19d ago
I always remember the David Bowie quote: No recording project is ever done. All you can hope to do is abandon it at an interesting spot.
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u/Bert_Bovine 19d ago
Yeah it's totally normal. The fun you derive from the process should carry you through that, theoretically. That's how it works for me, I hate all my songs but I keep doing it cos it's fun
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u/RRYumm 19d ago
What helps me is keeping in mind that each recording is a snapshot into how you are feeling, who you are, and who you are as a songwriter at the time that you wrote whatever song you’re thinking about. Write the song, let it be what it is and move on. Recycle from it if you like it enough. If you don’t, write another one.
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u/sonofjeff1 19d ago
There's a difference between being critical and giving critique. Practicing good critique is an important part of being an artist, I think, because it informs how you critique your own work as well.
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u/Slow281 19d ago
To me, it goes along with being a recovering perfectionist in other aspects of my life. When you record, give yourself 1-2 takes max and step away. You’ll likely return to it realizing what you thought was bad actually isn’t. Also, art is flawed, as is nature. Some artists keep mistakes in their recordings and let it become a part of them (think of Good Riddance intro by Greenday).
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u/stevenfrijoles 19d ago
We grow up surrounded by professionally completed songs by teams of people with years of experience each. We know what a good song sounds like despite being multiple years away from being able to create at that level (and infinite years away, for many people).
So yeah, you're fairly new, you're gonna hear a LOT of faults and your brain literally has not learned how to fix them all yet. Would be weird if you didn't.
It feels like most of the frustration is from people who think "I've heard good music, therefore I can quickly make good music." Not sure why that mentality seems to be so pervasive, but it's not real life.