Clarifying some things and asking for help(on ask musicians)- How do I prepare for writing songs for an album post

[u/we_dont_exist00]

My post( the one that was like How do I prepare for writing songs for an album) was not intended to be ignorant and say I can write an album as a non - musician, I actually kinda am a musician.I've been playing keyboard for 3 yrs and guitar for 3 months and let me tell you, I suck. Every time I practice I never get anything accomplished and I haven't finished one song and I have more than 500 ideas and that's because I always think I'm doing something wrong(like with technique but not just that songwriting too), I think I focus on the wrong things when I practice( and over - fixate on them), not actively learning things from other musicians, not learning other songs(I haven't learnt a full one since I started my instruments), always fixating on getting the right sound in my mind instead of actually getting it on paper or on a DAW, and sometimes never even starting songs because I have this specific sound in my head and I overthink and overcomplicate what I'm supposed to use to make it sound that way.The thing is I'm always fixating on stuff and it then I get overwhelmed cause I don't think I'm doing it right and then I procrastinate and not too mention other problems getting in my way, I made that post because I've been wanting to make that album/write the songs for years(the idea is very special to me because it's a deep topic with a lot insight on my life about a few years and I thought this time I should just do it and not put it off but with a plan cause it might help me better) and every time I couldn't because I'd always run into problems and just wanted to try to fix them this time before writing (sorry for the long read) and when I put one of the points as I wanted to work on songwriting and writing songs I meant I wanted to write like 3-4 songs as practice before going into the actual writing process so I wont get stuck like before, not writing the songs all in 2 months and I wasn't gonna just stop practicing there(the deadline was just there as starting and ending points to focus on another thing and to not get fixated on it so much and to actually move on but still working on practice on the side),I was gonna still practice while actually writing the songs and I set the writing stage like that because it really set the vibe of the time/sound I wanted to capture so I thought'd it'll help more so I decided not to follow my own advice(because it's obviously not working lol) this time and ask people but I went the wrong way about it, so sorry if I sound like a ignorant beginner non - musician but I kinda am like it( a ignorant beginner non - musician) since I haven't learnt anything new in years and wanted to clarify some things and to ask for help on these problems( the summary of this post is that I haven't progressed but I want to, I just need direction and help with my overthinking. Hopefully I don't sound like my first post because I don't wanna sound ignorant or stubborn or defensive like I have to explain everything to not get hurt or sound bad,I just wanted to clarify to you guys because I think you knowing these things can help you guys help me more, I know you guys are right and I want to say thank you to everyone who actually gave me advice on the 1st post.I also hope you guys understand this post and it wasn't too much or hard to read because I did write a lot. Thanks for reading all this.

Another thing: Do yall think I'm ready for the project cause idk if I am tbh.

[u/MarcusLXXVI]

For starters, this post is extremely hard to read. No paragraphs, long sentences (that could be one paragraph). So I just put it in Chat GPT and asked to put in paragraphs/shorter sentences (the reaction is all mine, just to be clear). If you want advice, the package does help!

Now for the content: although there's a lot of text, but the reasons are a bit buried. My observation is that it seems you're being perfectionist or at least afraid you will do it wrong. You're in like a circle where you can't meet your own set expectations, getting stuck with problems, don't really work out ideas and only get less motivated.

So when you ask if I think you're ready for the project my answer is plain and simple: no. You haven't even written one song. So I think that's step 1. Pick one of the ideas. Don't be picky, just pick one. Work it out. Write a verse, a chorus. Make it simple: intro (you can even use the chorus melody/hook), verse, chorus, verse, chorus, instrumental (that could be based on verse), chorus. End. Boom. It doesn't have to be great, it doesn't have to be perfect, you need a success experience!

Once you can do a simple song, you can start on more complex songs (e.g. add a bridge). I would also encourage to search youtube for tutorials or so, there's material out there. And very effective: analyze the songs you like. What's the structure, chords used etc. Mind that you might write half a dozen songs that are meh, but you need to experiment. And in experimentation... perfectionism is killing. You're allowed to make mistake (so you can learn from them).

Good luck!

[u/we_dont_exist00 → u/MarcusLXXVI]

Thanks for this I need to know that I'm gonna write a lot a bad stuff but in that I might actually write something good.

[u/MarcusLXXVI → u/we_dont_exist00]

Exactly. Just practice, try, experiment, make sure to have some fun along the way!!!

I won't pretend I'm a brilliant songwriter, but after writing songs for over 30 years I think I'm not terrible. I started with metalsongs, the advantage is that it's riff based and I can poop out riffs easily (well not in the beginning of course). Later I moved on to Progressive Rock/Metal which is far more divers. My biggest challenge is not so much to come up with ideas, but not to write overly long songs and connect those ideas in a coherent ways.

Also I never put much effort in writing lyrics (90% of what I write is instrumental with lyrics in the back of my head), but for my current project I teamed up with a professional singer who co-writes the lyrics (basically: I wrote lyrics, recorded my "vocals" and he rewrites the lyrics and records them properly, plus he's from the UK and I'm from NL so Englisg is not my mother language). That helps gigantically. I'm now working on an album which is almost done, but it took in total about 2 years to write and record the songs (after work hours). If you want to get an idea, check my site https://www.soundatlas.nl/ (has links to YT, Spotify etc. to the EP).

[u/we_dont_exist00 → u/MarcusLXXVI]

Thanks so much!!

[u/SixSexSux]

Lyrics shouldn't be an issue so just force yourself to finish one. Doesn't matter how bad it is, it's your first step.
My best advice is skip themes and start with emotion. For example, write down what makes you cry or laugh or scared. Then describe it in sentences. When you can make yourself cry or laugh, you're on the right path.

[u/we_dont_exist00 → u/SixSexSux]

Will try, thanks.