BEFORE AND AFTER
I can't speak for all songwriters, but when I get hit with a new song idea, it comes fast and furious.
I never spend more than maybe 20 minutes writing a song because at that point the inspiration has waned and I get lost in the technicals. Instead, I frantically figure the chord changes in my mind while simultaneously trying to jot down the lyrics before they are lost to the ether.
All the while, in my head, I can hear the arrangement as well. The drums, the bass, the backing vocals,.. maybe horns? Maybe strings?
I can't read or write music, so when a song does come to me I have only one way to remember it. I record it as soon as I finish writing it because I'm afraid I'll forget it very quickly if I don't.
So this page is comparing the original inspiration to the final recording.
You can listen to the rough idea and then hear what I was actually visualizing in my head as I was writing it in the final recorded version.
(All of these songs are on my CHAOS IN SEASON album that you can check out on my Solo Projects page.)