Songwriting News: Songwriting Paralysis By Analysis (2024)

Ever suffer from paralysis by analysis? Stressed out over a line or a melodic phrase? Easy to get caught up in your song with the smallest of details. If you tend to overthink your song just …don’t.

I’ve mentored a ton of songwriters through the years both online, in sessions, workshops, and writer retreats. Can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve come into a room and found co-writers have retreated into their respective corners and the song has come to a complete halt. I’ll ask them to take me back to the beginning of their co-write and walk me through it. It’s usually a short walk. Why? Someone is overthinking and doing it too early in the process.

Maybe it’s the writer who writes a line or two and immediately begins to dissect them. Basically editing before there is much to edit. Whatever it is that’s caused the once-promising idea to go on life support is something to overcome. The time to edit is really when you have a whole bunch of ideas on the page. That’s when you need to analyze what you have and consider possible ways to make it better. If you find yourself paralyzed, indecisive, and unable to move forward consider getting away from the song for a while. If you’re co-writing on the day and don’t have the luxury of time, try being acceptive of the other writer’s ideas even when you’re feeling they may not be the best ones. You can always revisit these when you have the bones of your song. Move on.

An age-old tool is to use placeholders in your lyric. Rather than stopping time by waiting for that perfect line, just make something up - anything - and keep the flow going. Again, you can come back to it later. The Beatles were particularly good at this technique and sometimes the nonsensical lines actually ended up in the final version.

You probably know the most famous of these placeholder stories. If not, Paul McCartney was writing a beautiful song but totally stuck for the title. He had the cadence down but rather than letting this stop him he carried on with a working title of “Scrambled  Eggs”. Eventually the title “Yesterday” took over from “Scrambled Eggs” and worked out ok for the song and for Paul.

Pays to think about these moments in your song but not to the point of paralysis by analysis. It will come and sometimes when you just quit thinking!

Mark Cawley

Nashville, Tennessee

Image: Shutterstock

if you'd like to stay up with iDoCoach including receiving the latest blogs and my favorite 7 Toolbox tips here ya go!

http://idocoach.com/email-newsletter

I'm currently coaching writers worldwide, online, one on one and taking new clients for the Fall. Visit my website for more info www.idocoach.com or write to me at [email protected]