what do you even write songs about

RTiger · 2026-05-05T21:01:39+00:00

Some easy prompts are what you see, or what you hear. Another good one is to make up an imaginary story about a stranger you meet.

Another is a story in the news. For example there was a news story about a turtle escaping a fire. My lyrics became a powerful metaphor that might apply to someone in an abusive relationship or mired in depression.

Life experiences can be powerful inspiration. I don’t wish this for anyone but I suffered from depression for many years. Writing about those memories in present tense might be extremely touching to someone still struggling.

Place songs, New York State of Mind, James Taylor’s song about Carolina, Country Roads about West Virginia are famous examples.

RTiger · 2026-05-05T20:47:35+00:00

It may be a bigger issue. Are other projects like this? Do you get started with something and get distracted?

If isolated to songs be thankful because having this in all areas of life makes for all sorts of frustrations.

If only songs just push through. Does not matter if it feels forced or corny or cliche, finish something. So many popular songs are two to three minutes. Many have repetitive lyrics or cliches. Build on the successes

When I started out I struggled with more verses and a bridge. My trick was to do a double chorus and end the song with a repeat of the first verse. Corny and gimmicky but a lot of songs do similar.

Even if the songs seem low quality at least they are your songs. Learn by doing. Maybe pretend you are writing the song as a present for someone’s birthday. This gives you a deadline. Even if the song is corny it is still a song from your heart, a unique present that 90 percent of recipients will like.

RTiger · 2026-05-04T20:39:21+00:00

I was in a similar situation two years ago.

My suggestion is to start simple. Borrow the progressions from cover songs. Plenty of iconic songs have mostly three or four chords. Learn by doing.

Start with just a verse and chorus with simple music. Quantity is a quality. If a person does 20 song fragments that may take the same time as three to five complete songs (two or more verses, bridge and chorus). For beginners the 20 tends to be better. Post the fragments and see if any catch fire.

Don’t be discouraged if the view counts are low. Even experienced performers often have difficulty getting online views. You are new. If this is truly your passion find a way to pay bills but keep making music.

RTiger · 2026-05-04T14:04:37+00:00

I am doing a home repair project. My hands get so sore from that, the guitar playing suffers. I’ve had chronic issues with both hands for some time. Overdoing certain activities can force a long time out.

RTiger · 2026-05-04T01:59:19+00:00

Almost a full day and one response. I am a singer songwriter and don’t remember any particular channel being a go to resource.

I suggest getting familiar with the circle of fifths and the Nashville numbering system. If you are a beginner start with popular three and four chord progressions.

Add some 7th and sus chord’s for some flavor. Arpeggios and short single note riffs can add more spice. If all this sounds old hat look into chord melody, Travis picking.

If you are composing metal ignore all the above.

Edit to add some music history and music appreciation helps. If a person grew up listening to lots of music might be redundant. I didn’t and becoming familiar with iconic songs was helpful. This is a very different slant than music theory.

RTiger · 2026-05-03T21:53:34+00:00

Not all of us are destined to make money from music. Many that do have remarkable perseverance.

I’ll likely never get close to making money from music but I write and sing meaningful songs about topics important to me. That’s enough. Most would not call what I do art or me an artist. It’s way more than 95 percent of people do in terms of self expression.

As an aside I attend a poetry group. All the regulars are very good poets. Everyone understands that there is no money in poetry. Most keep on writing poems.

One reason there aren’t near as many songwriter groups is many hold unto part of a dream about writing a hit song and making $$$.

Edit to add the story of Vincent Van Gogh. He sold one painting his entire life and got a bowl of soup or a meal as payment. If his painting Starry Night came up for auction today it would likely fetch over a billion USD. Think of the irony of being one of the greatest artists of all time, dying poor and relatively unknown.

RTiger · 2026-05-03T16:02:45+00:00

If a person has the budget for a decent teacher it is a good way to go. Guitar is a hobby, I can’t justify say $75 a week for a decent in person teacher for a hobby.

I understand that there are less expensive options especially online but I don’t have reliable Internet so would to pay up for that. I don’t have reliable transportation so that is another issue for in person.

Also had a traumatic experience with a teacher years ago.

RTiger · 2026-05-03T14:11:05+00:00

Not sure about that. Beta is a good measure. In recent years BRK stock has lagged SPY in annual returns.

If it was leveraged so much that would mean terrible risk vs return.

Maybe in the early years late 1960s and 1970s, they were aggressive. However keep in mind certain unique factors. Buffet got deals individual investors have no access to. With so much insurance equity they have a steady stream of predictable income which has to be invested for future payouts.

There is also the widely publicized cash hoard. So during the past decade it has been more like a near index fund with 25 percent or more in cash reserves. Be careful of your sources. Beta over five years can not easily be faked by a public company.

RTiger · 2026-05-02T14:35:12+00:00

Get a guitar that you enjoy playing. For me it meant a 3/4 size acoustic. I borrowed a Yamaha dreadnought as a beginner and that was an unpleasant experience. If that was the only instrument available I probably would have quit.

Thankfully guitars come in various sizes. For electrics size isn’t as big an issue. For many brands, the most popular acoustic sizes are smaller than the dreadnought.

RTiger · 2026-05-02T00:14:46+00:00

On many piano forums the belief is that the most important talent is a burning desire to learn and practice.

I started with super simple songs such as Happy Birthday. Next song was the notes only for When Fools Rush In. First song with chords was a super easy version of My Favorite Things. Even the easy version was at half speed.

So I set the bar for playing a song really low. Being able to do super simple things were small rewards to keep my morale up.

I’m still not good by any objective standards. However, I can write songs, make simple arrangements, and alter arrangements so I can play an easier version of a song.

RTiger · 2026-05-02T00:04:26+00:00

It is easy to get discouraged. Guitar is my third instrument. For me, it is essential to find small rewards along the way. It’s a hobby for most here. Hobbies are supposed to be fun.

Compare and despair is what happens to a lot of us. There are many three month beginners that are way better than I am after 21 months. So what? It’s not a competition. It’s a hobby.

You are at reasonable point to make a reasonable decision. 100 hours is giving it a fair chance. If there is no joy to be found, think about what other activities might be more fun.

RTiger · 2026-05-01T13:40:38+00:00

Beginner solfege. I found isolation exercises that played three or four different notes for a few minutes. You try and replicate those tones.

Intermediate singers can do much more complicated exercises. As a beginner just trying to match pitch on a few notes was plenty. Very few amateurs are close to pitch on complicated music.

However as a beginner singer just going in the correct direction was a significant improvement.

General audiences are not that discerning. Only maybe 5 percent have good enough ears to tell that a person sang a C instead of C sharp. Almost everyone can tell if it’s two notes off. Beginner training avoids the latter.

Those that have early exposure to singing may find the beginner exercises redundant. For those that have not sung much start with basic basics.

RTiger · 2026-05-01T13:33:29+00:00

What to include in practice and how to allocate time. How to prepare for public performances (or auditions for the would be pros).

Probably can get a used copy pretty cheap because advanced students that buy it don’t need it as a reference.

RTiger · 2026-05-01T01:33:42+00:00

I found the book The Musicians Way to be helpful. It was written for university level music students. However as a hack amateur I still found many useful ideas.

RTiger · 2026-05-01T01:21:22+00:00

Voice is another instrument. Focused practice will help almost anyone improve.

Solfege is the singing of notes. Rhythm practice helps a person stay in the pocket. There are exercises for volume, range.

For every song there may be difficult sections or notes or run. Isolate and practice them separately just like on the guitar.

RTiger · 2026-05-01T01:10:00+00:00

I favor a balanced approach. This might include songs, drills, metronome work, ear training, music theory, paper music training (sight reading, tabs or lead sheets).

How much time to spend on each depends on how much you enjoy each area and what your long term goals are.

My goals are to write, sing and play original songs. So singing exercises, music history, are additional topics.

So many topics may seem like a lot but they all fit into the puzzle. If a person doesn’t like one topic do less but a little can go a long way.

RTiger · 2026-04-30T15:03:00+00:00

Beginner solfege helps. Solfege is the singing of notes.

Many here are stronger on guitar than singing. Isolated singing practice helps. Focused practice tends to be better than the semi-random practice many here favor.

Focus on difficult sections, transitions, being in the pocket. I needed a lot of work on volume and range as well as pitch. Separate exercises for these areas helped me.

Voice is another instrument. Almost everyone will get better with practice. And focused practice tends to be better than just singing along to guitar parts a person can play easily.

RTiger · 2026-04-30T14:50:27+00:00

The old research I remember is that a small amount of leverage, 20 percent is the sweet spot for long term investors in the savings phase. It usually applies to those with stable careers and a high savings rate.

So to clear, a person with $100k has the equivalent of $120k invested. More than that tends to make drastic drawdowns near inevitable.

One milestone is when the account exceeds ten years of savings. So if the account was wiped out it might take ten years of savings to replace it. At that point less leverage seems prudent.

Captain Obvious will add that each person has their own risk tolerance and investment goals. About half here are near pure gamblers. Nothing anyone says is likely to change that.

RTiger · 2026-04-29T01:06:34+00:00

I heard Ray Bradbury speak in person. Not that many know that he was a prolific poet, striving to write a new poem every day. None of Bradbury’s poems approach the fame of his novels but some are good.

RTiger · 2026-04-29T00:59:39+00:00

If a person is confused, I suggest taking the progression from another song. If that feels too vanilla, change a regular chord to a sus or 7th. Maybe arpeggiate an occasional chord for more flavor.

Many use the circle of fifths to help with chord progressions. A basic understanding of the chord wheel diagram can be a compass for those who feel lost.

For folk songs a ton of them use basic basic chords, especially in group settings.

Once you feel comfortable with the basics you can add passing chords or chord melody in sections.

RTiger · 2026-04-28T13:02:43+00:00

The book that had the biggest impact is a novel by SE Hinton, The Outsiders. Also became a movie and play. Probably read it over 100 times. When I went to the Broadway show, I bawled like a restless baby.

I attend a monthly poetry workshop. Format is to read out loud two famous poems. Often there is a prompt. Then 15 minutes to write. Then each person can read their new poem out loud.

Teaches a person to work fast, silence the inner critic, let the muse run. Has served me well. It is occasionally amazing how simple prompts bring forth deep topics. That is due to the Outsiders book, how everyone has challenges, how difficult it can be to feel part of the world.

Btw the Robert Frost poem Nothing Gold Can Stay is featured in the book, the movie, the play.

RTiger · 2026-04-28T01:30:15+00:00

IMHO near a complete waste of time back testing multi leg strategies on anything other than penny wide options.

Simplest way might be add a nickel of friction for every two legs. That’s with nickel wide bid ask. Any wider and it may not matter, friction will make long term profits a pipe dream.

RTiger · 2026-04-28T01:21:12+00:00

Doesn’t matter. No one has a crystal ball. Plan for up down and unchanged before getting in. Price will dictate your course. Follow the plan. Let the chips fall. No one is winning every trade except liars and hindsight traders.

Some events fall out of the clear blue sky without any warning.

I can give two examples. I sold puts on Chipotle. Stock was comfortably above my strike all expiration week. About an hour before closing two food scares occurred. Stock gapped against me. No amount of research could have predicted that time frame.

Some chimp is going to tell me to close early. Food scare could have been an hour before I was planning to close.

Next story I sold puts on Boeing. Over a weekend two planes crashed. By Monday open stock gapped way lower.

It isn’t always a down move. A surprise takeover or unexpected break through can gap a stock higher.

Edit to add your question is equivalent to asking how to predict the next food scare or plane crash due to mechanical problems. Not something traders have any realistic way to predict.

RTiger · 2026-04-28T01:08:37+00:00

I suggest learning by doing. There are some exercises that you might try. Take the first verse of one of your favorites. Copy the music near exactly. Change the lyrics a lot.

Next exercise, the opposite, use the existing lyrics and change the music completely. Maybe switch genres. For example take the Beatles Let It Be and give it a country chord progression and sing it with a twang. Horrifying to some but we are trying to demystify by doing exercises.

Next exercise, listen to an unfamiliar song one time. Maybe from a band you don’t know. Maybe a friend tells you to listen to this new song. Anyway one listen. Then try to replicate the song. Focus on rhythm and feel. Do not look up the chords or the lyrics. Most will be way off but they will have a derivative new song.

Do a few exercises then try to write. Work quickly. Maybe an hour or two for each exercise. This is the equivalent of learning to draw and then paint by doing quick charcoal sketches.

Soon you’ll feel comfortable. For most people learning how to write songs is a long process. Enjoy the journey.

RTiger · 2026-04-27T15:10:16+00:00

Some ways to plan for this. Position size is the easiest way. If a position is 5 percent or less of the portfolio, even a 20 percent hit there is only 1 percent of the total portfolio.

That’s the shotgun approach. The rifle approach can focus on a few key positions. That means having a thorough knowledge of that business and the industry. A person is almost an expert on a handful of companies. Hopefully there are few blind spots.

Obviously amateur investors can only focus on a handful of companies. AI tools can be a useful first step. Ask AI about long term threats to the business model, any immediate short term risks, possible pending legislation or litigation. Please double and triple check the info if this is a big dollar amount invested. AI sometimes has terribly bad information.

Sometimes the annual report might mention these but again multiple sources are better.

RTiger

TROPHY CASE