Count the number that counts

I've been told, mostly by my wife, that I'm lousy finishing any project I start. Apart from my 'own' projects, naturally. Them I normally push through. With force, if I have to.

It's just that if a 'project' doesn't have a clear starting and ending point, I may drop it easily. Like cleaning up, it never ends. And repairing the house. Hell, don't even mention washing up the clothes, hanging them to dry and collecting them later to put them into correct shelves!

I have started several times (and cancelled just as many) counting the songs I have written. But there is no clear starting point. The very first songs dating back in 1980-1982 don't really have what it takes to be a song, although they have a song-like structure, a sort of melody and 'real' words in it. You can only guess where the melody line should go and what chords should be there. I started using chords around 1982 and written melody lines in 1983, but not in all of them even then.

Ending point is almost as tricky. I continue writing songs, although in a very slow speed. I keep writing about 5 - 10 songs a year, whereas in my busiest years I wrote about 120 songs per year. So this time, when I once again start counting and listing my songs, I will start from 2009. 30 years of writing songs, that's impressive.

Another problem is that I have written songs with several people, mainly with my brother though. How do I count a song that has my lyrics only? Or only a part of the music? And what about the songs I have re-composed or re-written the lyrics: how do they count? Or an instrumental that I have later given words to?

It's maybe 7 years since I created the 'perfect' Access database application for the songs. It was a relational db I was pretty proud of, but it was too clumsy to fill in each and every song. It was too pompous, even by Access standards. The next time it will be an Excel solution. Maybe totally without VBA. And I'll start from the end.

Well, when I have the time, I'll let you know the exact number. Plus counting...