Last year, I was interviewed by an online magazine and they asked me what “advice” I had to give aspiring songwriters. My first thought was, ‘how on earth am I qualified to give ADVICE?!’ I’m so glad I was asked this question, because it gave me the opportunity to consider what I’ve learned throughout my experience thus far. After all, if you MUST get older, you might as well get wiser too. Otherwise, you’re running the risk of becoming Wooderson in Dazed and Confused, minus the Chavelle. So, here is my hitchhiker’s guide to the songwriting universe, for travelers first and foremost seeking happiness…and maybe a pit-stop into critical acclaim somewhere along the way.
1) Dare to suck.
Adopt the “dare to suck” approach to songwriting. What I mean by this is don’t let your fear of “what if this isn’t good enough?” stop you from doing something you love. Its really scary to share a song you’ve written with others, because, lets face it, music is subjective and they may not like it! Accept that not everything you write will be amazing, or even good! Don’t let this stop you from writing. The more you write, the more you will be able to fine-tune your craft. Allow yourself the freedom to “suck” and keep right along writing, recording, and sharing your music with others.
2) Find an advocate.
Every artist needs an advocate, a person who will encourage you and won’t let you be anything less than your best. This does not have to be a fellow writer, just someone whose musical opinion you respect and trust. When you drift off into your “dramatic writer cloud” (which we all do!) and feel like giving up, they can esteem you and bring you back to reality.
3) Refuse to compete.
Don’t engage in competition with other writers. Let me say this again: DO. NOT. COMPETE. Boy, have I had a hard time learning this one! So many young musicians (and, unfortunately, older ones too) spend a lot of fruitless time and energy “jockeying for position”. This is a trap! Comparison truly is the thief of joy. You are not competing with anyone but yourself. Try to be the best writer than YOU can be and strive to continually improve. Let the last thing you wrote be your measuring stick, not the resumes of other writers or performers. You will be SO much more happy and fulfilled in your art if you refuse to compete. I am still preaching this one to myself!
