2008 October | Songwriting Zen

Archive for October, 2008

What I’ve Learnt From Doing The 50/90 Challenge

Let me tell you, I failed miserably in the 50/90 challenge.

I can only sit here and contemplate why I’ve only posted five songs on the 50/90 website.

I know that the world isn’t going to end because of this so, instead of beating myself up over it (which I tend to do in these situations) I’m going to try and put a positive spin on it and work out what I’ve learnt about myself through this 50/90 experience.

You see, when I started the challenge I was hopeful and confident that I’d be able to do it. I had a lot of encouragement from friends and Songwriting Zen readers (thanks guys).

I had lots of songwriting ideas floating around my head, on MP3 and paper and I was positive I’d be able to make the time necessary to write, record and post the songs on the 50/90 website.

So what happened?

I started the 50/90 challenge with all guns blazing, then I got a couple of reviews that were constructive but not overly positive. This was all the evidence my inner critic needed to start undermining me.

There were many, many times where I tried to marry a musical and lyrical idea together only to have a little voice inside my head say things like.

This is absolute crap
You’re not going to make it
You’re a fraud
Call yourself a songwriter?
You can’t write hooks
This sounds like another song
Give up now

I got scared. I was scared of writing bad songs. I got scared of what other people thought of my songs. I got scared of the possible feedback.

I lost the battle with my inner critic. I gave up.

There is a real difference between challenging yourself and being competitive with others. In hindsight I should’ve seen the 50/90 challenge as just that, a challenge. It’s not a contest to see who gets to the goal first.

So what have I learnt about myself through taking part in the 50/90 challenge?

1. See the 50/90 challenge for what it is, an outlet to write songs
2. Learn to take contructive feedback and/or critisism on the chin
3. Use all experiences as a learning experience
4. Don’t do anything that I don’t feel comfortable in doing
5. Don’t make promises to myself and others that I can’t keep

Lessons well learnt I reckon. What was your experience doing the 50/90 challenge?

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, lyric writing, lyrics, songwriting zen, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, songwriting resource, corey stewart

Tags: 50/90, Corey Stewart, Creativity, lyrics, music, song, Songwriter, Songwriting, songwriting blog, songwriting tip, Songwriting Zen, writing, zen

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 50/90 Challenge 6 Comments

Songwriting Tool – Free Worksheets For The Songwriting Guitarist

Tom Slatter who runs Songwright, a wonderful songwriting blog has a free ebook to download called “Worksheets For The Songwriting Guitarist.”

I downloaded it myself and let me tell you, it’s great!

To download the ebook you need to first of all sign up for his newsletter but don’t let that deter you. Tom’s insights into the musical aspect of writing songs are fantastic reading and well worth the subscription.

Tom describes the inspiration to create “Worksheets For The Songwriting Guitarist” in this way:

“In my everyday life as a music teacher, I tend to design quite a lot of worksheets.

In my online life trying to share songwriting ideas, I’ve never put this skill into use. Until now, that is.

You see, a written worksheet can be a very useful thing. As songwriters we’re often scribbling on random bits of paper. A worksheet, properly designed, can give order to the chaos of our ideas, doodlings and scribbles.”

The ebook contains four worksheets all specifically designed for use in various parts of the songwriting process:

1. The Chord Diary
2. The Lyric Brainstormer
3. The Chord Progression Chart
4. The Song Analysis Guide

Best of all it’s FREE so what have you got to lose? I’m going to try them out myself. I’ll let you know how I go.

Click here to download “Worksheets For The Songwriting Guitarist” by Tom Slatter for FREE!

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, writing, songwriting zen, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, songwriting resource, corey stewart

PS: Check out Tom’s band “We’ll Write” while you’re at it. It’s very cool!

Tags: Corey Stewart, Creativity, lyrics, music, song, songwright, Songwriter, Songwriting, songwriting blog, songwriting tip, Songwriting Zen, tom slatter, writing, zen