Songwriting Zen

Songwriting And Your Creative Environment

Your environment affects you in so many ways.

Personally, if I get up in the morning and my house is in a state of chaos then I feel that inside. If it’s tidy and organised then I feel that too. My songwriting output can vary depending on how organised (or disorganised) my life and my home is.

How does your environment affect you?

Today was the day in which I decided to clean and tidy my house. I have hardly been home and I have let it go a bit and I was starting to get sick and tired of the mess.

While I was cleaning I was thinking of how my mood is affected by how organised or disorganised my home is. I believe that the state of the place where you live is a good indicator to how your life is at the moment.

From that initial thought I noticed that, at my most creative and prolific times, my environment (home, work and life in general) was all under control and organised. This is because I can focus my attention more on the task of writing songs instead of doing something else.

If you want to develop your songwriting process then you need to sort out your creative environment.

Your life and the world around you is just as much a creative environment as the studio or your home. Tidy up your environment and you will be motivated into writing more songs.

When I’m at home, most of my songwriting is done in a certain area of the house. Now before I tidied it up there were piles of papers everywhere and no room for writing a song but once I cleared the area I felt instantly better.

Another area of my life that I needed to tidy up was my fitness. I have started walking between 30 and 45 minutes every day and I feel much more empowered. I am even getting song ideas while I am walking.

What areas of your life do you need to tidy up so you can get more out of yourself? Areas to look at could be:

1. Home
2. Designated Songwriting Area
3. Relationships
4. Work
5. Spiritual
6. Fitness

How you feel about work, can affect how you feel about yourself, which in turn affects your relationships, which then demotivates you from tidying the house, which leaves you feeling tired and restless meaning, NO SONGS!

Phew! Can you see how this works?

Take one part of your life environment and do something about it. Watch the positive chain reaction follow.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting idea, songwriting resource, songwriting blog, corey stewart

Tags: Corey Stewart, Creativity, music, Open Mics, Songwriter, Songwriting, songwriting tip, Songwriting Zen, writing, zen

The Benefits Of Open Mics For Songwriters

Open Mics are a great example of a grassroots independent music industry at work.

Some people like them and some people don’t, but you cant deny that the humble open mic is an invaluable part of the music industry as a whole.

I have the pleasure of being part of a small team running an open mic at The Daniel O’Connell Hotel (165 Tynte Street, North Adelaide) every Wednesday night from 8:30pm to Midnight.

When I was initially asked to do the gig about 18 months ago, I had no idea how an open mic could benefit anyone.

I cynically thought that open mics were a way in which a venue could have live entertainment but not pay for it.

However, as part of the organization crew I was getting paid a fee by the venue so I thought I would give it a go and see what would happen.

My eyes were opened wide by the possibilities.

In a short space of time it has become one of the most popular, well organized open mics on the Adelaide circuit with the reputation of having the best sound. This is something that I am very happy about.

I wanted the night to be more than just an open mic so I started to brainstorm how open mics could of benefit to anyone in the indie music scene no matter what level of skill and experience.

Here is what I come up with…

1. Open Mics are a great networking opportunity for songwriters, performers and musicians of all experience and skill levels. Everyone gets together in one place with music as a common bond and allows magic to happen

2. It is also a great night out in a relaxed, performer-friendly environment listening to music performed by anyone and everyone. A mixed bag of good and improving performances. You can feel comfort zones being shattered.

For songwriters:

3. You can road-test new material as it is being written (even works in progress if you are daring) and get great feedback from your peers

4. As other singer/songwriters are present you can easily find a songwriting partner

For performers:

5. It is an opportunity to perform in from of an attentive, respectful crowd in which you can promote other shows, get names on a mailing list and sell product.

If you have a band that you are starting and you want to get the vibe happening before your first gig, open mics are perfect for this.

6. If you are looking for other band members networking at an open mic should be one of the thing on your to do list.

7. Most open mic venues have music on other nights so consider your performace an audition for a gig on another night (to date, three performers at the Open Mic @ The Dan have scored paying gigs on other nights there)

Well, thats seven extra benefits of open mics I hadn’t thought of until I sat down and did some brainstorming.

Can you think of any more?

If you are in Adelaide, South Australia and you want a good night out then come along.

Open Mic @ The Dan
165 Tynte Street, North Adelaide
Every Wednesday Night
8:30pm-Midnight

Until next time,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

PS: Updates on the Open Mic @ The Dan can be found on my Orangutang Music Blog.

Keywords: orangutang music, open mic, songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, corey stewart

Tags: Corey Stewart, Creativity, music, Open Mics, Songwriter, Songwriting, songwriting tip, Songwriting Zen, writing, zen