Songwriting Zen
How To Become Friends With Your Inner Critic
Songwriting Zen reader and good friend Matt Clearing brought up an interesting point in a comment he posted yesterday in response to my Cal Williams Jr Songwriter Spotlight.
He mentions in his comment that:
“…this is the second time I’ve heard something negative about the inner critic on songwriting zen, and I have to stand up for this oft-maligned contributor to the creative process.
I can faithfully attest to my inner critic forcing me to re-evaluate my music and songs again and again, taking songs that were crap and putting them where they belonged (the circular file), fixing lazy songwriting, and generally making my music better than it would otherwise be.
While I agree that it’s important to keep one’s inner critic from becoming a crippling obstacle to any productivity, I owe what meager level of quality my music has to that curmudgeonly naysayer within, and my music would be even lamer were my inner critic not there to tell me when something sucks…”
Reading this got me thinking that maybe I have been too harsh on the little voice we all have inside of us.
Perhaps it would be a good exercise for me to discuss the positive aspects of having an inner critic using Matt’s comment as a template.
It’s my belief that a songwriters process is only as effective as their ability to win over their daily battles with their inner critic however, Matt states that his inner critic actually helps his songwriting process by:
“…forcing me to re-evaluate my music and songs again and again, taking songs that were crap and putting them where they belonged (the circular file), fixing lazy songwriting, and generally making my music better than it would otherwise be.”
We all have voices inside our heads that warn us, caution us, praise us, critisise us and generally keep us honest.
Some people call it their conscience, some say its their intuition. Some say these voices have saved lives.
Getting back to writing songs, whatever you want to call it, the most important thing is that you use this voice to work with your songwriting, not against it.
What Matt’s saying is that he uses his relationship with the voice inside to work for him.
Maybe turning the inner critic into an inner ally is the challenge that all songwriters must rise up to.
You can never get rid of the inner critic but I do believe (after reading Matt’s comments) you can become friends with it. How we, as songwriters do that will make interesting reading in the future.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
PS: Thank you Matt for inspiring this post. I really appreciate your feedback 
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting idea, songwriting resource, songwriting blog, corey stewart
Absence Really Does Make The Heart Grow Fonder
I’ve just come back from my four day break and I feel all inspired again. It’s amazing how getting away from it all makes you want to get back into songwriting even more.
While I was away I did give my answering machine a bit of a workout though. I manifested six songwriting ideas and they were all waiting for me when I arrived at the office this morning.
Having four days without looking at a computer or using a mobile phone is quite a liberating experience. I didn’t realise how attached I was to my toys until I was without them.
After half a day I experienced all the hallmarks of withdrawl symptoms. I was worrying about who I needed to call, what plans I was making next week, what I needed to do. The chatter in my head was becoming unbearable.
Once I caught myself out I forced myself to stop worrying and start enjoying, and enjoy myself, I did.
What I’ve learnt from the last four days is that I should take a week off at least every three months. I’ve said that to myself in the past but this time I’ve blocked out the time in advance and nothing will stand in it’s way.
Sometimes, you just need to distance yourself from your work.
By giving yourself a well deserved rest you’re telling yourself that you’re loved and validated by the most important person in the world. YOU!
And besides, absence really does make the songwriting heart grow fonder.
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
Self Doubt & Your Songwriting
The main thing that destroys the creativity in anyone is their own self doubt. We all have it and we all deal with it in our own individual way.
I find it strange that everything we take for granted in our lives was initially invented or created by someone who was confident and courageous enough to develop a new idea.
Imagine what kind of a world we’d live in if say:
Albert Einstein believed in his bad school reports and gave up on life?
Or, if Alexander Graham Bell considered another career path just before he invented the Telephone?
Or, if Thomas Edison believed the naysayers and turned off his Light Bulb idea?
The list could go on and on.
As a songwriter, having confidence that whatever you say is worth something is st the very essence of what writing songs is all about.
This is summed up nicely in an article I found by John Cowell called “Beginner Songwriting 12 Points On Your Self-Doubt”
John Cowell’s piece is a simple and straight-forward article on where self doubt comes from and how you can deal with it. I also like it because it puts foward encouragement to the beginning songwriter as well.
Here it is for your reading enjoyment…
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Beginner Songwriting 12 Points On Your Self-Doubt
By John Cowell
1. Beginner songwriting self-doubt is normal. Here’s how to fix self doubt in songwriting by learning to neutralize doubt because it’s a logical part of songwriting.
2. You’re not alone because most songwriters have self-doubt. It’s absolutely ok, the trick is writing when doubt makes it difficult to write. It’s easy to feel tied down with everyday stresses that stop you from finishing a great song.
3. However, without doubt, how would you have a healthy fear of failing? A manageable fear of not producing strong songs is important as you can learn to use it to support your writing. Use it to force yourself to dig deeper to write better songs.
4. Songwriters face a lot or rejection from many people. When you respect a person because you value their views, they hold more weight over you than others.
5. What if they think you can’t do it, can’t write a strong song? We often measure ourselves based on what we believe others think of us.
6. Nothing kills inspiration and songs faster than your own internal words that sensor what you are writing. We all have this worry that comes from the fear of failing.
7. But the good news is maybe you are a brilliant and wonderful songwriter. How will you ever find out if you don’t write and rewrite?
8. Doubt of your ability creeps in when you’ve been reminded of failed efforts or expectations. But the greatest failure of all is not realizing your potential.
9. Sometimes it doesn’t seem to make sense. All these people may love and respect you, but you can still doubt yourself. You can create failure in your mind.
10. Creativity is not limited to a few who express their experiences in commercially successful songs. We are all creative. Visualize yourself reaching what you want and the satisfaction you will experience. In other words, see yourself performing well.
11. There is a great deal of room for unique points of view and in fact people are just waiting to hear a great song that touches them. We all have our moments of self-doubt, often when we see someone else’s great success.
12. There’s room in beginner songwriting to learn to create great songs. And it can be learned. The people who are successful are the proof. But you must believe in yourself. I have an excellent example of a Hall Of Fame songwriter expressing normal self doubt.
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About the author
John Cowell is self proclaimed songwriting addict. His fresh approach to songwriting tips and advice will have you saying “Ah-Ha” over and over again.
To get simple and terrific ideas on how to write great songs visit his website http://www.greatsongwriting.com
To learn how to build your dream web site and web business like John did, go to http://www.greatsongwriting.com/sbi-tv.html
It’s easier than you think!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Cowell
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I remember starting out on my songwriting journey all those years ago.
I was full of passion and enthusiasm but not much knowledge. Once I started getting some songwriting knowledge, experience and musical theory under my belt I started developing this thing called self doubt.
I started to compare myself to others and, at the same time my inner critic started to plant seeds of doubt in my head.
Eventually I got over myself and now the willingness to write songs comes easily to me however, in getting there I went through a lot of pain.
I’m sure most songwriters experience this at least once in their lives. If you’ve had a similar experience let me know. I’d love to hear about it.
Until next time, happy writing
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, songwriting technique, corey stewart
What’s The Definition Of A Bad Song Anyway?
I ask this question because it seems to me that we, as songwriters seem to be real experts at naming which one of our creations are ‘bad’. So much so that, for some songwriters it stops them from creating altogether.
Here are some thoughts I have on the subject.
Call me strange, call me weird, but I personally don’t look at any of my songs as being either good or bad. They just are.
At the end of the day my songs are put into one of two categories:
1. Songs I perform
2. Songs I don’t perform
Of course the songs that I perform are pieces that I am very comfortable with sharing with the listening public and/or other musicians
The songs I don’t perform can then go into one of two more categories:
1. Works in progress (for performance)
2. Archived songwriting ideas (for later)
I never throw anything away. Everything that comes from my head is created into something or recycled to be created into something else in the future.
Lets face it, the more songs you write, the more ‘good’ songs you’ll write. For every good song written there are at the very least ten ‘bad’ ones lurking in the wings.
So, no matter how much you think your songwriting ideas are ‘bad’, write them down anyway. Besides, where does it say in the rules that you have to pitch or perform every song that you write anyway?
If you want to write ‘good’ songs then writing ‘bad’ songs are inevitable and besides, what makes a song bad? A ‘bad’ song from one songwriter could be another performers treasure. What do you think?
There’ll be songs you write that are meant to be performed and some songs will be stepping stones towards other songs.
Can you see where I’m going with this?
When you think about it, the concept of a song being ‘bad’ is created from a subjective opinion and really, is proclaiming one of your songs as being ‘bad’ your call anyway?
Here is a exercise to try on yourself. Try deliberately writing a ‘bad’ song and see how you go. It’s like asking a seasoned musician to play like a beginner.
It’s harder to do than you think. Just a thought.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting tip, songwriting, songwriter, songwriting news, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting blog, songwriting process, corey stewart
Cherish Every Moment, Nothing Lasts Forever
I try as much as possible to turn a negative situation into a positive one.
Recently, my car wouldn’t start. The battery had finally given up and to get this car problem fixed I had to do a lot of waiting around.
It was from this waiting that I got the idea for this post.
You see, in the past, when I found myself in this type of situation I would get really stressed, angry and unbearable to be around. This was because I’d be thinking about all the ‘time’ I was wasting and all of the ‘things’ that I had to put on hold.
It never occurred to me that eventually the situation I was in would pass and I would again be my productive self with a car that was fully functional.
However, I handled this car experience very differently.
I was calm, cool and collected. I was only focused on solving the problem at hand in a methodical and purposeful way. I didn’t allow my emotions to get involved at all.
I kept reminding myself that ‘this situation will eventually pass. ‘I need to be patient and embrace this moment for it will be my greatest teacher.’
Now here’s where the songwriting part of this post gets tied in.
If, at this very moment you’re feeling stuck in a creative rut with nothing coming out then realise this…
It won’t last forever so learn something from it.
If, on the other hand you’re feeling overwhelmed with the songwriting ideas that are pouring out of you then realise this…
It won’t last forever so cherish every moment of it.
We, as songwriters will experience peaks and troughs all throughout our creative lives. Life in general is a cyclic experience, always has been and always will be.
Wherever you are at right now, whether good or bad, remember.
It won’t last forever.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting tip, songwriting, songwriter, songwriting help, songwriting idea, songwriting resource, songwriting blog, corey stewart
The Blank Piece Of Paper Is Your Friend
“Is the glass of water half full or half empty?”
The reason why I ask this question is that the answer you give may determine how you see your whole songwriting process.
The blank piece of paper in front of you can be either one of two things.
1. Something to be afraid of.
A scary journey into the unknown, the graveyard of yet another ‘bad’ song2. A door to a world of infinite songwriting ideas.
A place where the muse is waiting for you to come on in and play for a while.
Let me ask you this.
Are you free to create whatever you want whenever you want without prejudice? Or, are you a writer that feels shackled by the belief that you must obtain a quantifiable result everytime you apply yourself?
Which headspace would you rather be in?
I know I’m asking a lot of questions here but as songwriters, we face these questions everytime we sit down and attempt to write something.
The main difference is that our answers to these questions are automatic and unconscious, then we wonder why we’re not creating anything.
Try this the next time you sit down to write a song. Look at the blank piece of paper in front of you as your friend, your playmate.
Just having the thought of sitting down and writing a song means the muse has knocked on your door and asked if you could come out to play.
So play!
If you look at the world as being a glass half empty then the blank paper is proof that you ‘haven’t achieved anything’.
If you look at the world as being a glass half full then the blank paper is the doorway of infinite songwriting possibility.
How is your blank piece of paper looking?
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting blog, songwriting resource, corey stewart
Songwriting Zen – Developing A Songwriters Attitude
“Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new” – Og Mandino
I think the above quote sums up what I call the “songwriters attitude”. If songwriting is life then to get the best out of our writing we need to develop a certain attitude towards our lives.
Let’s explore this further.
We, as songwriters need to look at life differently if we’re to gather songwriting ideas and refine our creative process and perhaps gain some inspiration along the way.
I believe that there are three stages of writing a song.
1. Attitude – What this blog post is about
2. Process – The nuts and bolts writing of the song
3. Result – Song completed
The songwriters attitude is one of letting go of any preconceptions about the world around you and taking everything at face value.
It’s about embracing life for what it is, a wonderfully personal human experience that’s different for everybody. Your songs need to be recorded and shared with everyone.
Develop a need to experience as much of life as you possibly can (whether it be good or bad) so you can write a song about it.
It’s about not being afraid of what others might think and telling the world about your thoughts, feelings, observations, dreams, questions and answers. “Face your fear and do it anyway” as the well known cliche says
It’s about becoming a reciever for the ideas that are floating about in the ether. Becoming open to what the song want you to do with it. As Keith Richards says
“Songs are funny things, they wake you in the middle of the night and say “I go like this”. They control you until you’ve done the right thing by them.”
It’s about being more aware about what is happening in the world, what people are doing and saying and being prepared to write down what you feel, hear and see.
It’s about finding out what is the essence of you and attempting to put that onto paper so that no matter what you write it will always be from your own unique perspective.
I could go on and on and on but hey, it’s all about allowing ourselves to be a songwriter. Allowing ourselves to explore the grey areas of life and finding the light and shade. Allowing ourselves to ask “what would happen if?”
Qestion everything. Develop a childlike curiosity for the world. As the beginning quote says “… never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new”
Ask yourself this question. “What does a songwriters attitude mean to me?” Then write it down.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting resource, songwriting blog, corey stewart
Songwriting Perfection Is But A Mere Illusion
I received a message the other day from a songwriter who expressed to me the pain they experience writing songs.
In the messege he mentions to me that the philosophy he uses in his songwritng process is “if it aint a hit, it aint worth writing”. No wonder he’s experiencing the pain of songwriters block.
I think that the concept of “if it aint a hit, it aint worth writing” is more common among songwriters than we care to admit.
Allow me to be a little blunt here. This struggle for perfection kills people.
It kills their creativity, kills inspiration and sometimes (in extreme circumstances) the drive to perfection can kill a person physically.
There is a huge difference between being driven to write great songs and being driven to write perfect songs.
In my reply I said “… try not to see songwriting as a means to an end (the hit song) but as a means to let yourself go. Dont put yourself under so much pressure.”
How much pressure do you put yourself under? A lot!
Is it worth it? NO!
The notion of perfection in anything is but a mere illusion. It’s created by the ego and massaged into existence by insecurity, jealousy, doubt, low self esteem and shame.
Songwriting should be a celebration of life, of letting yourself go, setting yourself free and playing around with your creativity. It’s not about reminding yourself how inadequate you are because you compare yourself needlessly to other songwriters.
Always remember that there is not another one of you on this planet so therefore your experiences, your thoughts, your insights, your feelings, your dreams, your desires, your observations and the way that you question life, universe and everything are uniquely yours and yours alone.
What does that mean? It means that
1. There is no point in comparing yourself to others as there is no one else but you to compare yourself to in the first place
2. Being the unique creature that you are whatever you say is always very, very important.
The concept of perfection would only exist if there was something perfect to attain to in the first place. Now granted, there have been some amazing songs written but none of them are perfect and they never will be.
We, like our songwriting are all works in progress.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting resource, songwriting blog, corey stewart
Face Your Songwriting Fears Today
“To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong” – Joseph Chilton Pierce
Today I want to share with you my personal thoughts on the subject of fear in songwriting.
You know, I’ve never heard of anyone dying from writing a song but I know some songwriters that fear their own songwriting like they fear their own death.
I used to feel fear whenever I was writing songs. I feared that my songs were not good enough. I feared that I was not going to be taken seriously as a songwriter.
The list could go on and on. It’s amazing what we can talk ourselves into (or out of) isn’t it?
I wrote my first song at the age of 12, but it took me until I was into my thirties before I faced my songwriting fears and conquored them.
This fear comes from an assumption that the song you’re writing falls short of an expectation of what you think the end result should be. Generally that expected end result is songwriting perfection.
It’s like any song that falls short of perfection is bad and therefore it’s to be feared and avoided at all costs. I’m sure that there are people out there that equate writing a ‘bad’ song to being a bad person.
If you’re one of those people, you’re not alone. I was there once myself.
Heres a little tip, relax a little, relieve yourself of any expectation and just write without prejudice. Conserve your energies for something much more useful and productive (like writing more songs).
Imagine what it would be like to just put down anything that comes into your mind and not feel guilty about whether it’s good or not?
We live in a world that expects instant results. It expects that one plus one will always equal two. When you write songs, try to cultivate the concept that one plus one equals whatever you want it to be.
When you’re able to grasp that concept, you’re well on your way to songwriting freedom.
Every songwriter has fears. I have fears, you have fears. Fear is a part of life. Your job, as a songwriter is to look at your songs and dig deep inside yourself to find those spaces where you feel at your most venerable and ask yourself “what am I really scared of?”
For me, my main fear was of my songs not being liked by others. I thought that if people didn’t like my songs then they didn’t like me as well. What absolute rubbish!
Don’t paralyse your songwriting by fear. Liberate yourself by taking action.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting idea, songwriting blog, songwriting resource, corey stewart
Giving Yourself Permission To Write Songs
A few years ago my songwriting was at a very low point. Well, I wasn’t writing anything at all.
I had this huge block as big as the Aswan Dam stopping any form of creativity coming out and because of that, I was very sad.
I was sad to the point of being very, very depressed.
For some reason I was allowing myself to not create and then sitting back and blaming everyone and everything for it. How silly was that?
I eventually realised that for anything that I do I am 100% in charge of what happens so, with that in mind, I started to give myself permission to create again. Once I did that, songs started to appear to me.
People in general are so obsessed about looking good and avoiding looking bad that all risk is taken out of life leaving a mere existance in its place.
Putting this into a songwriting context, we become so caught up with the end result that we actually forget to write.
Let me ask you this. How many times have you sat down to write a song, only to talk yourself out of it? All of a sudden vacuuming the carpet seems to be a better thing to do?
It seems that we would rather not write at all than write a so called ‘bad’ song.
If this has happened to you, then take comfort in the fact that you are not alone. I have been there and I would love a dollar for every other songwriter in the world that has experienced the very same thing.
Julia Cameron in her book “Walking In This World” says that in life we need to “always be willing to be a beginner”.
What this means is that we need to be able to be venerable enough to make mistakes, to be willing to learn again.
Every song that you write has the potential to be a powerful learning experience about yourself and the world around you. Dont deny yourself the opportunity to learn just because the end result might be not what you expect it to be.
Always remember, you do have something to say, your opinions are important and you do deserve to be a creative being.
Give yourself permission to write songs. Learn from every song you write and be prepared for some mistakes along the way.
You, and you alone are in control of your songwriting process.
Until next time, happy writing,
Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Keywords: songwriting tip, songwriting, songwriter, songwriting help, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting blog, corey stewart
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