Run by the good folks at FAWM (February Album Writing Month), the premise of the challenge is really simple: Write 50 songs in the 90 days starting July 4th until October 1st. It’s a simple concept but incredibly hard to achieve.

According to the 50/90 challenge website the challenge is:

“… (a) club. Each summer, 50/90 forges a collaborative community where musicians of all walks and skill levels write a slew of new music material in only three months. That’s roughly one tune every other day. Participants are a mix of music professionals, students, homemakers, and folks who work day-jobs but rock nightclubs”.

Sounds great!

I tried it last year and failed miserably (well, that’s how I saw it) but hey, that’s the great thing about the 50/90 community. It’s a community where everyone helps each other, where there’s no failure, just a lot of fun, networking and good songwriting.

Doing the 50/90 challenge last year really showed me that I had very little control over my inner critic and my need for absolute perfectionism. This realization caused a great deal of initial sadness which caused me to question whether I should continue with this songwriting blog.

I was thinking to myself things like: “How can I write a blog about writing songs when I find it hard to write songs myself?”

Thankfully I got over myself very, very quickly.

I’m going to participate in the 50/90 challenge this year but this time I’m going to not take it so seriously and just have fun with it. If I write 50 songs in 90 days then great, if not then at least I’m writing, which is something I really love doing.

Give the 50/90 challenge a go and see what happens. It maybe the kick in the pants that you’ve been looking for.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

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Keywords: 50/90, fawm, songwriting, songwriter, writing songs, songwriting tip, songwriting blog, songwriting help, songwriting zen, sonwriting idea, corey stewart

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Before

After

The main reason for cutting it all off was that I was just over it. I was over how it made me feel when I looked in the mirror or when I saw myself in a photo.

The long hair was becoming “old hat”.

As soon as my hair came off I immediately felt so much better about myself. I literally had a weight lifted off my shoulders (there was a lot of hair that come off) and I felt free. I also noticed that with my new found freedom, a new sense of creativity was appearing before me.

I even wrote a new song for FAWM.

This experience has taught me first hand that the muse loves to call on people who feel good about themselves. I suppose this makes the muse feel welcome.

This is another example of how the smallest changes make the biggest differences.

Oh, about the song. It’s called “Hear You Scream” and it’s about a friend of mine who is living a life he doesn’t want to live in, but won’t speak out about it.

It was sparked by a line that popped into my head as I was strumming the verse chords “But who am I to judge you on why you choose to live this way”.

It’s amazing what comes out when you open the door to let the muse in.

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

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It’s almost that time of year again where we sharpen up our pencils, clean out our ears, tune up our instruments, calibrate our home recording equipment and prepare ourselves to test our songwriting processes to an inch of its life.

Yes, it’s FAWM time.

For those who don’t know, FAWM stands for February Album Writing Month and the deal is, to write an albums worth of material in the month of February, which is set at 14 songs in 28 days. You can find out more about this brilliant songwriting concept by going to www.fawm.org.

On the FAWM website it describes the concept in this way:

“This is the club. Each February, FAWM.ORG forges a collaborative
community where thousands of musicians of all walks and skill levels
write an album’s worth of material in the shortest month of the year.
That’s roughly one tune every other day. “Fawmers” are a mix of music
professionals, students, homemakers, and folks who work dayjobs but
rock nightclubs.”

The website is easy to navigate and is very straightforward with its information. My suggestion is that you sign up (it’s free, no catch) and participate. Later on in the year they also run something called 50/90 (50 Songs In 90 Days) but we’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.

There is no real point to FAWM. It’s not a contest and no-one gets judged, it’s a concept which tests us as songwriters. How is our songwriting process? Are we ready to tackle inspiration, the muse head-on?

I’m going to give it a go, are you? Let me know if you do.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

Keywords: fawm, 50/90, songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting process, songwriting idea, songwriting help, songwriting zen, songwriting blog, corey stewart

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I’m not going to be blogging until Monday July 7th which also means that I’ll be three days into my 50/90 challenge when I return.

My intention over the break is to relax, enjoy myself and not be near any computer and mobile phone for that time. I will make one exception though.

If a songwriting idea comes into my head I’ll be phoning my answering machine either at home or the office and leaving a message. I’m anticipating a lot of songwriting ideas on my return.

What a way to catch up on the three days I’m missing out on.

You know I’ve probably said this before but the answering machine is one of the best songwriting tools around.

There are some situations when it’s not very practical to carry a recording device or even a notepad around with you however, you’ll always have your mobile phone (or cellphone if you’re in the states) close by.

When a songwriting idea pops in your head just excuse yourself and use it.

Call home and hum the idea. Beatbox the rhythm if you have to. Do whatever you can to preserve the moment.

That’s what I’ll be doing.

To all you taking on the 50/90 challenge I wish you all the best. Lets all help and support each other to achieve whatever goals we set for ourselves. My biggest challenge is not musical ideas but writing lyrics.

Any lyricists out there that want to help me out, let me know. In the meantime, my getaway awaits.

See you all Monday.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

Keywords: fawm, 50/90, 50 song challenge, songwriting contest, songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting idea, songwriting resource, songwriting blog, corey stewart

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It stands for “February Album Writing Month” and the idea is that you write an albums worth of material in the month of February. This equates to writing a song every second day.

FAWM started in 2003 and for the past five years it’s successfully inspired songwriters from all walks of life and skill levels to get out of their comfort zones and chase after the muse rather than wait for it to happen.

To me it looks like FAWM embraces the concepts of Songwriting Zen and puts it into practise.

A couple of days ago I found out that the creators of FAWM have devised another songwriting exercise called 50/90.

That’s 50 songs in 90 days from July 4th to October 1st.

According to the 50/90 website the 50 song challenge is:

“… a group whose purpose is to challenge members to write 50 songs in 90 days. Between July 4 and October 1 of any year, in the company of others, you can engage in some harmless songwriting mayhem. The prize is the pride in writing songs that may never have been written otherwise.”

What a fantastic way to try out all of the different things you’ve picked up from reading this blog.

I’m going for it and so should you.

I registered with the 50/90 site yesterday so all I have to do now is  wait for July 4th and start putting what I write into practise.

Not that I haven’t been doing that anyway but even for me, just the thought of putting down 50 songs in 90 days seems like a daunting task. However, it’s a challenge I’ll take on with great pride.

What a great way to face your songwriting fears and battle your inner critic head on.

Consider registering for the 50/90 challenge. We can do it together.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician

Keywords: fawm, 50/90, 50 song challenge, songwriting contest, songwriting, songwriter, songwriting tip, songwriting help, songwriting idea, songwriting resource, songwriting blog, corey stewart

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