There is a lot of songwriting mis-information out there, choose your info wisely.
I happened to come across an article by Andrew Hacker of ARTS Recording Studio in Newcastle NSW called "10 Songwriting Myths Busted". It certainly breaks open a lot of the misconceptions about songwriting and what the related process is really about.
Here it is for you to read and judge for yourself...
"The more songs you write, the more good songs you write" - cs
I recently held a workshop for SCALA (Songwriters, Composers and Lyricists Association). It was all about 'dissecting the songwriting process".
From doing the workshop I was able to summarize my own songwriting process into bite size pieces. A very handy exercise for someone like myself who (at times) tends to make things more complicated than they should be.
Here is the summary for you. Enjoy :)
Whats the use in writing a song if, when you need it, you can't find it?
If photographers can have a visual portfolio of their work then why couldn't songwriters have an aural portfolio of their work?
I have some ideas on this. Read on...
Thank goodness for happy accidents
You know, it's sometimes the random, accidental things that happen along the way that can make the biggest impact on your songwriting.
Blogger is a great example of this. Let me explain…
"We live in a world of possible songwriting ideas. All we have to do (as songwriters) is go out there and find them". - cs
I outlined in my last post “Songwriting Ideas #18 – Reading Books for Lyrical Inspiration” the concept of reading books as a way of gathering lyrical ideas.
Since then I realized that you can apply this songwriting idea gathering concept to other forms of communication.
"We have so much information around us these days, so why can't we find anything to write about?" - cs
I believe that there are so many ways in which a songwriter can glean inspiration. One of the ways is immersing yourself in the media that we are exposed to every day like newspapers, TV and magazines.
It's not what media you use that inspires but how you use it. Today I'm talking about books.
Will you be my friend?
Yes, I've just put up a Corey Stewart Online page on Myspace.
There's not much to it at the moment but I'm looking forward to it being an integral part of my online songwriting world.
Ahh, variety is the spice of life
I received another article from Ron Balagot a couple of days ago and this time it's about beating writers block by doing more than one project at a time.
The premise of the article is...
When you get stuck on one thing, work on another project that you have on the go.
You can be a songwriter and have a day job at the same time and still remain sane.
Here is an article outlining some hollistic time management tips for artists from Linda Dessau of Genuine Coaching, an organisation that helps artists (including songwriters) enhance their creativity.
I wish I had this information when I was working day jobs to supplement my musical income...
Songwriting Down Under was finally launched!
Yes and without a hitch too on MCTMG radio based in Nashville USA. The first guests were the songwriting duo 'Fifth Avenue' and they gave me some really good insights into what it's like being involved with a long term collaborative team.
