"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 are to gather ideas and refine our songwriting process (and perhaps gain some inspiration along the way).

I believe that there are three stages of writing a song. These stages are:

1. Attitude - (What Im talking about now)
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 is different for everybody) that needs to be recorded and shared with everybody. 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 (or indeed what your own inner critic 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?" or being a devils advocate.

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 you?"

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
www.coreystewartonline.com
www.soultradermusic.com
www.theliarsbench.com

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