In my last blog post I wrote about the natural ebb and flow of creativity in all of us, and how we shouldn’t be overly surprised or worried if we find that our musical imagination comes and goes, sometimes within the same songwriting session.
But even though there’s something natural about that, you can still get discouraged, frustrated and worried, and in that article I outlined several things you can do to get back into a creative flow.
One of the things I didn’t mention is this: take some time to remember why you’re a songwriter in the first place. In remembering whatever drove you to start putting your thoughts to music those years ago, you’ll find yourself feeling inspired and excited again, and let’s face it, inspiration and excitement is something we all need!
Everyone’s got their own reasons for using musical composition as their creative outlet, but I wonder if it would help you if I share the main reason I ever picked up a pencil in the first place to write music:
Music helps me to express the inexpressible.
Even though much of the music I’m writing these days are musical arrangements of other people’s songs, it allows me to create moods and feelings that take the audience on a coherent musical journey. In that sense, I feel like I am a sculptor of sound. And through the music I write, I can help others feel something important.
On the days when I feel that ideas are coming slowly, I often remind myself that through music I am able to help other people feel something. Even if the music is an instrumental, with no words to guide the listener, I’ve been struck by how wondrous something like music is, and the privilege I feel at being able to write at all.
I’d love for you to share your reasons for why you became a songwriter, a composer, or a lyricist. What does songwriting do for you? I’m hoping that even just sharing those thoughts will inspire you to keep writing, to keep offering the world your own unique version of what music is.
I hope you’ll take the time to comment below.
Written by Gary Ewer. Follow Gary on Twitter.
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Hi Gary,
First off, I just want to thank you for your various courses and your regular posts which have been a delight to read as a means of supportive inspiration. For me, songwriting has also been about expression and an outlet for my creativity and hence a form of communication. My songs track my own feelings to some extent and they tell their own story and I keep the lyrics in a binder to remind me of my journey over the years. Of course, I write to for commercial reasons too but that has never been a key driver for me – although I can always hope that one of them will turn into the multi-platinum career defining song!!