Byron Hill - On Mistakes

Byron Hill - On Mistakes from Music Starts Here on Vimeo.

Co-writer Characteristic #5 of 10: Discipline

Discipline sounds scary. Maybe it reminds you of getting being sent to the principal's office. Or maybe it sounds restricting. Who wants to do something they don't feel like doing?

Once you get into the habit of writing, whether alone or with another person, you will inevitably encounter days where you wake up feeling like you don't want to create.

In that moment, you have an opportunity to either follow your feeling (and cancel your co-write) or to show up. In almost every situation, the right choice is to show up. You may feel uninspired until you sit down at the piano; until you talk to your co-writer; until you play around with two dead-end ideas.

Dictionary.com defines discipline as an "activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training."

It reminds me of high school basketball off-season, where we were encouraged to attend optional weight-training sessions at 8:00am on Summer mornings. Who wakes up wanting to go subject themselves to something they don't feel like doing? The dedicated. Be dedicated, and don't be afraid to show up even when you don't feel like showing up.

Keep writing (and showing up),

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Quote of the Day - Mark Twain

"Don't let schooling interfere with your education."

- Mark Twain

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Quote of the Day - Mark Twain

"The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work."

- Mark Twain

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

One Man Band

To be a songwriter is to be an entrepreneur. Each of us is sort of a one man band, playing the part of both the creator and critic. Also, no one (not even a publisher) can make us create art. Nor can any outside force sense when the soul needs rest, or when an idea must come out. No one else can get us past any fear that may be blocking us from creating. When all the parts are working as they should, there's a beautiful outcome: music.

Keep writing,

Ben

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Rusty Gaston - What a Publisher is Looking For

Rusty Gaston - On What I Look For from Music Starts Here on Vimeo.

Wendell Berry

The first time I remember waking up
in the night was the winter time
when I was about six. Papa had sent
the tobacco crop to Louisville
to be sold, and we sat by the fire
that night, talking and wondering
what it would bring. It was a bad time.
A year of a man's work might be worth
nothing. And papa got up at two o'clock.
And I woke up and heard him leaving.
He saddled his horse and rode over
to the railroad, four miles, and took
the train to Louisville, and came back
in the dark that night, without a dime.

- Wendell Berry


What I love about this poem is how Wendell Berry sits you down on the log next to him by the fire, where you wonder whether or not papa's work will amount to anything. I especially resonate with the last line of the poem. Something human inside of me knows what it's like to be disappointed, but something human inside of me also knows that I need to get up the next day and go back to work.

Keep writing,

Ben

Stepping-Stone Songs

Why end every post with the sign off, "Keep writing,"?

The best education we can get when it comes to writing songs comes by writing more songs. We learn from taking chances and failing. We learn from trying all over again. Songs are stepping stones.

For my parents the hardest aspect of what I do is the reality that most of the songs that I write will never be heard by the public. The reason this is difficult is because each song any writer creates has a value worth pointing to that shows it is in some way special and unique.

I had a good friend in college who was intent on perfecting his songs. Rather than calling a song finished and moving on, he believed that the original idea that spurred his song was worth spending multitudes of time on. He spent a couple years focusing on the same eight songs, and has since told me that he wished that he had written more.

A publisher told me once that there was a writer who showed potential, but just didn’t quite yet have the right caliber of songs to get any cut. The advice given to that writer was, not to go listen to a certain song or to specifically work on his rhyming or music, but, to come back after they had written 200 more songs. 200!

As crazy as it sounds, I think the publisher’s advice holds water. Over the past few years (after writing 200 more songs myself) I’ve realized that I've grown more from just writing more and more songs than I have from anything else. Only by writing more songs will I grow out of my mistakes. Rather than over-analyzing each and every song I write, I along with my publisher leave room for mistakes, which in turn spurs my growth.
 
On a side-note, I am more than excited that my alma mater is now offering a major in songwriting. My only concern is that students could enter and exit the program with a false assumption that earning a degree with the word “Songwriter” or "Songwriting" printed on it will translate into a publishing deal and a long career. If you go to school to become an accountant, you can go into a financial management company or a bank with somewhat of an expectation that you are qualified for a position. However, when it comes to songwriting, there is no conventional path to becoming a professional. I know plenty of writers who never went to college. In songwriting, every writer earns their degree from experience.

In addition to writing songs, however, I’ve found it incredibly valuable to be reading different books on the craft of songwriting. Here are some of my favorites, some of which I believe you would find valuable (there are links to purchasing these books by clicking on the "Reading" tab above):

          Modern Rhyming Dictionary - worth it for the 60-page introduction on how to rhyme.

          The Artist's Way - most effective way to get in touch with your creativity.

          Songwriters on Songwriting - a great compilation from great writers on great writing.

          Writing Better Lyrics - good, applicable exercises.

          The Future of Music - a speculation of what to expect as music hits new waves of technology in the coming decades.

          All You Need to Know About the Music Business - exactly what it claims to be.

I believe passion paired with enjoyment of music will be the cause of growth. So keep reading, and keep writing!

Ben