A Good Routine

Sometimes, the only way to bring out your inner inspiration, is to be diverse. Not only in the music that you play, but in the music that you listen to as well.

If there is one thing that hinders creativity, it's getting into a routine that is getting you nowhere. I suppose the only thing that I can really say about this, is to be conscious of everything that you do. While there is nothing wrong with having a routine, it's a good idea, to make sure that your routine is actually moving you forward in the goals that you want to achieve.

If what you do as a songwriter isn't moving you forward, just remember, you can always change it. I'm not going to say that you won't survive as a musician if you don't listen to a diverse range of music. There are plenty of popular closed minded musicians out there that are very popular. They tend to come and go. But your longevity as an artist might not be as easy to sustain, if you don't keep an open mind, and dare I say, a certain respect for other genres of music.

For me personally, as a lover of heavy metal, this is definitely hard to do. Every musician has a group of people that they hang out with, and the "in crowd" especially in the rock world, isn't exactly open minded. This may sound odd, but there is nothing wrong with keeping your love of certain types of music a secret, as long as what you create, is open, expressive, and truly conveys who you are.

Songwriter of the Day:

Billie Joe Armstrong

Live Your Art

The greatness of life is not in what you accomplish, but how you get there. Such is a statement that not only applies to life, but to songwriting as well. So, have fun with it!

Anyone can lie in a song, but it comes out with more feeling, and emotion if you have lived it. Find what triggers you. There are just certain things, that will motivate you to pick up your guitar, or sit down at the piano, every time, without fail. Those are the sort of things you should write about. Even if your lyrics are vague. I've actually found for me, that vague lyrics help, as the listener can interpret them in any manner that they choose. This may not be true for some songwriters, but the main thing is, that you learn to love failure.

For instance, I've been working on this blog for at least a year, and have had less than 100 people even look at it. My goal when I started, was to make at least a little extra money per month with adsense ads, and needless to say, I have not quite excelled at this goal. I would love to say that my original plan is officially a huge failure. But I can't say that, and you know why? Because I still like to write. It's an ongoing project. I like to say that I am happily failing.

There is nothing wrong with failing, as long as you try something a little different every time. I've changed the format of this blog a million times, and even tried to advertise it in craigslist a few times. That made me about $2.00 in adsense, but there is so much more that I haven't tried.

This is the approach that I believe everyone should take. Trial and error. It's hard work, but it's the only way to accomplish your goals. As a songwriter, and someone who loves life, it may be a tough approach, but sometimes it's best to step outside of your comfort zone. Do something different every once in awhile, and you will surely be suprised at how much that you learn.

Songwriter of the day:

Glen Danzig!

Bring a Recorder!

I've written in another post, about how bringing a notebook can really help with the songwriting process. Well, this is pretty much the same thing, except, this post is about jarring your memory, melody wise, with a recording.

Sometimes, when I'm doing my day to day activities, I'll think of not necessarily lyrics, but a string of notes, that get caught in my head, and this is a bit harder to simply write down than words or phrases. I've often thought how silly it would be to write down something like "la la laaaa! da da de dee!" I can hear it in my head, but if I try to remember that later, there's just no way, even with it written down like that.

Now, some people can write the music they hear in their head, on a staff, knowing the actual notes. And if you've had training, and/or are that talented, I say go for it! You can use the lines of your notebook pages as the lines of your staff. But for those of us (like myself) who aren't as formally trained in music as they'd like to be, it's just so much easier, and faster to record it. It may look goofy if you're at Mcdonalds, and you're singing into your phone, but if you ever want to perform your songs live, you have to get over a few strange looks.

Also, you have to make sure your melodys are original. You can't go around recording melodys from other people's songs. Well, I guess you could, if it's just for personal use, but the minute you put it on your c.d. and try to sell it, prepare to be sued. It's one thing if you really thought you were being original, mistakes happen all the time. In fact, that's how you know you're on the right track with your songwriting! But it's kind of ignorant to rip someone off on purpose. Even sampling seems to be kind of a low art form to me. It may be legal, but it's kind of like doing a dance move that was popular 10 years ago. Everybody's seen it before, and it's not cool. It may be legal, but why embarass yourself?

Make sure that once you've recorded yourself, to let your friends listen. Check, check, and check again to make sure it's not a stolen melody. If you feel that what you've recorded is good, you may have the next million dollar hit song on your hands!

Jerry Cantrell!