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The Importance of Experience

Songwriters are similar in many ways to novelists, fine artists, playwrights, screen writers, actors, directors, etc. and like our creative writing brothers and sisters we explore the human condition that’s why it’s important for us to learn about it.

How do we do it? We do it by reading; by travel; by listening; by observing; by realizing what makes a song, a work of art, a play, a novel or a film great. Don’t be a passive audience member. Think about it after the fact. What was it that connected to you? How it changes your perceptions? What made it great?

I once had an extended conversation with a fellow songwriter about what makes a great songwriter. She argued that through their art they showed how different from everyone else they were. I argued that the just the opposite was true. The great songwriter is able to convey that they experience everything like we do but are able to communicate it a unique and original way. It’s the commonality of the human experience that has the most impact on the listener. Songwriters who never understand this can still become successful but never great. They rely too much on craft and not enough on art. They write with their head and not with their heart.

Versatility

So how versatile does a songwriter need to be? It depends on what you want to do with your songs. If you write for yourself in other words if you’re an artist in addition to being a songwriter will then it’s less important to be versatile. If on the other hand you plan to write for other artists, versatility becomes more important. So you need to ask yourself, “What are my goals?” After answering that question you will have a better idea of how important versatility is to you.

Be Patient

Don’t expect miracles. Songwriting is certainly a challenging endeavor. I started writing songs many years ago and to this day I don’t play any of the songs that I wrote over my first 13 years. Think about that. If you’re going to last at this you have to enjoy the process. As previously said it’s easy to write a bad or mediocre song but extremely difficult to write a great song. A common beginner’s mistake is to believe that everything you write is good. A more common beginner’s mistake is to believe that everything you write is bad and so you rarely finish a song. I call this killing the baby in the cradle. Don’t kill the ugly baby! Wait until it’s an ugly adolescent! Seriously, wait until it’s had time to grow a little bit before you make that judgment.

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