10 Issues Songwriters Face
November 01, 2016
Author: Dave Cohen
It’s common for songwriters to feel overwhelmed when finishing their songs and getting them ready for their audience. There can be tremendous blocks going from inspiration to song completion. Listed below are the top issues I’ve encountered while interviewing songwriters and students of music who write music.
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10 Issues Songwriters Face
November 01, 2016
Author: Dave Cohen
It’s common for songwriters to feel overwhelmed when finishing their songs and getting them ready for their audience. There can be tremendous blocks going from inspiration to song completion. Listed below are the top issues I’ve encountered while interviewing songwriters and students of music who write music.
1. Not knowing “where to go next” with your song.
This is a major problem for many songwriters. They’ll write one or more good sections but get stuck without knowing what to write next. They’ll put the song on the shelf in hopes that they’ll have a fresh perspective and be able to finish the song when and if they come back to it later. Unfortunately, this can take a long time, multiple years, to get that perspective or new inspiration. This problem is a symptom of a greater problem: not properly diagnosing what the song issues are. Diagnosing means getting very specific about what’s not working and disrupting the flow of the song. There’s a great fear in admitting that certain parts are faulty and many songwriters take it personally. Write down exactly what is bothering you about your song. Use your imagination to come up with a “placeholder” section. It’s better to write placeholders and write a note to yourself saying “Rewrite the bridge” or whatever the specific issue is. Often-times, we’ve forgotten the listener when we’re trying to craft something brilliant. I wrote a post a while back about embracing simplicity and making sure your song is focused on a singular theme. My best recommendation is to make a demo of the song after putting in placeholders so you can hear what’s happening in real-time. Keep the listener in mind while doing so.
2. Feeling like your songs aren’t “good” enough so you don’t finish them.
@@ -395,4 +395,4 @@8. Not having the means to record their music.
9. Not having a live and online promotion strategy.
Depending on what you want to achieve, there are ways to create an intelligent promotional strategy. If you’re just starting out, you probably want to perform and network with musicians. Playing your music at open mics is a great way to get started. Doing a Google search for ‘open mic (your state)’ will give you an idea what open mics are around you. If you have music recorded that you want to share online, I highly recommend Bandcamp over ReverbNation. Soundcloud was a great platform for sharing your music, but is in decline due to strange business practices. If you make a simple business card, you can point people to your websites at your live performances. When you (and possibly your band) are ready for more serious gig opportunities, the promotional strategy gets a little more intense. You’ll want to have an email list, a website, and CDs and merchandise to sell at your shows. Download cards are an excellent option for promoting your single before your full album is released.
10. Having a lack of faith in your abilities to make money with your music.
-It’s easy to feel crushed under the weight of giants. You might ask “who wants to hear another original singer-songwriter?” I believe that any contribution to original art is valuable. Never belittle your desire to communicate something with your music. Your style is unique and your message will be meaningful to someone. An excellent resource in the existential music crisis department is the book Effortless Mastery. It might just be that you haven’t found your place yet. If your lyrics aren’t coming together, maybe you should team up with a lyricist (consider the story of Elton John). Maybe writing instrumental music for soundtracks could be your thing! Even though it’s getting more competitive for live musicians, if you become exceptional, there’s no way you can’t succeed.
It’s easy to feel crushed under the weight of giants. You might ask “who wants to hear another original singer-songwriter?” I believe that any contribution to original art is valuable. Never belittle your desire to communicate something with your music. Your style is unique and your message will be meaningful to someone. An excellent resource in the existential music crisis department is the book Effortless Mastery. It might just be that you haven’t found your place yet. If your lyrics aren’t coming together, maybe you should team up with a lyricist (consider the story of Elton John). Maybe writing instrumental music for soundtracks could be your thing! Even though it’s getting more competitive for live musicians, if you become exceptional, there’s no way you can’t succeed.