Songwriting Habits: Accepting where you are.

In my last post, I wrote about accepting your  thoughts, ideas etc. Today I want you to think about accepting where you are at in songwriting. Now this can be very frustrating, because we all have limitations which can be very confronting when we realise we are not perfect at songwriting. Sometimes we put lots of pressure on ourselves to know everything and be able to write a great song straightaway. But in learning to accept where we are, where our limitations are, we give ourselves the opportunity to grow and learn.

Here are a few examples of where we sometimes feel limited:

1. You have written your verse, but are stuck and don't know what to do next...

2. You have the words and melody, but don't know how to do the chords.....

3. You have written a song...so now what....

4. You've written something but you don't like it.....

It it what it is. We don't like to face our limitations, it shows that we are ordinary.  What we should be asking ourselves is, what can I learn from this.  What do I have to do next to move forward?

So maybe we can:

1. Learn how to write a chorus. Perhaps go and do some research about what is needed in a chorus

2. Learn how to play chords and how they work as a basis for a melody. Then work out how your melody fits over a chordal arrangement. 

3. You have written the song. What an achievement. Record it and share it with your family and friends.

4. Ok, you don't like what you have written. Leave it and start again. Or maybe there is a section you could change to improve how it sounds to you.

In all of these examples, when you accept where you are at, you then give yourself the opportunity to grow and learn something new. With each step, you keep building your songwriting skills. I know it can feel like you are not moving anywhere, but every time you get stuck and feel you do not know what to do next, as yourself: what do I need to learn in order to take the next step?