For the last two years, since the end of March, 2015, I have been part of I Heart Songwriting Club, writing a song a week, surrounded by fantastic musicians and songwriters with so much talent, passion and heart. This diverse group of people have held me safely and securely while I’ve explored the deep dark crevices of my own soul, pushing my own boundaries and challenging my own limits. I’ve done my best to encourage them to keep writing every week, because I want us all to be growing together, and because selfishly I want to keep feeling inspired by them.
As we approach the end of March 2017, I am now celebrating the writing of 100 songs. I’ve learnt a lot about songwriting, about community, about others in the club, but mostly about myself over the past two years. I’m so grateful for I Heart Songwriting Club and am looking forward to it continuing to push me and others to create and commune in ways we never thought possible.
As part of my 100 club songs milestone, I’d like to share some lessons (50 of them!)
This is what I’ve learned through writing and giving feedback for 100 weeks.
- 1. The hardest thing is starting.
2. If I have been given a theme, the song is already started for me. All I have to do is sit down at my piano.
3. I don’t even need to sit at my piano. I can now open my ukulele case and write.
4. I don’t even need an instrument at all. I can simply open a blank document on my iPad, write words and sing them.
5. If I’ve started, and finished, 100 songs, then I know I’ve got another one in me.
6. I don’t need to be inspired to write a song.
7. I don’t need to be inspired to write a good song.
8. I don’t need to be inspired to write an amazing song that will be an earworm for all those who hear it.
9. I just need to write a song in an hour every week.
10. I can do the thing.
11. Being held accountable will encourage me to keep doing the thing.
12. The community will hold me accountable.
13. The community will also hold me if I fall apart.
14. The community is full of beautiful hearts who actually care about each other.
15. I never thought I’d find so many people in the one (virtual) place who get me.
16. Trust is easy to build when everyone is cracking open either their heart or their skull and sharing the contents every week.
17. The more I write, the easier it gets.
18. It doesn’t have to be perfect, or even good, it just has to get done.
19. It’s okay to experiment.
20. It’s okay to write in styles that I wouldn’t usually write or perform.
21. It’s okay to write songs that I would never conceivably record or play live.
22. The most bizarre and discomfort-inducing themes can result in the most amazing songs if you allow them to emerge without judgement.
23. But if it sucks, there’s always next week.
24. And if it’s brilliant, there’s always next week. My ego never has a chance to get too big.
25. With that said, the more I write, the better the songs get in general. Even the ones that I think suck now are better than some songs I used to play in my live set before I joined the club.
26. Perspective is a funny thing. Now that I know I can do better, my standards have gotten higher.
27. Luckily, I have also grown kinder to myself when I don’t live up to my own high standards. That’s what happens when there’s no longer any attachment to the outcome.
28. Songwriting may not be a panacea, but it’s definitely good for my health.
29. No matter how messed up I am, no matter how exhausted or how depressed, writing a song always makes me feel better, even just for the hour that I spend writing it.
30. Writing about joy increases joy.
31. Writing about pain relieves pain.
32. Writing songs feeds my soul.
33. Writing every week keeps feeding my soul.
34. Don’t write when hangry. It’s a very bad idea. Eat first. Then write. Writing feeds the soul, not the belly.
35. A good recording app that automatically uploads to the cloud is essential lest you want to lose any of your song snippets in the event of a technology disaster.
36. The judgemental beast comes out to play when other people can hear the creative process. Set aside time to write when there is nobody else at home.
37. Faffing with a riff is never wasted time.
38. When I’m low, maybe I should try and write twice a week instead of curling up on the floor.
39. Songwriting time is productive time.
40. Listening back to past songs I’ve written for the club makes me realise how much I’ve achieved.
41. Having concrete evidence for achievement makes it harder for my brain to tell me I’m useless. I clearly am a capable songwriter and I have 100 songs written to prove it.
42. My priorities have changed: it’s more important to find time to write a song than it is to watch a TV show or go on social media.
43. Getting feedback on a different song each week is more useful than getting lots of feedback overtime on just one song. I can look for trends in my writing, see what is connecting and what isn’t, then aim to keep what works in my toolbox.
44. Listening to 6-10 other songwriters’ songs every week is just as valuable for learning and developing songwriting tools as writing myself.
45. Even if I don’t connect with someone else’s song, I can probably learn something from it, even if that something is identifying what I want to avoid doing myself.
46. It’s more fun doing this with other people than in isolation.
47. I want to collaborate more!
48. Having someone else in the club write a song that feels like it’s telling my truth is just as cathartic as writing my own truth.
49. In the club, I have found my tribe: the place where I fit, unconditionally; the place where I am appreciated and respected unconditionally; the place where I am loved unconditionally.
50. I Heart Songwriting Club is my home.
