Most songwriters dream of the big time, but many aren’t asking what the next steps are to get there

This is a songwriting journey, not dissimilar to travelling from one destination to another. If you want to travel from Melbourne to Cairns, for example, you need to start at Melbourne and head in the direction of Cairns, which is north. One step after another, over time, you’ll arrive in Cairns. You can’t get on the road to Perth, which is west, because, you guessed it, you’ll arrive in Perth. Not where you wanted to go.

Songwriters daydream about the big time, but they’re not always acknowledging where they are right now in their songwriting journey. So if you’re in Melbourne, realise you’re in Melbourne. You’re not in Sydney, where the trip to Cairns would be shorter.

One of the benefits of bringing together over 1000 songwriters online in I Heart Songwriting Club is getting to know so many different songwriters.

Over the six and a half years of working with songwriters, it became evident that there is a typical songwriting journey and that there are different stages that songwriters can be at along this journey. However, some commonalities are experienced at these stages: blocks, questions, problems, beliefs and perspectives.

As founder of the Club, I wanted to understand more about this songwriting journey and what these songwriting stages looked like. So, to test if my ideas were true, I Heart Songwriting Club launched a research study and surveyed and interviewed hundreds of songwriters worldwide at all stages of their journey. As a result, we garnered some incredible insights from beginners, emerging, established, to professional songwriters.

Almost all the songwriters felt a sense of self-doubt around their songwriting; that what they create is not good enough; that they aren’t ‘there’ yet

This was shared amongst songwriters at all stages of their journey. From beginner songwriters, emerging songwriters established songwriters and even professional songwriters. The common belief was that their songs (or even themselves) were not good enough.

This belief was all-consuming for some of these songwriters and stopped them from taking the next steps along the journey, effectively preventing them in their tracks for an extended period, possibly indefinitely.

But from the songwriters who had built up some resilience on the journey and were able to keep going, we learnt that this belief could open up an opportunity. Develop skills, build resilience and confidence, and connect in the community through various songwriting groups.

These songwriters found that they could choose to be in an evolving nurturing space of learning and growth in their songwriting development if they are open to it. However, not all songwriters are open to learning and growing. Some songwriters’ belief runs so deep that they have to be “good enough” even to begin writing (or continue writing).

And that’s a great irony; to feel a sense of confidence and connectedness to your gifts and skill, you must show up regularly to be able to receive and grow in this space. [side note: you can show up with ease, or with a lot of drama – the choice is yours]

What if to be the songwriter you always dreamed of, you must accept that a songwriter is in an evolving state of growth for life?

Based on the facts of our research, chances are you’re a songwriter who resonates with the feeling that you’re not where you want to be yet, and that what you’re creating is ‘not good enough.’

Here’s a question for you; Are you open to continuing along your songwriting journey, to evolve in your skill and grow as a songwriter, so that you can arrive at the next stage of the journey towards the bigger destination?

It’s the only way to get where you want to go. Isn’t it?

If you want to discover where you are on your songwriting journey and the next steps you can take to move forward, take our songwriting quiz here.

At the end of the quiz, we’ll share where you’re at and some next steps to take. These insights are aggregated from hundreds of actual songwriters, not a hypothesis of what non-songwriters might think songwriters need. It’s real, tried, tested, and it works and is completely practical to help you physically move towards your dream songwriting destination. You can also do your songwriting process a favour by joining our Club here!