BlogCreating music is something that’s hugely rewarding and cathartic for most musicians, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to make. For some, the pressures of family and non-musical careers slowly edge out music-making priorities until there’s no resources left to devote to it. Others step back from music because of the innate and unavoidable challenges that come along with it. If you’re someone that’s taken a break from music and wants to get back into the swing of things, there are things you can do to make it a part of your life again. Here are five tips:
5 Ways To Get Back Into Making Music
3 Ways Releasing Music Constantly Can Hurt You As A Musician
With the way the music industry has transformed to favor the instant gratification of playlists over the past couple of years, musicians are rethinking the ways they work in some significant ways. Chiefly, the breakdown of the album as music’s main music-listening format is forcing musicians of every stripe to approach making and releasing music differently to cater to music-addicted audiences with perpetually diminishing attention spans. Releasing more music more often is the only way to keep listeners engaged, conventional music industry wisdom dictates. But for as much as a non-stop musical race might sound doable to some musicians, it’s an approach that isn’t likely to work for most of us.
What To Make Music About In 2019
Filling a blank computer screen or piece of white paper with original song lyrics is no easy task. Some songwriters struggle with the thought that what they write might be too revealing while others fear that what they come up with is too boring, cliche, or dull. The lyrical part of songwriting proves to be the most challenging for many otherwise talented songwriters, which means it’s something we should talk about.
No matter what your unique challenges are for writing great song lyrics, one thing is sure to help: paying attention.
What Music Experimentation Actually Means And Why It’s Hard For Songwriters To Do
Creative risk-taking flies in the face of so much we think, feel, and do as serious musicians. The process of learning an instrument, making music, and sharing it with the world requires a great deal rigid predictability––regular practice, lots of discipline, showing up to shows on time, playing the same music over and over again until you get it right. Predictability and sticking to the rules is great as far as learning an instrument and maintaining a musical project goes, but if you’re interested in writing creative music, it can be much more of a hindrance than an asset.
Having Trouble Finding Something To Write About?
Songwriters often struggle with not knowing what to write music about. For some readers, lyrics and written material for songs is something that comes naturally, but for others, finding out what to write music about feels like an insurmountable challenge. If you’re a songwriter that can’t find anything to write about, here are four tips to help:
How Gratitude Can Make You A Better Musician
Gratitude isn’t something we think about much in the music industry. The relentless work ethic it takes to make music and compete in a fierce and unforgiving music climate makes it hard for musicians to think about anything other than what it takes to make meaningful momentum happen for their work. But if you’re a musician trying to build a career in music, stepping back for a moment and being grateful for what you’ve already accomplished in music can help give you a positive new perspective and hope for your work.
3 Songwriting Methods To Try With Your Band
When looking from the outside, songwriting can be an intimidating task. Our favorite bands might make it looks easy, and while some of the best songs are written in minutes, many take weeks or months to complete.
I’ve been with my band for about a year and a half now, and we just finished recording our 5-song EP. In my time with this band, I’ve learned a lot about writing songs from scratch.
Here are 3 killer songwriting methods my band and I use to write our songs.
Why You Should Never Write The Same Song Twice
Creativity is a tough beast to harness and understand considering how prone to forming habits the average person is. If you’ve ever found yourself writing the same things over and over again in music, it’s for a good reason. Our brains and bodies are set up in a way that favors patterns and habits so that we’re not forced to learn how to do things over and over again. This is why tying your shoes every day isn’t a major challenge. Things like muscle memory help us to internalize the actions behind patterns to help us work competently as musicians. But when it comes to songwriting, habits can be a major challenge to contend with.