In times of intense turmoil and uncertainty, creativity can give artists meaning, comfort, and direction when they’d otherwise feel aimless. Musicians are just one of the countless groups of people seeing their professions get upended during the COVID-19 crisis. Embracing creativity during this painful time won’t bring your life back to normal or fix what’s wrong. But it can make some of our lives better in a meaningful way. 

The world has a romantic image of how music is made that often involves scenes of musicians caught up in moments of passion and despair expressing their emotions through music. Sure, this sort of thing does happen to some of us from time to time. Yet, the truth is that great music almost always takes hard, consistent work to make. Inspiration is essential for creating music that connects with people. However, it’s up to us to be listening and ready for when it comes to us. That’s where the importance of a consistent, productive songwriting practice comes in. No matter who you are, making songwriting a part of your routine will result in you creating better music. Here are four tips for building a strong, fruitful practice:

I want to say this right off the bat. Music can’t fix what the world is going through right now. It doesn’t have the power to cure COVID-19, bring someone’s job back, or heal the sick. But what it can do is comfort and relate to people. That’s no easy task in a world chock full of despair and anxiety everywhere you look. If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance your music plans have dramatically shifted over the past couple of months. Mine certainly have. I don’t know what the future holds for my music career, especially when it comes to performing live. However, I do know how crucial music is in the lives of countless people right now. That gives me a lot of hope and purpose.

It’s becoming obvious that this crisis has already transformed the world beyond recognition, and there’s no sign of things slowing down or becoming easier anytime soon. But when the dust settles and we adjust to a new normal, I believe that music will have been an integral part of helping everyday people cope through what they’ve been through.