songwriting
this last week and a half I’ve been working really hard on songs. I decided that it was time to really give myself to the process - sitting at the piano for a good few hours every day - just to see what would emerge.
It’s been so interesting - I have had so many fresh ideas - way more than I thought I had circling around inside me. Sometimes it’s just the sheer discipline that creates the space for the song to be born.
It still amazes me that regular routine is the perfect partner to creativity - but in busy lives, filled with all sorts of commitments and relationships - the promise of a regular slot of time is one of the best gifts we can give ourselves as writers.
I would love to hear how it works for you....
It’s been so interesting - I have had so many fresh ideas - way more than I thought I had circling around inside me. Sometimes it’s just the sheer discipline that creates the space for the song to be born.
It still amazes me that regular routine is the perfect partner to creativity - but in busy lives, filled with all sorts of commitments and relationships - the promise of a regular slot of time is one of the best gifts we can give ourselves as writers.
I would love to hear how it works for you....
posted by Kathryn Scott at 7:42 pm
5 Comments:
Great post!
I agree that intentionality is a big key. But it's hard to set aside regular songwriting time when wife, kids, dogs and work all need that time too...
For me it usually seems like the only thing that gets a song "finished" is its own insistence on being born. Sounds odd, I know! But some ideas don't go quietly. They seep into whatever cracks appear in your available time. I find myself driving to work or back with the phone and radio off and trying to figure out a bridge transition or just the right word.
I can't speak to whether or not these "insistent" songs are better than others. But I believe they're Spirit-breathed, and eager to find their way to completion!
@mjthelander
I usually try to turn key phrases that are running through my head into a prominent melody. I do this anywhere; work, at the store, in the shower, at the gym. I generally end up writing chorus lines first, and then the "work" comes in by trying to figure out verses (musically and lyrically). I love going to the Word to find verses that express how I (or others) feel.
The last worship song I wrote was while I was at work printing out 2,100 envelopes. God definitely works in mysterious ways. :)
I agree about setting aside time. My songs come to me at times I'm not trying to write. Times when the wife, the kids, everyone wants and needs me to fix something, Buy someting or just needs to talk. When I do sit with a guitar or at the piano to write, I do find to have the best Worship I can have. Just Him and I. God is good. I love serving HIM
When I just open my heart to recognize who He is and how He has touched me it just flows forth like Living Water. Just being a conduit for His Love and heart to be brought forth doing the Work for which it was sent is all I need to know. I do not yet write music but the words do come as praise. I am still quite new at this but I know it is Him in me and all I have to do is trust and be His vessel.
Rob Goza
Writing a song, a story, a blog post takes work. It uses a muscle, and unless we exercise that muscle on a regular basis it atrophies. Being a wife, mother, homeschool teacher causes me to make choices that sometimes hinders my "work-out." At this time in my life I find inspiration comes when I intentionally sit in quiet. Some days I don't find that quiet, and have to decide to write something down, anything down just to "stay in shape."
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