FOCUS! by Susan Tucker Take a few minutes today to think about just how focused on songwriting you actually are. Do you feel that words like focused, driven and persistent, describe you? Or are you more like, scattered, rambling and occasional? Learning and becoming proficient at anything - from brain surgery to writing songs, - takes a high level of focus. I suspect that as an up and coming songwriter if you put as much effort into learning songwriting as the doctor did in learning brain surgery – you would be a hit songwriter. So, what can you do to get more focused? Let’s look over some ideas Focus on one genre – Whenever I hear someone say that they write in many genres of music, it sends up red flags for me. Not saying that you can’t actually write great songs in several genres. But it makes sense to me that in order to get to a place that you are writing great songs, it pays to stay focused on one genre. Learn everything you can about writing hits in that genre. Climb that mountain and when you reach the top, the other mountains await you! How do you decide what genre to focus on – Ask yourself, “What do I love to listen to?” If you are trying to write a lot of rock songs, but find yourself always listening to the Country radio stations, then go with it! Learn what it takes for a song to be a hit in the Country market. Focus on your weaknesses – Make them strengths! Are you tuned in to where you need improvement? It’s very common for us to be blind to what our deficiencies are. But those are the sorts of things that will make or break a career in songwriting. What do you do? First ask yourself what needs improving and try to be very honest with yourself. Make a list. But then seek outside opinions. Get song critiques from everyone you can. Try to be aware if there’s a certain type of feedback that you get over and over? Maybe ask the question directly to the critiquer. Remember, what you need to grasp here is where you can improve your overall writing technique. Then what? Get lessons, study online, read books. It’s so much easier to get the knowledge you need these days, that there’s just no excuse! Focus on knowing more about the business side of songwriting. Are you a member of a PRO? Do you know what a PRO is? If someone wanted to cut one of your songs, are you prepared to handle the business of administering that copyright? As a songwriter, so you know what all of your royalty streams are? Quite often the business of songwriting can be overwhelming and just down right “no fun.” It’s easy to convince yourself that all you have to do is write a killer song and the rest will take care of itself. Certainly that’s a big part, but you have to get that killer song out there and then you have to collect those royalties so you can afford to quit that day gig and write songs full time! It’s a business. Focus on writing everyday! Sure I know that most of you don’t have time to sit down, pick up your guitar and write everyday. It’s hard to find enough time in the day to do everything on your list and too often we tend to think of songwriting as a guilty sin and something that you can do “later” after all the important stuff gets done. So how can we turn that around and find/steal minutes out of each and everyday to put towards writing? Look at your typical day. Do you have to drive or ride the train to the office? Are you able to take a lunch break all by your lonesome? Is it possible for you to get up a half hour earlier than everyone else or maybe stay up a bit after everyone else has gone to bed. Are there are few TV shows that you can give up? Sometimes songwriting does not consist of sitting down with your writing book and guitar. Sometimes it just collecting ideas or brainstorming an idea while you’re driving to the store or mowing the grass. Focus on expanding your network. It should include other songwriters, of course. It should also include mentors, publishers, A&R, artists, venue owners, etc. Read articles and blogs to become familiar with the names of some of these folks or companies. Then if you see that a workshop is coming up with someone you feel you need to get into your network, find a way to attend. Make FOCUS your focus. Write it down and tape it to your bathroom mirror. Send an alert to your phone. Carve it in a tree. Paint it on your sidewalk. Whatever gets your attention; grows!
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 23:39:27 +0000