It’s easier to fail at songwriting than to write great songs!
Here are three easy ways to fail at songwriting and solutions to help you avoid them.
You’ve experienced at least one of them if you’ve ever:
Started writing but can’t put down anything “good” and start to feeling that you have to suddenly do something else, anything else, or
Filled your notebooks of ideas and fragments but if someone asks you to play one of your songs… you blank and don’t know what to play.
You’ve got a song but you keep trying to “make it better” and never play it for anyone or release it!
Solving these three songwriting fails will get you on the right path…
Below the video lesson is a written transcript and bonus solutions I couldn’t fit in the video!
Begin Video Transcript
In this video, you’ll learn three easy ways to fail at songwriting and how to avoid them.
Hi, I’m Trevor Dimoff, I transform musicians into songwriters at epicsongwriting.com… like this video if you learn something and check out the playlist of other songwriting videos at the end.
There are three easy ways to fail at songwriting,
Three Songwriting Fails:
The Fun Fail
The Song Fail and
The Share Fail
I’ll explain them one at a time and set you up with some solutions for each. I’ve also included a written summary and extra solutions that didn’t fit in this video if you click the first link in the video description.
Note: Links to Additional Resources are at the end of each section below…
Songwriting Fail #1: The Fun Fail
If you don’t find songwriting fun, you’ll fail.
The fun I’m talking about is when you get so absorbed in it you lose time, you don’t notice time going by. You start and suddenly realize an hour has gone by. You fall into the zone and stay there.
Songwriting is a set of skills you develop, just like the musical skills you use to play your guitar or piano. Songwriting is complicated, it’s easy to get discouraged or frustrated.
If you find joy, excitement and fun in songwriting, you’ll want to write, you’ll enjoy it and you’ll stick with it and improve.
Finding the Fun, Solving the Fun Fail
If you can’t write, it’s no fun. When you know what you’re doing it’s easier to have fun.
Ask yourself: How can I make it easier to lose time and stay absorbed in my songwriting?
If you’re watching the clock while you’re writing, it will always be a struggle.
Start with making your music interesting to play and to hear. That’s fun.
You can collaborate with other songwriters and musicians. When you do it well, working with others makes songwriting easier and it makes music fun.
Think about your goals… what would success feel like? Break these big goals into smaller steps then start working to get there. If you’re having success of any kind, it’s easier to have fun with it. Small wins build to bigger wins and winning is fun.
Click the first link description for more solutions for finding the fun while you’re songwriting.
Finding the Fun: Additional Resources
How to Write a Song Chorus
Learn to write the lyrics and music to a song chorus!
Click and enter your email address to get it straight to your inbox…
Songwriting Fail # 2: The Song Fail
A song fail is when you don’t finish your songs, especially when this is your regular pattern. You won’t finish every song you start, but if you’re not finishing most of or any of them… you’ll fail.
If you don’t finish songs you have nothing to show or play, regardless of how much time and effort you put into songwriting.
The easiest solution is to figure out your best songwriting process, how you find inspiration and then follow through to write the lyrics, melodies, chords and accompaniment for your song.
Most songwriters build their songwriting process by writing songs, then finding ways to improve their process. By experimenting and improving. This works but it’s slow especially when you’re first starting out. Songwriting lessons or an online course is a short cut.
As you write and improve your process can change over time and even for each song, but generally you’ll find one way that works best most of the time.
For example:
Are you lyrics first or music first?
Do you usually start with the title or an emotion?
Do you prefer to write one song section at a time or write the entire lyrics or all the music first?
To Finish Your Songs, Solving the Song Fail
1. Practice finishing your songs even when they don’t feel like they’re amazing.
2. Get songwriting training, either lessons or a songwriting course. Songwriting tips are helpful, but they only deal with the bits and pieces, not an entire songwriting process.
3. Talk with and work with other songwriters and learn how they write their songs.
Click the first description link for more help finishing your songs.
Finishing Your Songs: Additional Resources
Songwriting Fail #3: The Share Fail
The share fail is when nobody knows about your songs, you don’t share them so people that would like them can hear them. You need to get your songs out of your music cave and into the world. It starts with solid songs and then takes time and effort to get in front of the right people for your music.
Sharing Your Music With the World, Solving the Share Fail
If you’re having trouble sharing you need to figure out why. Is it because you aren’t confident with your songs? Do you know what to share or post about? If you’re sharing but not getting results, then it could be where, when or what you’re sharing. If you post “Check out my new song” in a songwriting group that’s all about cover songs… you’re doing a few things wrong that are easy to fix.
Sharing Solutions can be difficult to solve, because some of it is out of your control. You can share your songs on social media, but not everyone who follows you will see the post or click to listen.
Start with solid songs that are well recorded, with good audio and video quality. Put yourself and your music out there. Do your best with consistent posts with hooks that encourage people to click and listen. Learning to publicize yourself takes time and consistent effort.
Your goal is to start building a tribe of people that like you, like your songs and that engage with your music posts with listens, likes, comments and shares.
You can also work with others, if two people co-write a song, you instantly have double the resources to share and promote it. There are some more sharing solutions for you if you click the first description link.
Sharing Your Songs: Additional Resources
Songwriting Fails: Summary
And that’s three easy ways to fail at songwriting… the fun fail, the song fail and the share fail, and how to avoid them.
If you know a songwriting solution I didn’t mention, tell me in the comments.
Thanks for watching, I’m Trevor Dimoff, I transform musicians into songwriters at epicsongwriting.com… like this video if you learned something. For a written summary and more songwriting solutions click the first link in the video description. You should check out this playlist for more songwriting videos to help you find the fun and finish your songs.
Once you’ve done that… go have fun songwriting, finish the song and share it.
How to Write a Song Chorus
Learn to write the lyrics and music to a song chorus!
Click and enter your email address to get it straight to your inbox…
