This Is Why You Feel Stress When Writing Music!
There is one thing you do that ruins your creative output. This can also suck the joy out of writing music entirely.
In the fast-moving landscape of the music industry, musicians focus too much on getting their music heard. Tell me if this reminds you of yourself.
After you write a handful of songs, you post them online or perform them live at a local gig. You earn a small amount of recognition. So the logical thing to do is to follow that up, as fast as possible.
You need something new to show!
You need a new song!
You need a song that’s better than everything you made before!
So you sit down and try to write. After a while, the thoughts strike your mind:
Is this song good enough to release?
Will other people like it?
What if no one will listen to it?
Does this sound familiar? I can certainly relate. There was a time when I felt the need to release music, where I forced myself to deliver. So I did. I finished songs quickly, posted them, and regretted it soon after.
In this state, songwriting can be stressful. It’s hard to be creative if you doubt yourself. You can try to push through this feeling, but this won’t solve the underlying problem. After finishing one song, this feeling will arise with the next one.
Most of the time, this feeling blocks your creativity. You avoid starting to write or finishing a song. If the stress reaches its peak, you will stop writing altogether, hopefully just for a while.
How To Shift Your Perspective?
That’s all fine and good, but how can we deal with this?
I want to encourage you to shift your perspective.
Don’t write for the sake of releasing music.
Don’t write music to become a famous musician.
Write music because you enjoy it!
I know this sounds like cookie-cutter advice like “follow your dreams” or “do the things you enjoy.” Let me explain how this shift can help your music career in the long run.
Like with every craft, you need experience to improve on it. Most of us, especially me, are not gifted at writing “perfect” songs., whatever that is. But this doesn’t mean we can’t learn it. And to learn efficiently, we want to avoid as many roadblocks as possible. This is where your shift in perspective comes in.
Emotional stress to deliver music is the last thing we want when writing music. If we impose this on ourselves, we won’t write a lot of music. Try to let the feeling go. You won’t get famous overnight with a song that’s gone viral. It happens, but it’s rare. A successful career start with a viral song is luck-based. 93% of it involves more things than just your music. It involves good marketing, novel ideas, etc.
Let the feeling go that you write the perfect song and get instantly famous. Even if you do write a “perfect” song, it isn’t guaranteed that the song will get the recognition it deserves. So why place such a high impact on it? And in turn, why place such a high burden on yourself? It doesn’t make sense.
It’s much more important to make songwriting something you enjoy. Create the songs you feel like creating. With this, you will write more songs and better ones too. In the long run, you will grow more as a musician.
4 Easy Steps To Make Songwriting More Enjoyable
1. Write music and don’t share it.
Write songs for yourself first. Building an audience goes beyond just your music. It’s about the image you present online and offline. Your audience will connect with the values you represent and the things you do. Don’t prioritize posting songs online. Find other topics or things to post about to relieve the pressure. You can begin to release music again, if you build a solid body of work. Write a ton of songs and then pic the best ones.
2. Create a habit to learn and grow.
The best way to do this is by regularly writing songs and experimenting with new ideas. I recommend writing one song every week for 6 to 8 hours. Find a timeframe that fits your schedule and responsibilities.
Don’t make the timeframe too long. Start a new song at least every 2 weeks. There will be songs that you get stuck on, and moving on will help you make progress.
Also, set realistic goals. Don’t force yourself to write a song every 2 days and neglect other aspects of your life. You won’t be able to sustain this for long, and it will create problems in other areas. These problems can lead to emotional and even physical stress. This won’t help your writing.
3. Take note on what you’ve learned.
After finishing a song, it’s important to stop and think about what worked and what didn’t. Reflecting will make your writing more effective and help you get stuck less often.
“Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own” - Bruce Lee
4. Track your progress.
This is the most important point. Create a place where you gather all the songs you’ve written, like a folder with .mp3 files. With each passing week, this folder will grow, and you’ll be able to feel and see the progress you’re making. I have a big file in my DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) where I can listen to all the songs. Listening back on what I created, and how much I’ve improved, is the most enjoyable part of the process.
Wrapping Things Up
Musicians focus too much on getting their music heard and the recognition of others. This hinders their creativity and enjoyment of songwriting.
Shift your perspective!
It is more important to write music because you enjoy it, rather than for the sake of releasing it.
To make songwriting more enjoyable:
Write music and don’t share it.
Create a habit of writing songs and experimenting
Reflect on what works and what didn’t
Track your progress
Max of Current Mindset
