Dazzled
Sometimes, songwriting can be a little like driving.
Tonight I drove the short trip to pick up my daughter, Poppy, from her school bus. It was a beautiful evening, deep dark blue skies with a few waking up stars, and a thin sliver of moon. Then, all of a sudden, in front of me a car came hurtling around the corner with its main beam shining full up, ice white, piercing through the night. Yes, I was:
DAZZLED
Why am I writing about this? Well, sometimes it’s just like this when you are songwriting. Here’s why:
1. Trust – Sometimes, you need to trust that you’re driving to the right place. Like when you are dazzled from the main beam in front of you, there are moments when you’re not totally clear about where the road is going. Sometimes you can only see and it’s the same thing when you’re writing a song - the reason for dazzling can be from a number of main lights:
The dazzle of your co-writers
The dazzle of your co-writers craft, which you hope will LOVE your ideas
The dazzle of your publisher, hoping they will LOVE the song you’ve just written
The dazzle of the artist, you hope will LOVE your song demo.
If or when you’re dazzled, just keep writing.
2. Tools – Sometimes, all we can see is the dashboard to make sure you’re driving at the right speed. And the same way as songwriters we have our dashboard ourselves:
Rhyme schemes
Structures
Title placement
Unity emotion
The lyrical Map
There are hundreds of similar tools, which all become part of our own songwriting dashboard when we are dazzled.
3. Waiting – Sometimes you need to wait until you see a signpost, something like a 30 mph speed sign or a 'welcome' to your own town. You just hope you’ll get there by simply waiting. And it’s the same thing with songwriting – sometimes you need to chase an idea until you’ve written all verses, the chorus, and the bridge before you KNOW that the song has been written.
Being dazzled by the million things that can worry you about your craft. Just trust. Do your best. And before you know it you will be home.
S.