Songwriting: Inspiration or Perspiration?

Thomas Edison once said that genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Well, if you want to look more precisely at what he said, then click here.  Regardless of his actual verbiage, he made a good point.  People who create masterpieces or are successful in various things aren't just inspired.  They put in a lot of hard work. 

Could Edison's principle apply to songwriting?  Do great songwriters write only when they feel inspired?  Or do they write on a regular basis, whether or not they are inspired?  Are all great songs completely inspired or do some require a lot more "perspiration" than others? 

I have my thoughts on this, which I will share with you later.  But first I want to hear from you.  What do you think?  If you are a songwriter, what is your experience?  When do you write?  Only when inspiration strikes?  Or do you have a regular discipline of writing? 

In the next few weeks, I will be featuring a number of songwriters.  Some have written songs that you might know.  Others might not be as familiar to you.  But they all share a passion for writing. 

Stay tuned, keep writing, and as always, your comments are welcome.

My Songwriting History - Part 2

John 10:10 - “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. “

I’m not planning on giving an expository breakdown of this passage or preaching a sermon.  Rather, I would like to tell a personal story of how I lost the point of writing songs. 

Being the son of a piano player, I have been immersed in music from the time I was born. Music was something I always loved. It was as if God put a song in my soul and all I wanted to do was to sing it. Not literally as I didn’t really start singing much until my mid-twenties. But I was very deeply moved by music. Hearing certain songs would stir up a deep sense of awe for God, the maker of music. For example, hearing a symphony could bring me to tears. Throughout my schooling, I could never study to music because I just wanted to listen to the songs, which made it nearly impossible to focus on anything else.

When I first began to write, it was a true joy.  Writing was an outward expression of what was in my heart.  It was very personal, yet something I was always happy to share with others.  But at some point, I really got off track.  Songwriting started to become about me having something to prove or somebody to impress. I enjoyed the praise of others, but the satisfaction gained was short-lived. It was never enough and I always wanted more. If others didn’t express their admiration adequately, I would feel like a failure.

Over time, I grew increasingly cynical, frustrated, and resentful. I couldn’t enjoy the song of a successful artist because I was eaten up with envy.  Why should their songs be so successful and not mine, I wondered.  The joy of music was gone.

Something happened mid 2014 that changed everything. One of my best friends was diagnosed with cancer. It was bad. Within just a few weeks, he was told there was nothing that could be done. It was either hospice or chemo, and chemo would only delay the inevitable. Dealing with this news was much more difficult than I could have ever imagined. I have never felt so much sadness in my entire life, and this continued well beyond the time of his passing.

Something about this kind of loss puts things into perspective. Things that once seemed important just don't matter anymore. During this time of grief and reflection, new songs were birthed. Only now they were a true reflection of what was on the inside.  At times, I was overwhelmed with hurt or struggling with doubt.  Other times, I wanted to trust in God’s goodness and faithfulness, but still had unresolved questions.  Overall, my desire was to hold onto Him no matter what.  And these things emerged in the songs I wrote. 

They were very real and the thought of trying to impress others with them just didn’t seem right.  That wasn’t why the songs were written.  In fact, I struggled with the idea of sharing them with anyone else because they were so deeply personal.  I would only share them with very close friends, family, or people I knew were going through a difficult time. 

Then things became clear. The purpose of me writing songs is not for me to gain the approval or recognition of others. The purpose is not for me prove anything to anyone. The purpose is to express my praise to God and to point others to Him. Once I realized this, the joy of writing and playing music finally returned.

What about you?  What inspires you to write?  What struggles have you experienced along the way?  I don't expect that everyone reading this will share my faith in Christ.  Even if you don't, I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read this and would greatly appreciate your comments.

My Songwriting History – Part 1

Until about 10 years ago, I hardly ever wrote. My only lyrical contribution to my old band was half of a verse for one not so great song. The other guys wrote more prolifically, but I just couldn't seem to get anywhere. My biggest problems were perfectionism and comparison. My ideas never measured up to what I was hearing on the radio, so I didn't think that any of them were worthwhile.  For many years, this kept me paralyzed.

This frustration continued for years. I wasn't short on ideas, but none of them ever materialized. Actually, one of them did. My first completed song literally took about 10 years for me to write! At this pace, I figured it might be possible complete a partial album within my lifetime.

Then I heard some advice that changed everything. I really wish I could remember who said this. Regardless, I was told that the best songwriters write all the time. To some degree, many of them write everyday. The songs we hear on the radio are only the tip of the iceberg. We don't know how many terrible or mediocre ideas these writers had to filter through to get to the great one that we hear.

I had never thought about this, but it made perfect sense.  My problem is that I was sitting around waiting for that million dollar song idea rather than taking the time to work on my writing skills.  I actually had to give myself permission to write terrible songs.  Almost daily, I would sit down and force myself to write something. It didn't have to be great or even average. I just had to be something. The bar was set VERY low, which was incredibly liberating.

Some of my ideas were terrible or sounded too much like other people's songs. But through practice, some genuinely good ideas began to emerge. In 2006, with the help of another songwriter, I wrote a handful of songs for our band to record in the studio. Looking back, the project was not the best. There were countless things I could have done better, but I am still grateful for the learning experience.

Since then, the process of writing has gotten much easier. There are some things I learned that you might find helpful. There are also mistakes I have learned from that perhaps I can help you to avoid.  At the same time, I know there are things I could also learn from you.

What about you? What is your story? What frustrations have your experienced in your writing? Have you overcome these or are they still a struggle? Drop me a line as I would love to hear from you!

Songwriting Method

When you write songs, do you generally start with lyrics or music?  Please take a moment to complete the following brief survey:


Songwriting Method Survey (please click to begin survey)


Any comments are welcome!

My First Blog

Alright, this is something I have never done before.  Yes, I realize that there are millions of blogs out there.  So why do we need another one?  Great question!  Truth be told, maybe you don't need this one.  But you may find it helpful.

There are plenty of songwriters I would consider much better than myself.  But I have been able to write some great songs.  I'm not giving any formulas here as I know we are not all wired the same.  Instead, I will explain the approach I use with writing.  I'll give you some tips that I have found helpful.  Also, I will actually walk you through the writing process so that you can see the inspiration and development of real songs.

Please feel free to share any songwriting tips that you have found helpful.  I am looking forward to this and hope you enjoy!