New Year Songwriting Strategies – motivate, activate, stimulate!
And before you know it… it’s January again! Welcome to the How-do-I-motivate-myself January club. There are many members in this community and the Pro7ect team are here to help you in your journey from ‘Whoa to Go’ in an exciting New Year.
“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new idea’s. I’m frightened of old ones ”
– John Cage
Here are 7 suggestions to help re-boot your songwriting motivation:
1. Make a plan.
Write it down.
Visualise it.
Put it out into the universe.
Whether it is to increase your SM followers, write a new song each month, learn how to use a DAW (digital audio workstation) so you can record yourself, listen to different genres of music, book a gig… whatever it is you want to achieve in the next 12 months, committing it to writing really helps to clarify the direction you want to go in.
2. Do something that scares you.
Sometimes we need to take risks to feel like we are progressing and to shake us out of our little songwriting comfort zones. Record a live performance of one of your songs for Instagram or TikTok, DM an artist that you want to work with, book a spot at the local open mic night, attend a songwriting retreat…
3. Attend a Pro7ect songwriting retreat or Masterclass.
Of course I would say this but it works! Living, writing and trusting other songwriters and producers at our events is an incredibly exciting and impactive experience. It will give you something to look forward to and will give you the creative lift you need to build momentum.
★★★★★ “…one week here (at Pro7ect) is worth more than a year at music tech Uni.”
- YOUTH Pro7ect Headline Producer (The Orb, The Verve, Paul McCartney)
4. Create space
…both mentally and physically. Book regular writing sessions into your diary now. Making space for creativity can feel like a luxury but if you don’t invest the time it just won’t happen. Give yourself room to write - create a space where you can feel comfortable, private, safe to work. This can be a workstation, desk, corner or spare room. Fill it with things that inspire you like words, quotes, pictures of people you love, landscapes, imaginings, collected wood, stones, plants, mementoes.
5. Let go of past disappointments, failures, and abandoned expectations.
This is difficult but essential. All artists struggle with the intrusive inner critic, the voice that picks apart our disappointments, faults and flaws. It’s part of the job description I’m afraid. Last year I failed at 3 funding bids, I didn’t manage to finish the mixing and mastering of a live concert recording, and I didn’t write as much new material as I had planned BUT now is the perfect time to let these go and press the refresh button. Our failures make us stronger and more resilient, especially when we learn important life lessons from them. It is all fuel for songwriting and story-telling.
6. Find a collaborator.
If you haven’t tried it yet it is time to give it a go. Songwriting collaboration isn’t for everyone but like dating, you have to try a few out before you find the right one. Like suggestions 2 and 3, this can be scary (tick) and you will find like-minded collaborators at the Pro7ect songwriting retreats (tick). Problem solved. You can also meet potential collaborators at open mic nights, industry networking events and gigs. It’s worth a try.
7. Gift yourself a beautiful songwriting book.
I love a song book. All my songbooks are beautifully bound, blank paged (no lines) canvases begging me to pick them up and write down feelings and thoughts that could become the next song. I find them when I travel or friends and family gift me writing books all the time because they know how much I love a blank page. The idea of creating something from nothing is a huge motivator, and lets face it, we need as much motivation as we can get.
I hope this helps you and your New Years journey and look forward to seeing you at a Pro7ect event soon.
Lisa Fitz
Pro7ect Creative Director
“Imagination creates reality”
– Richard Wagner
Pro7ect Songwriting Retreats are excited to return to Rockfield from 18th – 26th July 2023.
Now in our 8th year, Pro7ect songwriting retreats at the world famous Rockfield Studios, is the only residential songwriting retreat in the UK offering music production in the room and an opportunity to collaborate with internationally acclaimed writer/producers.
For more information and to apply for Pro7ect songwriting retreats & Masterclasses go to: www.pro7ect.com
Pro7ect is proudly sponsored by Prism Sound.
P7 Headline producers include Stew Jackson (Massive Attack), Youth (Sir Paul McCartney, The Verve, The Orb), Roni Size (Reprazent), John Fortis (Razorlight, Ellie Goulding), Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers), Iain Archer (Snow Patrol, James Bay), Andrew Levy (Brand New Heavies) and Mercury Prize Winner Talvin Singh, just to name a few.
So far, we’ve had 18 releases & 4 sync’s from songs written at Pro7ect retreats, as well as numerous collaborations and professional opportunities via the P7 Alumni artists community.