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Little Successes Become Big Ones

© Cindy Lee Haddock

Many famous quotes refer to the fact that success happens when one makes it a habit. Numerous small songwriting accomplishments add up to larger and larger ones. The more smaller victories you have, the easier to emotionally deal with them, and the easier it is dealing with larger ones, without it frightening you that things are going your way. Songwriters sadly often quit when the music they write finally starts to get recognition, and they feel it was just too much trouble for all the time and expense they put into the various projects. Even sitting back for a moment and trying to assimilate a success, and then trying to recreate it like any good scientist would, is much better than stopping, feeling you will never do that again. Any career musician will tell you that it is continued progress, not the single spectacular and recognized effort that puts bread on the table. Here are a few simple songwriters' tips that may help you stay in the field as a player, not a mere observer.

TEENY SUCCESSES

Making lists is often a great way to remind ourselves of just what we've done right. You should be able anytime to write down fifty things you have done in your lifetime that are noteworthy, and I don't just mean writing songs. If you got your songwriting taxes in on time, and actually owed a little money, you have three successes right there-getting them done, done on time, and owed money, which means you more than broke even for the year. You would be surprised how many songwriters never do that. Did you enter a song contest and win a book as a consolation prize? You have just done over a half dozen more things-you finished a song, you got a copyright on it, you finished putting it in a format you could enter in a contest, made up the demo to send off, made up a lyric sheet, filled out the proper forms, mailed it in, and actually won a prize. Many musicians never even bother to do more than write riffs, or the odd four lines of rhyme. Most very talented musicians never learn to write a single original piece, instead working on precisely playing other compositions, just to show off. Even doing that, though, is a good thing for a songwriter to do, because playing other tunes helps give you ideas to write your own. Learning to play a new instrument also counts, since it helps you better understand how to write music for it. So does finishing a single part of a crossword puzzle, an entire puzzle, or a whole book of puzzles, since that helps increase your word oriented problem-solving abilities, and thus helps you come up with the right rhyme to say what you want when you need it, without a lot of thought. Jogging each day is also good, as is keeping your weight even all year-exercise keeps your mind sharp and body healthy, as does not gaining or losing any weight if either isn't good for you. See-all these little things help make you a better songwriter, even though you may not think so on the surface.

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