Asking Questions

Sometimes the best way to learn how to be a better songwriter is to ask the right questions. If there is something you are really having a problem with, you can often phrase it in the form of a question, and then ask yourself how you could best answer this to your satisfaction. Can you answer this question yourself through a bit of research, or is there someone you could go to and ask this question to get the answer you need? Here are a few approaches to asking these questions and getting useful answers.

WRITE IT OUT

Sometimes just writing out the question helps you find the answer. Perhaps you have several. If you find that you are writing a bunch of questions you'd like answered as a songwriter, you may even find they have a common theme. In my case, I would love to ask my favorite singer/songwriter some questions about how he handles challenges in his career to give me some ideas of how to handle the same problems. Besides asking him, which may or may not be someday possible, I am also looking at how others handle the same problems, and trying to find my own answers. If you jot all these down, keep them in an easy to see place--say on your desk or in your journal or on your computer so you have an excuse to look at and think about them a lot. If you are having problems answering these questions, just having them around to think about can help you slowly come up with some solutions, or at least keep you moving in that direction. Like a string around your finger, it will be a constant reminder of a problem or problems you want to solve.

FIND OTHERS WHO CAN HELP

Sometimes it can really help to get involved in a local songwriter's group or haunt a place where lots of songwriters like to hang out. Taking a class that can teach you the skills or hear of new techniques available to do the things you want to accomplish can help, too. If you have money problems, look around for places where you can earn extra money, or get advice of how to handle bills better or get aid from the government if you are eligible. Talk to others who have had the same problems and see if they can give you some advice on how they handled the situation. Sometimes it is hard just to know what questions to ask--if you check with your fellow writers, you may find that they have the same problems, and together you may be able to find out what the problem is and frame that question. Don't forget about the internet, either--there are loads of message boards available to songwriters, and plenty of people who are more than willing to hand out advice, even if you aren't asking for it. Just brainstorm and see what you can come up with-don't bother to edit your ideas or judge them, then go back later and see what ways you can come up with to solve these problems, and have fun being as silly as you like coming up with ways in which that solution could actually work. If nothing else, just being with others and laughing about a serious problem may get you loosened up enough to see the answers you seek while you might not have been able to on your own, being too close to and too serious about the whole situation.

Go To Page: 1 2