This is my sixth week of participating in a songwriting group (my first!) which receives a prompt each Monday, and must turn in an mp3 of a new song using that prompt by midnight of the following Sunday.
This means I’ve written at least six new songs in the past month and a half, and it feels SO GOOD.
I wanted to share my happiness with you all, and also tell you what those new songs are about. Some of them will most likely get their turn on a future album. 🙂
So far I’ve written:
-a song for Pinocchio (the prompt was “beautiful lie”)
-a song about an inanimate object (I chose a guitar, specifically one of the guitars I don’t get to travel with very often, and I got somewhat silly)
-a song about pushing boundaries (the prompt was “perfect question”)
-a song about being yourself and loving what you love, no matter if other people think it’s strange (the prompt was “fool’s gold”)
-a song that focused on alliteration (the title is “Curbside Couch”, and it’s about remembering to be good to yourself and take a break every once in a while- I wrote this one in Cozumel on the beach)
-and this week, a song about going on adventures with your sweetie, regardless of the weather (the prompt was “looks like rain”, and I managed to work in a whole bunch of juicy relationship metaphors as well as a bitchin’ guitar solo).
Those of you who keep up with creative pursuits, be they dance, visual art, music, performance art, fiber arts, culinary arts, flow arts, fire arts, blacksmithing, making nifty things, or any other act of awesomeness that feeds your soul: I cannot recommend this type of commitment enough. Not only have I created new material weekly since this began, I’ve given myself permission to write about literally anything. And it’s really working out well for me. None of these songs are pieces I expected to write. They all came from the prompts given to me, and they’re all worth revisiting. I am an exacting lyricist, with a huge mental to-write list. Having a weekly deadline to produce things that don’t come from that internal list was a prospect that initially gave me the willies. But I’m loving it! I look forward to each week’s prompt and the challenge it brings.
Also, there’s no one in the pool of songwriters I’m on this journey with who’s ANY KIND of a slouch. Not even close. Imagine being in a group of people that you essentially get to write a whole new album’s worth of music with each week. We’re on our sixth one now, and our new collective body of work is so diverse, so scathingly brilliant, that it takes my breath away. 🙂 So. Many. New. Songs. From so many talented people! We’re all listening and writing together, and it’s just the best thing. I get to listen to a whole album’s worth of new songs, created by fellow artists who I really get a kick out of, every single week. Plus, we all get to tell each other that we kick ass, and share our favorites, and share positive feedback.
If that’s not food for the soul (certainly for my soul), I don’t know what is.
TL, DR: make time for what feeds you. Make time for your craft. When a cool challenge comes by, jump on it. I have done, and I’m loving it.