I’m working on an article about songwriting motivation, and I could use your help:
What motivates your songwriting? Why do you compose?
Do you write songs to sell them?
Do you write to express yourself?
Do you write to get an audience singing or dancing?
Do you write to praise a god?
To attract the opposite sex?
To make a point, political, moral or philosophical?
Answers in the comments!
(PS. Have you got your free copy of the ebook 10 Tips for Songwriters?)
Related posts:
Great question.
I started as therapy for my brain injury, but continued because I simply felt compelled to. Now, my strongest motivation is simply that I enjoy it.
Sure, I would love to sell some songs someday, but that’s not why I do it.
Jeff
I write songs to make sense out of things that have happened.
I write songs to make connections with other people who understand.
(BTW, it would be great if this site allowed us to subscribe to comments. It’s hard to remember to come back and see if anyone else has posted something.)
(A very good point. Hmm… there must be a wordpress widget for that? I shall investigate.)
oh, i’m so glad you have a songwriting blog- saw that on you 50/90 bio so i wanted to pop over and say hello.
i write as a creative expression. i write to understand myself and the world better.
For all of the above
Additional reasons, cos songs are shorter than books
Cos I can!
Cos its fun
Its creative, great to be able to make something that didn’t exist previously. Also a song is intangible (unless you record it) you can perform it, its intellectual property! Its cool.
“Shorter than books” is a good one. The benchmarks for progress and for “done” are much more attainable.
An additional question:- How important/enjoyable/valuable to you is the process of writing a song? How does this compare with having completed the finished article?
Depends completely on how the song is going. If I’ve been stuck for a while, it’s hard to get motivated. If I’ve been making even incremental progress, it’s satisfying. Completing a song is also very satisfying, but in a different way.