Saved by a song

21 Songwriting 🎼 [[21.01 Poetry and Lyrics 🖋]] [[21.02 Melody and Harmony 🎶]] [[21.03 Songwriting Exercises 🏋️]] [[21.04 Principles for...

A good song rings true Lucinda Williams said in an interview, “I met a young man who came to me...

“About all a human being is, anyway, is just a hoping machine.” —Woody Guthrie1 via [[Saved by a Song]] pg....

“Anyone can make a song complicated. It takes a real genius to keep it simple.” —Pete Seeger, found via [[Saved...

Best practices for sad songwriting Don’t just write sad songs. Mary Gauthier said at Folk Alliance International 2023 that songwriters...

Do research on your song subject Mary Gauthier, preparing for writing about her experience as an adoptee, read several books...

Don't overcook it

Don’t overcook it Lori McKenna compares writing a song to chasing a wounded bird down the road: it leads you,...

Music is a repair shop “Music is a repair shop. I’m basically a repair man.” —Bruce Springsteen1 [[Saved by a...

“Sometimes it take you a long time to sound like yourself.” —Miles Davis1 via [[Saved by a Song]] pg. 41 ↩...

Songs are seers

Songs are seers Mary Gauthier says, “Turns out, my songs were always ahead of me.”1 [[Saved by a Song]] pg....

Creativity is a collaboration with God ![[All works of art are commissioned —W. H. Auden]]

Creativity is a pathway to self-discovery Mary Gauthier says the goal of writing is to find your voice.1 We figure...

“Fiction writing is about everything human and we are made out of dust, and if you scorn getting yourself dusty,...

How to recover from writer’s block Reframe it as a writer’s hurdle, not a block. You’ve just got to get...

Overcome writer’s block by focusing on mental health Try therapy. Kim Koga says, “There’s a part of me that feels...

Simplicity is hard-won ![[If I had more time, I’d write you a shorter letter]]

Walking is creative exercise ![[It is solved by walking —St. Augustine]]

Saved by a Song