Monday, November 30, 2009

Songwriting Is A Doing Word


"Songwriting is a doing word." This phrase has been running around inside of me for about five months now. It has marked the beginning of my return to songwriting, my renewed foray into my creative space, which had long been dusty and mis-placed. I may have heard it somewhere, but I am fairly certain it one of those divine relations, right words, right time to help me on my way.

The phrase carries for me both an encouragement and a warning.

An encouragement that creativity is implicitly active. The act of creating is well...an act. I take pen to paper, words to melody, soul to canvas and by this very action I begin to reveal what has previously been concealed within me. It reminds me that regardless of the quality of what I create, continuing to practically create something out of nothing is an act of faith, and that only good things can come from habitually taking creative action. Latent creative potential keeps what I see invisible to the rest of the world. Taking creative action blesses and re-creates both the giver and the receiver.

The warning is even weightier to me than the encouragement. And it is a weightiness that has severed me from the chains of writers block. It is simple and yet it is sharp.

Songwriting is not my identity.

It has felt like it is for a long time. Music, creativity and songwriting are core to me. If I go to the centre of my heart I find a note there. And so with this intuitive knowing of what was intrinsic to my inner being, I began to hang my hopes and expectations and visions of my future upon the knowing that "I am a songwriter". And therein lay the catch. What I imagined would spark and release me weighed me down, for "I am" statements, I have learned, are not to be approached lightly.

I have come to believe that I breathe the deepest and the freest, when the "I am" statements in my life finish with words that are relational. That reflect how my inner being relates to my Creator and to my earthly relationships.

I am loved. I am known. I am wanted. I am chosen. I am gifted.

I can sit down and rest secure in that room in my heart. And funnily enough, from there, the creativity that is still inherent within me starts to spring up of it's own accord. I don't like to trifle with semantics, but quietly within my heart I know and state now that "I write songs" rather than "I am a songwriter." Once my creativity is free to act, instead of trying to carry the burden of my being, it's amazing what gets loosened up on the inside.

So I have determined that I will not place the burden of my being upon my pen, nor upon my piano. I place my being in the hands of the One Who Loves Me Most and watch him free my soul to bloom again.

14 comments:

  1. Beautiful post. Thanks for your thoughts...always evokes me to reflect.

    Would love to see a link to your audios here so I can 'click' and listen.

    love,
    tricia h,

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  2. Interesting thoughts. I will have to file them away for a while.

    When I began writing, I didn't think of myself as a songwriter. I wondered how many songs I'd have to create before I did. I don't know what the magic number turned out to be, but eventually the verb became a noun.

    Now I write more slowly and less often. This happened for many reasons, but one is that I feel less of a need to prove myself. After all, I'm already a songwriter, right?

    Maybe the noun needs to become a verb again.

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  3. Just found your blog and I'm really happy that I did...

    I'm a songwriter as well - and haven't yet connected with other songwriters out there in the www. But I'm starting to find a few! :)

    "Eventually the verb became a noun" - I totally get this. Totally totally. Looking forward to reading more from you.

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  4. I hear you sista and i want to hear more. a songwriter has his/her own language that only they know what they are saying. We are relatiing to every day life like everyone else and we are using every day words just much more transparent then the average non songwriter. we are simply walking you through lifein 3 verses or less

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  5. If you are enthusiastic about songwriting then you would be interesting in reading A Songwriter’s Marketing Strategy. Its all about songwriter's marketing strategy and more...

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  6. I love this post.

    "It reminds me that regardless of the quality of what I create, continuing to practically create something out of nothing is an act of faith, and that only good things can come from habitually taking creative action."

    That's a great reminder, and I benefit from it. Thank you!

    I've begun to launch a songwriting blog at www.nicholastozier.com/words

    Would you stop by and let me know what you think? :)

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  7. I really like this post, and I love what you say in it.

    I especially liked, "Once my creativity is free to act, instead of trying to carry the burden of my being, it's amazing what gets loosened up on the inside."

    It's very true. Whenever I say to myself "okay, I will create something profound and inspired," whatever I write/play comes out as crap.

    BUT, if I focus on other things, like all the things in my life I appreciate, and knowing that writing songs doesn't define who I am, something inside of me relaxes and I find little gems I can then expand upon.

    I can't wait to go back and read your earlier posts!

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  9. ma'am i adore your thought and ideas... may the lord help you in what goal you are setting right now. GBU.


    kindly visit my blog site at zeusandmusic.blogspot.com

    thanks

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  10. Well worded, poignant post...
    Just recently I have been asking again, "who am I?" and I find that all the answers that have any meaning are relational. And your post brought me back to how this plays out in my doing, my 'creating' etc.

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  13. I just started a blog called Pat Daddona's Songwriting Blog... It appears you haven't posted since 2009 but your words here are refreshing, I'd love to see you resume! check out my blog if you get a chance!

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