How to Write 49 Songs in 2015

Inspiration is a Precious Gift

Inspiration is an elusive beast.  When you have it, act on it.  You can't bottle it up and you can only hold on to it about as well as you can hold a pint of water in your bare hands.  Eventually it will slip away.  Being told I've inspired someone is one of my favorite things to hear, because I endlessly value inspiration and the motivation to create.   

Jason Ward's Music Software Training Will Inspire You

I've been reading Music Software Training since before I began writing my own blog about 4 years ago.  It's one of the reasons I decided to start writing my own.  First I was drawn in by tutorials on using Ableton Live, but more and more, I've been inspired by Jason's writing on creativity and productivity.  I'm pretty sure he and I are reading some of the same books (The War of Art!  :) Even though some of the messages are familiar to me, it never hurts to hear them again and through a different set of eyes. 

Words of Wisdom

Jason's latest post is about how he wrote 49 songs this year.  That's about a song a week! What I really like about his story is that he admits it was hard as hell!  He details the ups and downs.  The emotional setbacks are countered with some of his achievements, but he is quick to remind us that the achievements are the product of over 10 years of work.  He then boils his experience down to a few key tips we can all learn from.  Here are a few:

Make music everyday... The parts of songwriting that cause a lot of stress now will almost become automatic over the first couple of months. 

Borrow ideas from everywhere... Just like with cooking, find great recipes and put your own unique twist on it. Everybody does it. Don’t ever feel like you are cheating. You are cheating yourself if you close the doors to daily inspiration.

Hire a coach – Nobody makes it on their own... Always think of ways to better yourself & your performance in as many areas of your life as possible. Sorting out life can make you far more [creative] & can help you free up time you didn’t even know you had.

Take Action!

There's really a treasure trove of helpful and inspiring information on Music Software Training.  There's even a lot of great tools and tutorials.  My advice: check out his site, subscribe to his mailing list, and most importantly: Get to Work!