A songwriting process is defined as “… a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end,” the end of course being the completion of a song.

Songs are what makes the global music industry go round and the more that songwriters are empowered and educated about their own brand of songwriting process, the better off the music business will be.

How you write your songs, from the initial spark of a songwriting idea to the final stroke of your pen, all comes down to how you work your songwriting process.

Now, there are as many variations to the songwriting process are there are songwriters in the world as the songwriting process is a very individual thing however, I believe there are five main pillars to a songwriting process and how those pillars are handled is dependent on the individual songwriter.

Your songwriting process will depend on your handling of these five pillars creating the foundation of your songwriting process.

Pillar #1 – YOU! The Songwriter
This pillar deals with the songwriter, what goes on between the ears and the environment they choose to work in because A song can’t be written if you’re not there to write it.

A songwriter’s process always starts with their state of mental physical and spiritual health. A good state of health means a healthy output of songs.

Pillar #2 – The Foundation
Any creation requires a process to allow it to happen. This pillar is all about the creation of the the foundation/process to gain opportunities for inspiration/work on creating a song. It’s important to create the right environment to be open to songwriting ideas as they spring up at anytime.

Pillar #3 – The Creation
This Pillar is all about the actual writing of the song from a songwriting idea to a first draft completion. It’s all about the creation of something from nothing. A song can be created from a number of means either individually or together at the same time.

Pillar #4 – The Revision
This pillar is all about the song revision process. Once a song is written is it the end of the process? No.

Good songwriters will revise and rewrite their song to make sure that the song is the best it can be. They will also know when it’s time to stop revising and start finishing. This is where the inner critic can form a positive role within the songwriting process.

Pillar #5 – The Business
This section is all about the business of songwriting. What will be the reason for the song’s existence? Is it to be played at gigs? Is it for another artist? Is it a therapeutic/cathartic experience or, is it a stepping stone to the next song?

All intentions for the end result are valid and need to be taken into consideration as part of the songwriting process.

If you pay attention to these five things you’ll find that you’ll be a more productive, efficient, creative and self aware songwriter.

You’ll finish more songs than you start and you’ll not be afraid of songwriters block, procrastination or your inner critic, whichever comes first.

This blog will cover all of the many facets of these five pillars through created and curated content. If you have any questions you want answered regarding your songwriting process or, you have your own experiences you want to share please let me know, I’d love to hear from you about this all important aspect of songwriting

Until next time, keep on writing,

Corey Stewart
All About Songwriting