Singer vs Songwriter

Are you a Singer or a Songwriter?

If you are a singer do you need to be a songwriter? The terms do go hand in hand, for a reason. But is it necessary to actually write your own songs? Obviously you do not have to. There are MANY singers out there that do not write their own songs, and depend on professional writers to come up with songs for them. Also there is nothing wrong with not wanting to write your own songs. But I like to open a dialogue and find out why singers don’t at least try to write their own songs.

Why Should You Write Songs?

I’ve discovered in my many conversations with singers, there is one main reason singers don’t write original songs. A lot of people are afraid of putting their feelings out ‘there’. They don’t want to be judged by what they feel and what they write. They don’t want people thinking that what they wrote is actually about them (think Taylor Swift) or that they are a terrible writer. It’s hard enough being a good singer without the judgment of being a good writer as well. I totally get this!

I Challenge You... to write songs

But I am here to challenge you to write songs, for this one reason. I feel that as a gigging singer, you are out on the ‘road’ singing the same songs night after night. Sometimes those songs become difficult to sing because you may not connect as emotionally to the song as you could, if you had written it, or at least been a part of the writing team. Taking time to be a part of the writing process means that the song has some sort of emotional impact to YOU. You helped come up with those ideas, you helped come up with the guitar chords or the cool rhyme scheme. It’s a part of you. So if you have sung this song 295 times, you can still find passion for the lyric, the vibe, the emotion, and then your audience feels that as well.

There are many other reasons to start your songwriting journey, this is just one. And I challenge you to at least try and see where it takes you.