THE WAY I MENTOR

Let’s say you’ve been reading books, staring at Pinterest and Instagram posts, while simultaneously watching YouTube videos on songwriting tips to improve your skills. Stick with me on this simple analogy: picture yourself wanting to learn skydiving. Your instructor has you out on the tarmac in front of the airplane where he discusses the main parachute, your reserve, and the handles you use to deploy your canopy. He also throws around words like altitude, altimeters, and how to properly strap on your helmet. He describes in detail the thrill of jumping out of the plane and precisely the best moment to pull your chute to land safely on solid ground. But instead of everyone loading up in the plane and flying off into the friendly skies for the jump of your life, you all shake hands, get in your car and drive home dreaming about how great it would be to go skydiving one day. That’s what reading about songwriting is like to me.

While this information is obviously extremely valuable, a good songwriting mentor will spend most of their time with you at 9,000 feet, guiding you down until you’re both doing high fives on the ground shouting, “That was awesome! Let’s do it again!” They’ll repeat this process until the songwriting mentor is replaced by the confidence of the student taking that brave tumble into the unknown of creativity solo. After writing thousands of songs, I can honestly tell you that my songwriting improved the most when I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by more experienced co-writers who by default became my mentors. Some would freely share their insight, but most I learned from by simply paying close attention. Had I found this opportunity earlier, I could have shaved off years of the learning curve and bad mistakes that made a majority of my earlier songs fall short.

This is why, as a songwriting coach, the purpose-driven learning process is the best and most honest way to teach songwriting so it actually sticks around to be useful for years to come. Working with a songwriting mentor who constantly helps you create content—an essential practice in this world of social media as you work towards your first release—provides the best arena for mastering the craft of songwriting.

PICKING YOUR SONGWRITING MENTOR WISELY

Don’t get me wrong, anytime you are in the pursuit of learning how to write better songs with anyone, you are bound to become a better songwriter. That being said, finding a dedicated songwriting coach who consistently teaches songwriting with some methodology that has been proven to give good results and truly enjoys coaching is crucial. Pay close attention to that “truly enjoys coaching” part. It’s also important to find a mentor who has lived the experience of writing and singing songs that have secured record deals, knows the ups and downs of live performance and touring, and understands the realities of navigating publishing deals. It certainly doesn’t hurt if they’ve had plenty of major and independent artists record their songs but still find inspiration from all the artists who pass on their songs. Remember though, there are some super gifted successful songwriters out there, but that doesn’t always translate into being a good mentor. I would also take pause with mentors who spend the lion's share of their efforts critiquing. Critique and criticism are certainly different words, but the lines are easily blurred, and without the proper time and energy to give positive options to implement to improve upon your songwriting, it can sometimes do more damage than good. Emotional support and networking opportunities that don’t lead to dead ends are also a huge benefit of picking the right mentor. The music industry is constantly shifting below our feet. What worked a few years ago might not be relevant today. Mentors who are actively involved in the industry, constantly working with independent artists, can offer insights into the current trends and technologies that might work for you and the knowledge to pass on the ones that won’t. There’s also the issue of honesty and integrity, which, let’s face it, doesn’t always pass with flying colors in this business we call music. I recommend you always do your research and work with positive songwriting mentors who provide a safe and healthy environment that is overly transparent. The long road home, which should not be overlooked, is to slowly nibble around the edges by persuading some talented folks willing to be a mentor even if the time they’re willing to give you is inconsistent. But at the same time, a much smarter move would be investing in yourself by working with a qualified and experienced mentor who always shows up and can save you years of time, energy, and ultimately money.