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0152 - Letter To A Young Songwriter - 1,000,000 words by @visakanv

visakanv.com · 1,926 words · saved by 1 readers

When I was a teenager, I’d play bass in bands, sing horribly and toy with the idea of being a songwriter. This is a letter I wish somebody had written to me when I was 17. Notice I didn’t say ‘aim to be great,’ or ‘just have fun’. Both of those are stupid directives, because they’re overly vague. And trust me, the two most frustrating things you can get caught up in are “Will I be great? Am I good enough?” and “Am I having fun?” You have a far greater shot at tasting greatness and fun if you simply write as much as you possibly can, and then some. You might think that you ought to try to write the best song that you possibly can, but you’d be wrong. That’s actually a trap that you should try your hardest to avoid, especially when you’re just starting out. Why? Because your concept of ‘best’ is a work-in-progress and a moving target. Why spend a year working on writing the best song you can, when you could instead spend a year improving your idea of what makes a song great? You don’t ac

When I was a teenager, I’d play bass in bands, sing horribly and toy with the idea of being a songwriter. This is a letter I wish somebody had written to me when I was 17. Strive to be prolific. Notice I didn’t say ‘aim to be great,’ or ‘just have fun’. Both of those are stupid directives, because they’re overly vague. And trust me, the two most frustrating things you can get caught up in are “Will I be great? Am I good enough?” and “Am I having fun?” You have a far greater shot at tasting greatness and fun if you simply write a

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