On songwriting 12 Why do you write songs?

One of the big benefits of taking time off, is the time to reflect. Time to take distance from everything you do and kind of look at it with a fresh eyes. When I set out to write 52 songs in 52 weeks, obviously I had concerns. I never wanted the songwriting to turn into a chore, where I need to write songs only for the sake of writing songs. I wanted the songs to come to me, I wanted to be the vessel between the songs and the world we live in. I know that sounds bit spiritual in a way, but I strongly believe I should never see the songs as something that I created. In away this approach keeps me much more grounded. I write these songs to tell stories, to me people think, not to raise my self up on a pedestal.

I think the reason behind your songwriting is very important. If you write songs to become famous, I doubt there will be much depth in them. But if you write for the people, you in away remove your self from it. This does not mean you should not write from your heart, or from your own experiences. This means you should stay true to the reason why you write music in the first place.

Music in my mind should not be an egotistic thing, it should be a means to communicate, to tell stories and connect with people. And you as a songwriter should feel privileged to be able to share your music with people. Without them you are nothing more than a lonely soul writing music to your self. To put it into other words, your music is just a hobby that never leaves your bedroom.

So I ask you, why do you write songs?

J.P.

The author J.P. Kallio is a singer songwriter
To get EIGHT of his songs for free go HERE