Songwriting: Capturing the Collective Consciousness
How to channel your creativity and self expression to capture your best work.
“Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There's not some trick involved with it. It's pure and it's real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things.” - Tom Petty
Channeling your creativity and self expression through songwriting takes appreciation and acceptance of a process that is hard to fully comprehend.
Songwriting is a mystery to most, even those who do it regularly. I have heard artists describe melodies or lyrics coming to them seemingly out of nowhere. The simplest way I can think to describe it is that songwriting is the manifestation of ideas, thoughts and feelings through an artist.
There are stories as old as time that follow similar patterns and archetypes. This is because everyone living in our universe is having a shared experience. Collective consciousness is defined as a set of shared beliefs, ideas, and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society. I believe music captures this collective consciousness and it’s the reason we all connect and as Tom Petty said, heal and communicate, through music. This is why some describe concerts as a ‘religious’ experience. There’s something deeper.
Now, to pull it back from the deep and abstract descriptions, I want to focus on three pillars of channeling creativity and self expression: awareness, empathy, and detachment.
Awareness
In quoting one of the greatest songwriters of modern times, I also wanted to quote one of the greatest producers. Below is an excerpt from Rick Rubin’s “The Creative Act: A Way of Being”:
“The gift of awareness allows us to notice what’s going on around and inside ourselves in the present moment. And to do so without attachment or involvement. We may observe bodily sensations, passing thoughts and feelings, sounds or visual cues, smells and tastes.
[…] We can expand our awareness and narrow it, experience it with our eyes open or closed. We can quiet our inside so we can perceive more on the outside, or quiet the outside so we can notice more of what’s happening inside.
We can zoom in on something so closely it loses the features that make it what it appears to be, or zoom so far out it seems like something entirely new. ”
The key to awareness is clearing your mind. John Feldmann told me he would spend hours on his Vespa riding all over LA and this is where some of his best ideas or guitar riffs would come from. Many artists benefit from meditation, yoga, or working out. Whatever you need to do to clear your mind; do it.
Your primary goal is escaping the noise and distraction of everyday life. Take a break from social media or reading the news. Turn your phone off and go for a hike. Go for a late night drive with the windows down. If your environment is distracting or you have a lot going on in life you may benefit from changing locations entirely - take a weekend vacation to a nearby city.
Sitting in the studio may be the most convenient place to think of new ideas, but inspiration can strike anywhere. One strategy for still capturing these ideas while being away from your instrument or your recording equipment is to carry a small notebook with you or to hum a riff or melody into a voice memo on your phone.
Empathy
Empathy is truly placing yourself in someone else’s shoes. When you are looking for inspiration it can be helpful to explore other creative works such as a movie, tv show or even a theatrical play. Once you establish the ability to be aware and simply observe, you can go a step deeper by deploying empathy.
As you watch a movie, try to channel the main characters emotions and understand their decision making. Think about what their wildest dreams might look like and what their worst fears may feel like.
If you’re looking for a more personal approach, think of a close friend or family member. Recall the happiest memory you have with them or perhaps a tragedy that has impacted them. Write down a list of words or phrases attached to the feelings or thoughts you think they may have experienced. Describe the story in just 3-4 sentences. You now have the basis for a new song.
Looking to go a step deeper? Try this exercise with yourself. Chances are you have already done this, perhaps without even knowing it.
Music can be a form of therapy. When processing these memories or emotions, especially when they feel heavy, remember to have patience and compassion for yourself. Even processing someone else’s experiences can be a draining experience. Let the emotions flow freely, don’t filter them or push back, but also give yourself time to recoup after diving in deep.
Detachment
What may seem like a reversal, our third and final pillar of channeling creativity and self expression is detachment. When channeling awareness, our goal is to be the observer and to not get too involved. Allowing yourself to remain in the moment takes a level of detachment.
When we get attached to ideas, feelings or even objects, we can lose our primary focus. Have you ever grown attached to an item that you lost? What about an intro that got cut for a demo or a song that doesn’t make the record? Maybe it’s a guitar that you track all your songs on or a lucky mic that you left at home. Take a step back and remember that art is best when it flows freely.
When ideas are being generated in the studio or critiques are being given, remember not to take anything personally. This is remaining detached. A judgement of a drum fill or a bass riff is not a judgement of you. Everyone is collectively in pursuit of the best idea, not your idea.
How can artists boost their creativity?
Artists can boost their creativity by writing regularly. One exercise is commonly referred to as a song a day. This exercise involves create a whole or partial song each day and recording a demo. This can be a verse, chorus and bridge or you can write the whole thing front to back.
Another element that can and should be incorporated is co-writing. The best producers are often great songwriters so you will often find yourself co-writing in the studio, but remember to get together with other songwriters outside the studio. Don’t write with the sole intention of putting the song on a record, use co-writing as a means of exploring new ideas.
Try writing in the style of another artist or band. Remember to imitate, not copy. Chord progressions cannot be copyrighted, so you can take the chord progression from one song and write a new chorus over. If you are doing this, it can help to change the key of the song to keep yourself from falling into patterns of the original song.
Ultimately, you want to learn how to never run out of new ideas. Remaining aware, deploying empathy and remaining detached can allow you to jump from one idea to another.