How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy

“Have you ever have an heard a song and responded to it?”

I am sure for most of us, the answer is yes. So that means you can write a song.

I know that you are probably thinking something like, “But I can’t sing”, “I don’t play an instrument” , or “I know nothing about music theory.”

Don’t let any of those things stop you. You have a better grasp of music than you might think.

“It’s like saying that if you’re not confident in your understanding of grammar, then you can’t talk or write a word.”

Jeff Tweedy of the band Wilco breaks it down for us in his new book. He gives us a few tips and tricks for getting the creative juices flowing. If you get the audio book version, not only does he narrates, but he even sings and plays guitar as he illustrates his process.

All it takes to write one song is a little bit of time.

“I think actually setting aside time to spend in the creative state – especially when I see how much time people spend on their phones – is something you can do every day. I think this suggestion is valuable even for people who juggle a mind‐numbing load of obligations, to their kids, to work, to whatever else is important in their life. Even if you can only find five minutes – it doesn’t take that long. It’s just a matter of telling yourself that your creation is OK, no matter what it is.”

And if you can’t find the time, maybe being creative this way is not something you really want to do.

“So if you’re doing something with your free time other than writing a song, it’s because you really don’t want to write a song.”

Why not give it a try and write a song?

“not knowing how to do something is a poor excuse not to try.”

So, grab a copy of this book, try the exercises and write one song. After that you can work on writing one more song.

Time to go write. I might write about this book some more soon. It’s very inspirational.

My List of 2021 Reads – my annual reading (b)log