A E I O U and sometimes...

I wrote a song a couple years ago for my kids called "Starting Today". I was in the middle of a songwriting experiment to write/record and shoot a music video for an original song each week for a year.

Ambitious? 

Hell ya. In fact, after the 4th week of making mainly live videos with some text, I started to up the production value and try to best myself each week. 5 hours of work soon turned into 40 hours of work...all for a fun little project I thought of taking on. Along the way, I forgot to ask myself a very simple question.

I knew what I was doing. I knew where I was going to do it. I knew how I had to put it all together. The when was obvious because my deadline was seven days after the last one. The who...well...me of course. but the Why? Why this?

According to Simon Sinek, Why is the center of the "Golden Circle". The reason we get out of bed in the morning to do what we do. And in fact the majority of people focus primarily on the what, the when, the where and not the why. Think of the question when you first meet someone..
"So...What do you do?"

Simply changing the question to "Why do you do what you do?" creates an internal thought that can lead you to the center of your beliefs, and in truth can instigate a paradigm shift that changes the way you think about your world forever. And although that thought might scare some...it excited the hell out of me.

As a musician, there are many goals we set out to achieve. After the initial marriage with our instrument of choice, we fall in love with the idea of achieving something great with it. Someone in our past, close to us, tells us how good we are. That we could really succeed if only we (blank blank blank)...Oh, take your pick on the blanks.

"You should try out for THE VOICE, American Idol, America's got talent"
"Have you sent your stuff to radio?" I know a guy who knows the president of Sony Records"

Now don't get me wrong...these are good intentions, but sometimes I see other peoples "Why" trying to tell mine what to do, and a great deal (close to all) have not identified that very thing inside themselves. Over the years, parents have pushed their why's on their children instead of helping them find what makes them tick. "you should be a doctor...a lawyer...an accountant.

So where is my why, and what do I do to find it? 

Start from the inside out. Take a pen, a keyboard, a smart phone or an ipad and begin writing down the things you look forward to the most. Things you have found yourself doing when the clock doesn't even seem to exist. Sleep could be chasing you but your passion keeps you miles ahead of it. You know what I am speaking of...but if not...

Maybe it's writing a book, 

                              Or making a movie

  Playing an instrument

Creating something others just have to have  

Or maybe inspiring others to reach levels they never thought possible. 

For me, I revisit the thought of why I do what I do on any given day. I think of my kids and the hope that they will find a purpose at the core of their beliefs. I think back to the song that I wrote in the middle of my challenge and it all seems a little clearer.

Till next time...


North Easton is an award winning songwriter who has composed more than 1000 songs and collaborated with artists all over Canada. His songs have been played on radio, t.v. and in independent films across the country. With 5 full length albums (Garrity and My Favourite Tragedy) including a completely original christmas album, North continues to write daily in search of the hooks that not only are timeless, but get stuck like gum on the shoe of your brain and never let go. (read more)

CONNECTIONS - OTTAWA REGIONAL WRITERS GROUP (session one recap)

Thank you to all who attended our first session of the Ottawa Regional Writers Group.
Below is a recap and itinerary of some of the things we discussed.

ITINERARY

The Mission - The S.A.C. Regional Writers Group Program is designed to provide members who live in all areas of the country with a series of specific songwriting lessons and a network of fellow writers, lyricists and composers. The program is also designed to keep members informed about issues and changes in the music industry, while establishing unity among songwriters everywhere.

What to Expect from ORWG : 

~ Collaboration Opportunities

~ Lesson Plans

~ Guest Speakers

~ Sharing of contacts, networks, information pertaining to the writing process from the beginning of an idea to the full production and promotion of material.

~ Monthly challenges to increase writing skills

~ Performance and critique from fellow writers (P.A. provided)

~ Additional Resources and lending library (for S.A.C. members) 

This sessions topic was all about Connections. 

CONNECTIONS WITH EACH OTHER - 2 min Introductions - 

Each attendee introduced themselves and talked about their experience. We also shared thoughts on what each member was looking for from the group. Please keep in mind, that writers off all experiences are welcome in this group. Even if you are just interested in writing for the first time, or have won awards, you can benefit from the Regional Writers Group.

CONNECTIONS WITH YOUR INNER WRITER - 

Writing from the heart (songs that have to come out..raw)

Crafting a song 

alternate methods of inspiration

the process

structures

rhyming schemes

chord progressions

literary terms (metaphors, similes, alliteration, personification etc.)

tapping into the senses

*We will continue to touch on all of these topics as the upcoming months unfold.

  

CONNECTIONS WITH THE MUSIC INDUSTRY - (we spoke briefly about)

T.V. and Film. Other artists singing your songs. Radio play. Mentorship and connecting with other successful people in the industry. Recording studios vs home studios. Stage performance and more.

*This will be a topic that will continually be spoken about at each session as interest levels increase. 

CONNECTIONS WITH THE FANS - 

Social Media (youtube, facebook, twitter, sound cloud, reverb nation, blogging, website etc)

At a live show 

Email campaigning

The good ole telephone

Skype

Snail Mail

4. SONGWRITING CHALLENGE - One of the primary goals of this group is to encourage the writing of songs, so, each month, we will put forth a songwriting challenge to share at the next session we have. Being that this first session was all about connecting, we have chosen this broad topic of our first songwriting challenge. 

Examples:

Writing about someone you just met or someone you are going to meet.

That look you share across a room with a stranger 

(interest, flirting, challenge, someone that just rubs you the wrong way)

Connections within the world (a story song about people who may have connected along the way…a firefighter rescuing someone to a faithful companion who never leaves your side. )

You could write about something that connects people, like a book that has passed through the hands of many and the impact it has had on each one. 

People who have shared in a common event (from the extreme, like a car crash - to the witnessing of a baby being born..anything goes)  

The intention is to get the creative juices flowing, providing a goal or a deadline to encourage more songwriting action. Do what you can, a verse, a chorus, a bridge if you so desire…and challenge yourself to do something no matter what. 

You may perform this live at our next session, or make a recording to be played in the room in the event you would rather not perform. 

If at any time throughout the month you have any questions about songwriting, the group or the challenge set forth...please feel free to email me directly.

CLICK HERE TO EMAIL NORTH

I look forward to everyones challenge, and spread the word to other writers you know and encourage them to join the Ottawa Regional Writers Group. 

Till next time. 

North Easton

THE NEXT SESSION is November 25th from 7pm-9:30pm at the Sandy Hill Community Centre

North Easton is an award winning songwriter who has composed more than 1000 songs and collaborated with artists all over Canada. His songs have been played on radio, t.v. and in independent films across the country. With 5 full length albums (Garrity and My Favourite Tragedy) including a completely original christmas album, North continues to write daily in search of the hooks that not only are timeless, but get stuck like gum on the shoe of your brain and never let go. (read more)