Why We Do What We Do

Yesterday I reported to all of you about Tiffany's presentation, but I wanted to mention something she spoke of before she shared her 5 tips.  She talked about WHY we do what we do as songwriters.  She said something that really changed her focus in her work was when she came up with a vision.  Her vision in creating music is to, "Inspire others to find happiness and purpose".

I agree with Tiffany, having a vision for whatever it is you may be doing can make all the difference. I am apart of a band called One Horizon.  When Tiffany shared her vision I was reminded of the vision we have as a band.  We seek to Enjoy, Uplift and Become as we share our music.  We even got our graphic designer, Michelle Stott, to come up with beautiful word art that captures our vision.

As the author of this blog I find myself asking, "why do I write for this blog?"  The answer comes as another vision or mission statement:

"I want to connect with other songwriters and artists worldwide, encouraging each other to write good music and create good art."

What about you?  What do you do?  Have you ever decided to make a mission statement for what you do?  If so, please share.  I would love to be inspired by you and your vision. 

Here is a video that One Horizon put together to uplift others during the Christmas season.

Passion for Songwriting

When Tiffany Alvord shared her "Sing Your Story" presentation, she gave 5 tips on how to write songs that would be meaningful and relatable to others.

1.  Be Authentic

2.  Write the Truth

3.  Fill your life with joy and gratitude

4.  Follow your intuition

5.  Co-Write

She shared songs from her youtbue station to go with each point as examples.  I have included the song "Authenticty" from her station to go with the first tip.  I LOVE the tip she shared!!  Sharing my inner voice through songwriting is not an easy thing to do, but I want to keep trying and she inspired me to keep going.  One thing she mentioned was how being passionate is one of the most fulfilling parts of writing music.

I am very passionate about music and I have always loved creative writing.  It was not until around 4 years ago that I discovered I could merge the two loves together in the form of songwriting.  Ever since then this has become my passion.  It drives me forward and lifts me to greater heights.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to experience something in life that is so challenging yet energizing.  I hope all of you will continue writing and soak in the wonderful experience songwriting can be.

So, what are some of the things you are passionate about?  I would love to know.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more songwriting conference detail. Until then... HAPPY SONGWRITING!!!

Minutes to Spare

Traveling from out of state, to go to the "Big Door" songwriting conference, was not easy for me as I really can't stand driving long distance, but I made it to the conference with a few minutes to spare.  Lucky me I had to go to the bathroom once I got there and the bathrooms happened to be directly behind the presentation.  I had to wait behind the MC (who, of course, was being videotaped), and did not make it back to my seat until she had competed the introductions.  I was happy to find a seat next to an amazing, very genuine up and coming young artist named Whitney Lusk.  If you would like to take a look at some of her work click on the link below.  I was so impressed with her artistry as well as her sincere, down-to-earth personality, that I wanted to make her the focus of today's post.

It is late and I really must get to bed, but I plan to write more posts, in the coming days, to fill in the details of the conference so please continue to stay tuned.  :)

"Big Door Weekend"

I just attended another song writing conference this weekend.  This time I went to Provo, Utah to a place called "Big Door"(http://www.bigdoornetwork.com/talent-booking/).  I learned so much from the presenters as well as a personal feedback session from some professionals in the music business.  Songwriting conferences are so incredibly helpful to the art of songwriting!!!  Overall, I am just really excited and motivated about putting more effort into all of the musical opportunities I have dabbled in, including this blog.  Stay tuned for more posts.

Here is to happy songwriting.  :)