From Solo Struggle to Collaborative Success
Remember that moment of vulnerability – sharing a nearly finished song idea with another human being? It can be daunting. But for me, it marked the beginning of a transformative journey. This journey, fueled by the power of co-writing, led me from solo struggles to the incredible achievement of becoming a Nashville staff writer with 200 published songs and countless collaborations.
Co-writing isn't just about throwing ideas around; it's a strategic partnership that unlocks creative potential you never knew existed.
Ready to unlock your songwriting potential? Explore ten compelling reasons why co-writing could be your key to creative breakthroughs.
The First Time
I remember the first time I ever co-wrote. It was after the first seminar at Write About Jesus, with some 150 registrants broken into twos and threes to spend half an hour of co-writing. Just to give it a go.
The first steps of sharing my ideas with someone else were not easy, but they ended up being the most important moments of my journey to getting signed as a staff songwriter in Nashville. And it’s taken me to co-write more times than I’d ever imagined I’d do, with 200 songs in my published catalog with Universal Music and 80 co-writers I love writing with.
What is the Magic of Co-writing?
Given that it’s become so key to my journey, what exactly is co-writing, and why is it so magical?
Co-writing simply refers to two or more songwriters - often each with complementary skill sets - teaming up to create songs collectively. Here’s what happens when you get into a writing room - physically or virtually:
You brainstorm concepts and titles together
You spend whatever time you need to write various sections solo initially before reconvening to share ideas
Then, debate what’s working, often iterating relentlessly, and mash-up various experiments until...
… Boom! Lightning strikes! And there it is in the form of a catchy chorus, slick rhymes, and unexpected instrumental effects, and a song is born.
And once you’ve tried this together, you realize that the impact of co-writing becomes so creative, so much fun, and it works that you’ll want to do it all over again.
Here are my top 10 benefits of co-writing.
Top 10 Benefits of Collaborative Songwriting
Here are ten top reasons why it’s important to co-write as songwriters and increase your creative output:
Breaking Out of Creative Ruts
Ever get stuck endlessly tweaking the same tired song ideas or feel too burnt out writing solo? Co-writing inserts spontaneous sparks, unexpected influences from multiple lenses, and constructive pressure testing, ensuring you don’t play it safe. Consider it the ultimate creative rut buster.
Road Testing Ideas
Every songwriter needs trusted collaborators to serve as sounding boards for ideas. Co-writers give you the instant confidence boost and constructive feedback loop to build upon fragments that excite while scrapping concepts that fall flat.
Gaining Fresh Perspectives
We all get trapped in our limited perspectives, seeing only our singular point of view. Invite co-writers from different backgrounds and genres who challenge assumptions on song structure, production norms, and topics. Let them expand the scope.
Learning Skills Quicker by Writing Up
Like a tennis player who sharpens skills rapidly by practicing against elite peers, enter every co-writing session ready to excel. This is what ‘writing up' is all about: spending time with someone who is more experienced than you are. Creating alongside gifted collaborators pushes us all to our creative limits quicker, absorbing their wisdom. It provides built-in support.
Playing to Strengths
Say you craft a killer vocal melodies but struggle with lyrics. Or complex chord changes come easily but building harmonies makes you cry. Co-writing allows playing to each writer’s inherent strengths and then fuse together our superpowers.
Experimenting New Genres
Feel creatively typecast, making the same style of music? Inviting a co-writer from a different genre background infuses radical new flavors. Fusing R&B + country, classical + hip hop, or pop + southern gospel can breed enthralling new territory.
Forging Lasting Friendships
Beyond creative chemistry, connecting regularly with other songwriters forms meaningful friendships, preventing the isolation of writing solo. Even online collaboration bonds artists globally. Plus, you never know what lifelong creative partnerships form.
Inserting Spontaneity & Happy Surprises
Co-writing yields countless unpredictable detours versus solo writing. You stumble upon hooks, harmonies, or production effects unintentionally through joking banter. Then, collectively, they realize it’s lighting in a bottle. Embrace deviation.
Motivating Through Accountability
Left solo without structure, it’s easy to procrastinate or slack on songwriting goals. But knowing you’ll be co-writing later that week, with eager collaborators expecting you to pull your weight and contribute ideas, provides healthy creative pressure.
Creating Synergy
Why do supergroups with established artists make stellar songs when their solo work pales in comparison? Creative synergy. The multiplicative power of radically distinctive talents harmoniously coming together fosters innovation. 1+ 1 = 3.
Final Bonus
Here’s a final bonus I realized about co-writing:
Boost Your Networks - With two people writing a cool song, this means twice the chance of getting your work cut. And that’s important given that 100,000 tracks get launched every day on streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and others.
If you want to know more about co-writing, see Part 4 of my book, The Organized Songwriter1, where I talk about how to organize co-writing. This also has a section on how to serve your co-writers, which is particularly fundamental in making it all work.
Aim: To best serve my co-writers, so we write the best song
In closing, take the leap and start inviting talented, trusted peers to co-write this month. Expect growing pains while establishing creative chemistry. But before long, you'll notice more inspired song ideas flowing faster by working in tandem versus solo. Savor this collaborative creative journey.
Questions
Here are a few questions for you:
What peers would make your dream co-writing team, and why? How could you move this team forward?
What resistance or fears currently hold you back from co-writing? What is worth stopping you from trying it?
Can you see the value of getting vulnerable and sharing unfinished, imperfect musical ideas with potential co-writers? Just give it a go!
Hope this helps!
Simon
The Organized Songwriter: How to Create Space to Write Your Best Songs by Simon Hawkins
While I've collaborated on some film and writing projects, I have not yet done so with my songwriting. It hasn't been a hi priority for me to date, though only due to creating the opportunity and determining who I might write with.
Although, maybe that is not exactly true. A few years ago a songwriter reached out to me with a couple stanzas and a musical idea. They had asked me to think about where a section of their song might go lyrically. I provided a couple lines - which they used when completing the song. I never considered it co-writing as there was nothing formalized about it and I never asked for credit for those lines.
I have some specific musical goals for this coming year. Perhaps selecting a couple of my songwriting friends - the ones who's work I particularly enjoy - and seeing if there is an interest in co-writing, is worth exploring. If for no other reason than to see what happens.