You might still be recovering from your more-than-plentiful plate during Thanksgiving dinner, but I’m recovered enough to throw a little thanks towards my world of songwriting.
1. Thanks for the songs that still come if I sit down and play.
Even though I haven’t been writing as much on this blog, I’m happy to say that I’m writing as much as I ever have — and more over the past few months than I had been during the months prior to that. Thanks to some self-imposed and other-imposed deadlines, I’ve been committed to sitting down, picking up my guitar or sitting down at the keyboard and just making it happen. I’ve even been lucky enough to have a few songs that I ended up loving even when I thought nothing would come at all. Truly grateful!
2. Thanks for the opportunity to record my original tunes in a way that makes me sound better than I really do.
In early November, I recorded three tunes in New York City at the studio of a wonderful engineer named Mark Dann who I’ve worked with many times before (and has worked with dozens, no, hundreds, of artists in every musical genre). Two were the results of last year’s Songwriting Scene challenges (the “Days of the Week” challenge and the “Love Song” challenge). The result is a digital EP I call “Three Sun Songs,” which you can check out and download at sharongoldman.bandcamp.com. Mark used his recording magic and helped me sound shiny and pretty. What more could I ask for when it comes to recording my own songs?
3. Thanks for the new songwriter friends I’ve made over the past year.
One of the best parts about writing songs, I’ve found, is the wonderful community of songwriters around the country and around the world. I count many songwriters I’ve met over the past year as my new friends, that I’ve met through the many songwriting retreats, conferences, groups and events I have attended and even through this blog. I’m surrounded by many, many talented and inspirational friends these days!
4. Thanks for a songwriting future that seems limitless.
When I first started songwriting, I often got the feeling that I had reached my limit in terms of what I could accomplish songwriting-wise. If I wrote a good song, I thought, “Well, surely that’s the last good thing I’ll ever write,” or “I’ll never write anything better than that, so why keep trying?” These days, songwriting feels much freer, with fewer limits. I’m excited to write in different styles, to sing in different ways, to express different feelings and attack different topics. There’s so much left to write and, if I’m really, really lucky, lots of time left to write it!
5. Thanks SO much to all of you who read these songwriting musings.
Few things give me as much of an excited rush as when I get a little e-mail saying someone has commented on one of my blog posts. I do a little happy dance every time it happens. Thank you so much again for your support of this blog and for sharing your thoughts, your expertise and your suggestions!
What are you thankful for, songwriting-wise, this year? And…have a happy holiday season, hopefully filled with creative thoughts and actions!
