by Kathy Unruh
If you're a singer then you've probably experienced the wonderful satisfaction that comes when you finally finish a song. You may feel as if you've done something very interesting, something meaningful. At the same time, the result is often a desire, almost a necessity to share the song you wrote with others. That is, until you realize there is a certain degree of risk if you do. And if you do not like? Are you willing to be vulnerable and take the risk?
When you put your heart and soul into a song it becomes very important to you. The last thing you want for your song to be considered negligible. After all, it might be revealed some very personal aspects of your life, things that have hurt, or that have changed.
As a composer, you probably discovered that writing is a way to release the repressed emotions inside you. There is a freedom that comes from singing the words that will probably never be able to speak. What joy! What liberation! Sometimes you want to sing from the rooftops for the whole world to hear! But I ask again, what if you do not like?
Being a songwriter is not easy. It requires a willingness to be vulnerable. It requires a willingness to be misunderstood and derided. It requires a willingness to be exposed for others to criticize and judge. Are you willing to do? Is it worth it?
It means that the word vulnerable "probability of being injured or wounded, open to criticism, open to attack."
There have been times when I was an audience where I struggled to hold back tears as she sang a song I wrote. The words hit me like a ton of bricks and I wonder what in the world, I sing about these things with strangers. They do not know me. They do not care what I experienced. Remember that I thought she was dead and buried will rise to the surface as if they happened yesterday. These experiences often leave me feeling overwhelmed and vulnerable.
There have been other times, however, when I had to sing with all my strength just to get people to listen. It 'almost as if I'm not even there. People talk, move, maybe even bored. This can be very frustrating and humiliating for a songwriter to say the least.
Then there is always the tendency of men that people have been comparing your songs, your voice, your guitar playing, or something else, with someone who has heard before. Once, after I had just finished playing the guitar piece written by Bach, someone said something like, "sounds so good and beautiful and just this piece, is not it?" You can imagine how that made me feel ...
But you know what I learned? Being a successful songwriter is not only what people think or say. Although you may have a desire for music to be appreciated by others, not necessarily the bottom line. This became clearer to me when I watched the Olympics recently. These athletes have spent years of their lives training for this special event. They want a chance to win a gold medal for their country. They want the chance to show the world are the best. But while it may indeed be the best, something unexpected happens and dreams are suddenly dashed. This means that they are the most gifted athlete we thought were there? It does not mean they have nothing to offer?
Yes, of course not! Still have much to offer. In fact, they have never won the analysis further in what they are and what they do because they have experienced a loss. This can also give them an advantage in future competitions, or if they are teaching skills to others. The bottom line is true that this is a first athlete. Who's who and what they are.
Similarly, you're a songwriter. You are who you are and do what you do, because this is your interest, your passion. So take a lesson from Olympian and do everything in your being. Being the best you can be. Listen to constructive criticism, but it can help. Discard the rest.
I noticed that when I really put everything I have to sing a song I wrote, I usually get a better response from the public. And 'as if they were able to identify with me and feel what I feel. Perhaps they have experienced similar pain, joy or beauty in their lives when they can identify. Whenever that happens, I know it was worth the risk of becoming vulnerable to public opinion. But why do not you? Are you ready to become a songwriter also vulnerable?
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