intimate and personal situation inspiring the songs .
That ’ s funny to me , because I ’ ve been around a lot of songwriters who want to write songs that profoundly affect people … and yet they avoid the very circumstances in which affecting songs tend to materialize . They avoid listening to the little moments and finding the magic in the mundane all around them . They can become so globally-minded and market-driven that they become unmoored . Untethered to the specific experiences of humanity so common to great inspiration .
That ’ s how we end up with the bland songs . The ones that feel like they were written by committee , and lack any particular , specific human touch . fast enough . He said that we should be to the chorus by the 45 second point . I asked why and he said , “ That ’ s just how it ’ s done .”
He ’ s not even a songwriter , but that ’ s the radiodriven model he ’ s embodied to the point of imposing needless limitations on other people ’ s creative expression .
It ’ s a shame . Everyone else was really connecting with the song , but he was coming with all these preconceptions of rules and formulas which ruined that rehearsal .
And the thing is , we don ’ t need more cookiecutter songs . We need more peculiar and distinctive songs .
We need specific songs . remember these things here and now .
There is such a need for comfort . Not just for “ them ,” but for us as songwriters .
In times such as these , I would think that any worship artist who wants to bring that comfort and peace to the people engaged with his / her work must be writing with specificity — from their own context and relationships .
When you comfort a friend , you speak to them specifically . You work with what you know about them , drawing from who you are to meet them where they are . Earnestly , and without pretense . You ’ re intentional for the sake of meaning and connection . And when you look to comfort yourself , you reach for what genuinely works for you .
I know good musicians who treat songwriting as something you just schedule in a sterile office . Always with a collaborator who is equally committed to writing for writing ’ s sake , and regardless of any inspiring or motivating event .
Thus , a lot of writers come to the table with a what but not a why . They know what they want to do — they want to produce a song — but they aren ’ t cultivating a reason why . They aren ’ t focused on the things which motivate meaningful art . Nothing is driving them beyond the desire to have written something . So the craft becomes this sort of clinical exercise , and it can feel so lifeless .
I once brought a new song to a worship rehearsal , and as I was teaching it to the band , the other guitarist said it didn ’ t get to the chorus
Specificity is the path to transcendence . Real and personal work is the way to connect more broadly — and even if that doesn ’ t happen , at least you end up with a catalog that actually means something to you .
A consumer culture can easily influence the church and its artists . We might begin to view worship artistry as something to be quickly consumed and discarded .
It doesn ’ t have to be that way .
Everything I ’ m saying here stands as a relevant point to make at any time , I think . But as I see what ’ s transpiring in our world , and how much grief and uncertainty is being carried by so many of the people in our respective orbits , it becomes all the more important to me that we
Shouldn ’ t your songs be the same way ?
Before any notion of your songs being sung on the other side of the country or world , have you first tried writing for where you are and who you ’ re with ? Not everything is for everywhere , but the songs which end up seeming like they are , tend to start smaller . They don ’ t start with everywhere in mind . They start with somewhere .
If the prompt is to write something comforting , don ’ t approach that prompt with a posture of “ what will comfort all the people I don ’ t know ,” but start instead with a posture of “ what comforts me .”
Then be specific .
Kevin MacDougall Worship leader , published and recorded songwriter , musician and podcast producer . macdougall . k @ gmail . com