Willa Magland

Five Observations from a Beginner Songwriter

Posted Mar 31, 2025

1. My music sucks, and that's okay.

The whole reason I decided to begin songwriting was because of a website I stumbled upon in January 2024. It was a manifesto for "Crap Art," a movement asserting that the creation of art is of greater importance than its consumption. The whole thing was very empowering to me, and helped me see beyond the barrier of elitism that we are brought up to believe about art.

Sure, my music might suck, but does that matter? At the end of the day, I created something with my own hands, and maybe even learned a little about myself.

2. Copying things is inevitable.

I think about music all the time, so it's no surprise that it would color my songwriting. Every song I've written so far sounds like another song, and that's okay. After all, the Monkees released "Last Train to Clarksville." But I guess copying the Beatles was their whole shtick, so that's a bad example.[1]

3. Actually START by copying things!

Going off of the above, one useful tool I've discovered is to begin with a melody in my head, and then try and recreate it on the guitar. Because I suck at guitar, I'll come up with something completely different, which develops into a unique melody of my own.

4. Sometimes it just doesn't happen.

When I sit down with the guitar, I might write a song in fifteen minutes. Other times, I don't. That's just how it is, better luck tomorrow!

5. Truth???

The most difficult roadblock is when I'm writing lyrics and I ask myself, "do I actually believe this?" I don't have an answer for this problem, because I think it depends. I don't want to make art that I don't believe in, but at the same time that's a very obstructive standard. I'll update this post once I've thought about it more. What do you think?

Best,

Willa

  1. I am also comforted by my observations that a huge amount of what the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Dylan did was simply copying Chuck Berry. ↩ī¸Ž

Current Status ☕