Reflections from the Art House North Songwriter Workshop {New Music Monday}

The Art House North is located in a beautiful, cozy old church. The sanctuary, now used for concerts, plays, and general artistic inspiration, is surrounded by stained-glass windows and lined with church pews, faded but comfortable from their years of good use. The wood floors creak a little bit under pressure, but their whispers mean that people are gathering together. I felt welcome at the Art House North from the moment I entered the building. Even the smells felt homey: chicken pot pie cooking in the basement and coffee brewing in pots both upstairs and down.

Those of you who know me well know that I like to take notes. I’ve learned over the years not to be quite as prolific in my note-taking; if I don’t slow down, I tend to miss more than I take in. I took notes during the Songwriter Workshop, but I tried to only write down the main points or the ideas that meant the most to me as an artist. The workshop included three speakers: Sara Groves (who manages Art House North with her husband), Christa Wells, and Joel Hanson. They all had insightful things to say about their own writing experiences, as well as helpful advice to give to us songwriters. Here are a few things I’d like to remember and apply to my creative work. Quotes indicate that I wrote down the note word-for-word.

From Christa’s talk: The Artist & Resilience

“You are not dead yet,” and “You are not too late for your life.”

Resilience, a definition: living and acting in response to the question, “What will I make with what I’ve been given?”

To keep going in the face of trials requires courage, confidence, and competence.

One song doesn’t tell the whole story; rather, each song continues the story. You don’t have to, or musn’t, put ‘all your eggs in one basket.’

Know your why. Your why isn’t a list of goals, but is one overriding purpose, a mission statement for your artistic work. Your mission statement can change.

Borrow joy from your past if you can’t find it in your present; reflect on God’s faithfulness.

Sara: Songwriter Toolbox & Look Look Again

God is an ocean, not a cup.

Don’t edit yourself; tell the truth. “Bear witness to the whole thing.”

You’re not creating out of nothingness, you’re creating a mosaic of things from your life.

Joel: The Songwriting Process

ANYTHING can be a song. This is important to remember when your creative well runs dry.

Panels with Sara, Christa, & Joel

How do you define success? Ask yourself these questions: “Am I bringing good?” “How deeply do I connect with my audience?” Am I finding opportunities that align with my mission statement?

Stay away from absolutes. (This statement makes me laugh because it is an absolute, nevertheless, the sentiment behind it is true.)

Sharing your art is like a farmer’s market; somebody is looking for exactly what you’re selling.

I asked a two-part question. It was, “Do I have to have social media as an artist, and similarly, if I don’t have social media and don’t like to perform (I still get stage fright), how do I get my music to my audience?” I liked Christa’s answer to the first part of my question. She said, “You don’t have to do anything.” Her answer is part of the reason I decided to finally deactivate my Facebook account. Sara said in response to the second part of my question, “Don’t give up, you’re just embarking.” This was so encouraging to me, to have an older, wiser songwriter and sister in Christ tell me to keep going.

The event that made me the most excited (and most nervous) to attend the Songwriter Workshop was having the opportunity to share two songs with a group of songwriters and a songwriting mentor. All the workshop attendees wrote one song to a prompt and then chose another original song to share with their group. Here, for New Music Monday, are the two songs I shared at the workshop. You can also find them under the “Music” tab on the top menu bar.

Look Up, Oh My Heart

The inspiration for my original song, “Look Up, Oh My Heart,” came from my pastor, who, during a sermon on the importance of praising God in song, said, “Singing will make the heart rise up.” The first version of “Look Up, Oh My Heart” actually read “Wake Up, Oh My Heart.” One of the workshop attendees in my group suggested that “Look up” matched the ideas in the verses better than “Wake up.” I agreed, and recorded it as such.

All Is Well

I wrote my prompt song, “All Is Well,” in response to the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul.” If you read them side-by-side, you would notice that I borrowed some of the language and images from “It Is Well With My Soul.” The songwriting mentor for my group suggested I do something fun with my voice on the word “glorious” in the third verse, so I varied the melody, going up instead of down in pitch.

Before I end this article, I would like to say thank you to the Art House North team, Sara, Christa, and Joel, and all the songwriters I connected with over the weekend. I’m so glad to have met all of you, and I hope to see you again soon.

O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!

Psalm 96:1