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So many songwriters think they need to go to Nashville to get help with their songwriting. What they don't always realize is that Nashville is overloaded with aspiring songwriters trying to make a name for themselves and finding real help is difficult. Even if they do manage to get help from a veteran writer, these writers typically take a 50% cut of the profits, regardless of how much help they actually provided.

Don't go to Nashville. You can get help right now from the comfort of your living room.

The Songwriter's Advocate Online School was designed to help songwriters like you grow your craft wherever you happen to be. We'll teach you to write better lyrics and melodies. We'll help you learn to listen to songs critically to learn how to improve them. We'll show you to silence the voice of your inner critic so you can be happy with what you're writing again. And, best of all, we take a 0% cut on the songs you write in our school.

The July school is just around the corner. Get the help you need to supercharge your songwriting! The application deadline is July 13th and space is limited. Apply now!

Hello friend. I have a math equation for you (don't worry, it's not real math):

stress + songwriting = unproductive songwriting sessions

Sound familiar? That’s an equation we're probably all familiar with but we may not know why.

When we're stressed, we experience resistance. You know, it's that voice inside of your head that tells you things like it’s not going to work out so give up now! When we listen to that voice, reaching our goals becomes difficult because we actually start avoiding the things that we want to do. This is because of a fun little hormone called cortisol, which is the stress hormone. The more we allow resistance to talk to us, the more cortisol is released into our bodies and the more stressful writing or even thinking about writing becomes. When stress kicks in, our motivation plummets. It makes writing difficult, to say the least. Too many writers stay stuck in a perpetual cycle of wanting to write but getting stressed out by writing so they don’t write, which also stresses them out. It’s vicious but I have great news for you: you can beat resistance and love to write again.

We’ve designed The Songwriter’s Advocate 101 course to confront resistance (and the insecurities that fuel it) head on. In this six-week school, you’ll learn not only how to shut that voice up but also how to beat writer’s block once and for all. You’ll learn how to understand and supercharge your creativity. You’ll learn how to write better lyrics and melodies. You’ll learn how to finally say what you want to say! And, maybe best of all, you’ll be surrounded by a community of songwriters just like you who want to grow and write together.

The Spring 101 school starts May 10th and applications are now open. Don’t stay stuck. Apply today.

I recently did something I never thought I'd do. I joined a CrossFit gym.

Now, I never really had anything against CrossFit, per se. I just think seeing how into CrossFit "CrossFit people" are (you know who you guys are) always made me think I wasn't serious enough about fitness to fit in. I'd joined gyms before but I often didn't feel like going because working out by myself was a drag and I didn't really know how to improve. So when I finally joined a CrossFit gym, I was surprised by how much I loved it.

The exercise is great but what I've benefited from the most is the community. Not only is everyone encouraging and the coaches kind and knowledgable, being part of something gets me excited. I've surrounded myself with people who all want the same thing as me and my motivation has gone through the roof. That is the power of community.One of the most impacting aspects of The Songwriter’s Advocate schools is the amazing community around you. As a student, you'll be surrounded by people all pursuing the same goal, which will have a tremendous impact on your motivation and excitement about writing.So many students have come out the other side of this school saying that they're writing more songs and better songs than ever before. That could be you too!

Our next 101 school starts January 25th and applications are now open! Apply today and jumpstart your creativity by joining a community that will push you forward in your craft!

Self-pressure and self-critique are the two most dangerous things for a songwriter.

I once listened to a podcast that featured a scientist named Charles Limb, who conducted a study on creativity. He wanted to know what happened inside the brain when people created. So he found a pianist who excelled in improvisation. This guy actually performed entire concerts off the cuff, meaning he made up the whole thing as he went along. He was a very creative person, to say the least. To best study the process of creativity, Limb needed to put the pianist in an MRI scanner. So he strapped a tiny keyboard to his knees, loaded him into a scanner and asked him to create. The results were fascinating.

The MRI let Limb monitor brain activity during the creative process. As the musician began to create and improvise, the parts of his brain that handle creativity and self-expression lit up on the screen. That makes sense, right? What stood out to me as I listened to this podcast was the discovery that the prefrontal cortex, which is believed to process self-monitoring, started shutting down.

Do you see the significance of that? While this was not the central point of the study, that fact stood out to me so clearly. The part of your brain that handles self-expression and the part of your brain that handles self-monitoring (a.k.a. self-awareness or self-consciousness) seem to be in competition. Expressing yourself creatively requires that your self-awareness and self-monitoring shut down.

I would argue that creativity and criticism cannot exist simultaneously. The more you second-guess and critique what you’re doing, the harder it will be to create. When you’re afraid of making a mistake, you cannot move forward confidently. Your brain is not actually wired to function that way. You will think yourself into a corner and wonder why it’s so difficult to finish songs.