It's the Reason Why I Write

One of my professors in a collaborative songwriting class asked a vocalist why he sings. He said he sings because he has no better use for his breath. Some people do what they do on the basis of self-fulfillment but also self-expression in aligned with their self-identity.
... Some do what they do on account of purpose.


I think true passionate artists not only do what they do just because they are talented, but they feel unfulfilled if they do not work on their art. I know I went through a dry spell in writing songs shortly after graduation and I felt that a part of me was depressed. When I make strong progress on a composition, let alone finish one, there's a part of me that feels like the entire day was used to its fullest. I do embrace that this was a talent that I was given, but there are other things I feel I'm good at. But music is something about myself that I am surely accepting into my life as a part of me that will never cease.


My sister is a vocal performance major, and just like many arts students, she expresses her talent outside of as well as inside the classroom. Literally, when we go anywhere or do anything, she gets a song "placed on her heart" and sings aloud in the most random places and situations. And people constantly stare at us walking around as she belts out notes and melismas. She literally can't help it. And it's not that she feeds off the attention of bystanders walking up to her in the mall saying "you have a beautiful voice" or "you should get discovered," she sings because it's an addiction.
... Some do what they do because they can't help it.

In regards to writers, I feel like writers write because they can't help it. Case and point, I was out to dinner with a songwriter and he literally had his iPad out the entire time writing lyrics. I don't think he was being disrespectful or rude. When an idea passes your mind, you can't let it go to waste. Even on break, he was at a piano with a pen and paper. Now I admit, I'm not as diligent as that but there are many times I will procrastinate from doing something else because a string of lyrics passed my mind, or I heard a song on the radio that reminded me of a melody I started on three months ago. And I can't tell you the amount of times I have written lyrics or composed music while at a bus stop, at work, or even asleep; moreover, how many times a song or two was lost because I let it slip away into the depths of my furthest memory. I am now more disciplined and make sure I have a pen and paper on me. Even if I have to borrow a pen and doodle on my forearm for a temporary tattoo, I try to make sure as much of my thoughts are dictated somehow. 

I was in one of my music classes years ago. To be honest, I don't even remember what year, or what class, or which professor said this; but I remember this one quote that person said. "Something is not truly your passion unless you'd do it for free." So with that being said...
... Some do what they do because they'd do it for free.


Sounds like crazy talk, right? But I've believed since then that something is not considered your passion unless you can do it for free. Of course, people have to make a living. We live in a material world, and I admit that even though I don't consider myself to be a material girl, I ultimate goal is to support myself solely on music and writing. The music business gives opportunity for wealth and success, and while that's all great and I would not mind acquiring some of it, I don't write music to make me rich. In fact, I feel like the day that I write solely and exclusively for profit would be the day that I quit. I read a quote in a songwriting book that said if you write [or sing, or whatever] just to be rich and famous, you will surely not be fulfilled and most times may never reach that point, let alone stay there. Those who do what they do just to get rich, I believe, will lose the joy of what they do if they ever had any joy about it in the first place. 

So the reason why I write music is because I feel it is part of my life's purpose. I feel it's an addiction brought about by talent but also an inner drive that won't let me quit. I would write for free, in fact I guess I do. I write because I can, I will, and I am.


"A passion isn't driven by fame or fortune. It is driven by faith. Faith that you will better yourself with every passing day. Faith that what you do will touch others. Faith that what you do is in conjunction with who you are." 
~L~