Post on 24-Jul-2020
How to Become a
Successful
Christian Songwriter(Without Fearing Rejection or
Facing Writer’s Block Ever Again)
with John Chisum
If you’re passionate about your calling to write for Jesus… you’re in the
right place
You’ve been writing a while but know your songs could go to a whole
new level…
You’re hungry to break through that “glass ceiling” you feel and
communicate through your songs this burning message inside…
What would your life
look like if…
People LOVED your songs?
People SANG your songs?
People RECORDED your songs?
WHAT WOULD YOUR LIFE LOOK LIKE IF….
People actually LOVED your songs? Would that feel good? I know that
YOU probably love your songs…. you’ve poured over them for hours or
maybe even days…. so much of YOU is in your songs that you feel very
attached to them and vulnerable if anyone criticizes them in any way….
they’re like extensions of you, your children and babies…. what would it
feel like if a bunch of people LOVED your babies the way you do?
What would your life
look like if…
All your QUESTIONS answered?
No more GUESSWORK?
Complete CONFIDENCE?
WHAT WOULD YOUR LIFE LOOK LIKE IF….
All the questions about songwriting were answered for you? Think
about it… all the things you wonder about songwriting really answered
- finally - so that you can move forward quickly and easily - - that’s be
great, wouldn’t it?
You lost all the guesswork about how to write great songs and gained
immense CONFIDENCE in your writing so that you got results every
In the next 45 minutes…
How great songwriters THINK about their songwriting.
Tap into hidden creativity.
Lose the fear of getting yoursongs in front of people.
So, like I said, you’re here for a reason and I want to promise you that,
in the next 45 minutes or so, I’m going to teach you as much as I can
about how great Christian songwriters think about their writing and how
you can think about your writing in that way, too, so you can STOP this
endless cycle of frustration you’re going through.
I’m going to help you tap into hidden creativity and resources you didn’t
know you had so you’ll never struggle to find great song ideas or have
writer’s block - - you’ll realize an endless source of ideas and be able to
In the next 45 minutes…
How to get UNSTUCK in your songwriting
Release the POWERGod’s put in you
Stop making the same MISTAKES
I’m also going to show you how you can get UNSTUCK in your writing
by doing some very simple things that bring BIG RESULTS, to get you
out of the creative ruts you’ve been in for way too long.
How to RELEASE the power God’s put in you so that you’re no longer
frustrated, angry, and messed up all the time - - sound good on that
one? Give me some love in the chat box!
And also how to stop making the same mistakes over and over that
UNLEASH YOUR MAXIMUM
POTENTIAL AND REALLYLIVE YOUR CALL…
In the next 45 minutes…FINALLY - I want to help you take REAL steps to UNLEASH YOUR
MAXIMUM POTENTIAL AND REALLY FULFILL YOUR CALL to write
Christian songs so you can STOP THE PAIN of wondering if you’ll ever
be heard or ever fulfill this call from God to express Him and His truth in
great Christian songs. There’s just no reason to stay unclear about that
and I want to help you walk in all God has called you to walk in.
I talk to writers every single day who want to make their own records,
get their songs on the radio, travel, sing in front of thousands of
Stick around till the end…
I’ve worked with a lot of great songwriters and all of them used these TEN pro
songwriting tips as they developed their songs. Now you can use them, too!
Always start with a strong hook and title. The primary “hook” of a song is almost
always the title and must be the most memorable part of the song - that’s why they
call it a hook. One notable exception is Redman/Silas’ 10,000 Reasons where the
hook is actually “Bless the Lord, O my soul” and not the title, but you get the point. If
you start writing a song and the hook is weak, the rest of the song just won’t gel and
come together the way you want it to.
Think through the song’s FORM. What kind of song are you writing? What popular
songs would compare to yours and what form did they use? How can you use
that form to make yours great? Even worship songs for congregations rarely have
only one verse, so yours should probably have two, as well, along with a chorus (of
course) and maybe even a pre-chorus and a bridge. Think about the FORM as the
blueprint for where you want to go, then start laying in the building blocks.
Don’t throw any idea out. No professional writer throws anything out. They always
keep snippets in their phones, on their laptops or tablets, and when writing they
NEVER throw away any great lines, even if they don’t seem to be working in the
present song project. You never know when it could fit in and be the perfect line! As
you write, jot down extraneous lines at the bottom of the page. If you don’t use them,
transfer them to an idea file you can come back to later.
Write with and keep a notebook of your song ideas, titles, and snippets.
I know I just said to keep random lines on your phone or other handy electronic
gadget, and you should, but there’s nothing like an old fashioned spiral notebook for
jotting down your ideas and finishing out those songs. In some ways, it’s easier to
play with the lines on a page with your pen or pencil than to erase and cut and paste.
I’ve done it both ways, but I love the feel of a pencil and there are times the phone or
tablet or laptop aren’t handy. I always transfer a lyric and rough demo recordings to
my digital file when finished and I’m ready to move to the next phase of making the
song come to life.
T H E P R O S O N G W R I T E R ’ S
T O P T E N T I P S H E E TB Y J O H N C H I S U M
THERE’S NOTHINGFOR SALE ON THIS
WEBINAR…
I want to tell you right up front that there’s nothing for sale on this
webinar today, but if you stick around to the end, I have a couple of
very special gifts for you with my PRO SONGWRITER’S TOP TEN TIP
SHEET.
This isn’t something I sell, but I use it as a quick guide with my clients
to help them conveniently identify tips and insights on the fly as they
write. It’s been very effective for them, too. If I were to sell it, it would be
valued at $12.99, but worth much more than that, considering the years
Stick around till the end…
THERE’S NOTHINGFOR SALE ON THIS
WEBINAR…
And - - I also want to give you a SECOND BONUS worth sticking
around for.
I want you to have this information SO BADLY that I’m giving you my
webinar slides with my notes so you can download and make your own
notes on it. Some people learn more this way, so I want you to have
every opportunity to learn from this and take your writing UP to the next
level.
Does this sound like you?
Do you have reams of SONG STARTS that
you’ve never been able to finish?
Do you struggle with the feeling that you have
GREAT SONGS inside you, but they’ll never
really be written?
Do you sing your songs in church and WONDER
if they could ever be used on a bigger scale by other
artists or congregations?
So, let me ask you a few questions…
Do you have reams of SONG STARTS that you’ve never been able to
finish?
Do you struggle with the feeling that you have GREAT SONGS inside
you, but they’ll never really be written?
Do you sing your songs in church and wonder if they could ever be
Do you struggle to find great HOOKS/TITLES for
your songs that really deliver a punch?
Do people have LUKEWARM to ZERO
RESPONSE to songs you’ve worked a lot on?
Is the DREAM of writing great songs for God
something that CONSUMES your thoughts?
Does this sound like you?Do you struggle to find great HOOKS/TITLES for your songs that really
deliver the punch you want to have?
Do people have LUKEWARM to ZERO RESPONSE to songs you’ve
worked long and hard on?
Is the DREAM of writing great songs for God something that
CONSUMES your thoughts and maybe even tortures you because you
wonder if you’ll ever really do it?
The BIG question…
Do you feel time slipping away
and fear that you’ll NEVER
fulfill this call?
So, let me ask you the BIG question...Do you feel time slipping away
and FEAR that you’ll NEVER FULFILL this call?
Honestly - if this is you, you’re certainly not alone… we ALL feel time
slipping away and an URGENCY to get the things done we’re AFRAID
we’re going to miss out on doing.
If you’ve identified with any or all of these questions, I want you to
know that I have some really AWESOME NEWS for you in this class
AWESOME NEWS!!
These are just SYMPTOMS
of the real problem…
If you’ve identified with any or all of these questions, I want you to
know that I have some really AWESOME NEWS for you in this class
today…
You know, there’s a lot of confusing messages out there about songs
and songwriting and it’s NOT YOUR FAULT that it’s like this.
People just don’t know where to go to get the straight scoop on how it
all works and how to step up in their songwriting. You can go to college
The REAL problem…
…you haven’t made the
FIVE KEY SHIFTS that all
successful songwriters make.
If you’ve identified with any or all of these questions and answered,
“YES!” the real problem is that you haven’t made the FIVE KEY SHIFTS
that successful songwriters make.
I’ve made them and every successful songwriter I know has made
them, whether they KNEW they were making them or not.
I’ve identified them FOR you so you can go ahead and get them out of
the way and move on with your songwriting, right?
5 key shifts…
The cool thing is that you CAN make these shifts - you CAN get all you
need to write fantastic songs that a LOT of people will not only want to
hear, but they’ll want to hear them over and over and sing along and
have them on their phones and iPods and laptops and everywhere they
access their music.
You really CAN feel what it’s like to have hundreds and even thousands
of people singing your songs and praising God in incredible ways when
you make these shifts in your songwriting.
WHO I AM…
John & Donna
A veteran songwriter/publisher for over 30+ years with over 400 songs
recorded and counting.
Known as a “veteran Christian
songwriter,” and a “key Christian songwriting mentor.”
Managed dozens of successful Christian songwriters.
Specialize in helping songwriters take quantum leaps in their lyric
and music writing.
This is me and my wife, Donna. We’ve been married 36 years
this year and she still likes me most days! We moved to Nashville
to take a church job in 1983 that fell through once we got here.
We had $40.00 and no place to live. We were homeless and
had no jobs, but God had a plan.
Don Moen
Israel Houghton
Paul Baloche
Lynn DeShazo
David Baroni
George Searcy
Nancy Gordon
I’ve had the opportunity to mentor and coach some of the most prolific
songwriters in the world through Integrity Music and Star Song where I
managed dozens of published songwriters. What I’m sharing with you
here isn’t THEORY or HEAD KNOWLEDGE, but the crucial things I
learned while working with people like you see here and many more
who’ve literally impacted the NATIONS with their songwriting. If it can
work for them, it can work for you, too.
I use the same principles and training I used with them to quite literally
5 key shifts…
So, I’ve just told you a little about who I am, and now I want to tell you
about these FIVE POWERFUL SHIFTS, but I need to tell you how I
know about them and HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE for YOU to know
them.
Here’s the thing - I didn’t get started or even go through the early years
of my career knowing these things, but I’ve just told you that I’ve
worked with dozens of amateur and professional Christian songwriters
in my 30+ years of writing and publishing.
THE OLD WAY
YOU
YouTube
Books
Hearsay
Bad Opinions
Unhelpful
Conferences FRUSTRATION
CONFUSION
DISCOURAGED
SELF-DOUBT
UNANSWERED PRAYER
UNFULFILLED
CALLING TO WRITE
As we get into our five vital shifts, I want to share with you an overview
of what I’m going to give you today.
This is the OLD WAY of going about FIGURING OUT songwriting and
building a ministry with your songs.
So, here’s you and your passion to write, but you’re trying to PIECE
everything together you can on the subject by going to
CONFERENCES that may or may NOT be helpful - - you might pick up
THE NEW WAY
KNOWLEDGE
GUIDANCE
CORRECT
PRINCIPLES
CREATIVITY
STRONGER IDEAS
BETTER HOOKS
FOCUSED LYRICS
POWER PHRASES
HARD-HITTING
CHORUSESSINGULAR FOCUS
The new way is that you get, starting today, a bunch of new things that
are going to help you fulfill this call on your life, great or small.
This is how it works… through today’s webinar you can start the
journey towards getting the knowledge, guidance, correct songwriting
principles, creativity, and singular focus in your songwriting that will
lead you ultimately to stronger ideas, better hooks, focused lyrics,
power phrases, hard-hitting choruses that are going to make YOUR
songs stand out from the thousands of others floating around
THE NEW WAY
YOUR
CALLING
FULFILLED
All of this only leads to YOUR CALLING FULFILLED…
That’s what every writer tells me and we’re here to help you get further
down the road in feeling that amazing sense of satisfaction to know
that you’ve used every possible means to FULFILL this calling on your
life.
That would feel amazing, wouldn’t it?
Shift #1 -
Stop “Writing From Your Heart”
So why is it that passionate Christian songwriters
who feel such a deep call from God believe that
all they have to do is WRITE from their hearts?
Here’s the first shift and it’s a shocker - - stop “writing from your heart.”
Okay…. before you totally flip out and turn this webinar off, think about
it… we don’t want brain surgeons “operating from their hearts” or pilots
flying our airplanes “from their hearts,” right?
So why is it that passionate Christian songwriters who feel such a deep
call from God to express amazing worship and the power of the Gospel
believe that all they have to do is WRITE from their hearts?
Shift #1 -
Stop “Writing From Your Heart”
… stop mistaking passion for commercial ability
… without knowing HOW songs really work, you
will be frustrated, lack confidence, be subject to guesswork and trial and error
So, what’s happening is that people are mistaking their PASSION for
Jesus and for what they WANT to communicate for the actual
commercial ABILITY to communicate their passion well to the
GREATEST number of people.
Lots of people are passionate about sports, but can’t shoot hoops or
kick field goals - - it’s really more about skill AND heart than heart
alone.
Shift #1 -
Stop “Writing From Your Heart”
Devotional
• Devotional• Personal• Private• Prayer Closet with Jesus
Instructional
• Sunday School• Scripture Memory• Functional• Catechism
Congregational/Choral
• Congregational• Praise/Worship• Choral• Solos/Special Songs• Teaching• Singer/Songwriter• Soaking/Prophetic (relates back to first category...)
Commercial
• CCM• Radio• Touring for Artists• CD Sales• Popular• Singer/Songwriter• Reaches Broadest Audience
Characteristics
• Free Form• No Repetitive Hook• May Never Be Repeated
Characteristics:
• Simple• Memorable• Instructional• May have potential to go beyond on this continuum...
Characteristics:
• Singable• Memorable• Biblical• Celebratory• Unifying• Service Music
Characteristics:
• Singable and Rangy• Artistic License• Testimonial• Evangelistic
© Copyright 2017 by Nashville Christian Songwriters LLC Int’l. All Rights Reserved.
One of the tools I use to help my clients get a handle on this is called
The Song Continuum. It’s one of my free gifts to you if you stick around
to the end today.
So, you can see on the continuum that it moves from the devotional
category on the far left all the way over to the commercial category on
the far right. In-between are the Instructional and Congregational
categories.
Shift #1 -
Stop “Writing From Your Heart”
Wanted to share deep Biblical truths…
…too many ideas, huge
conflicting concepts
Now she writes clearly and
shares her TRUE heart!
Chantel
This is Chantel, one of our clients…. she came to us with a deep desire
to share biblical truth, but her songs had many different ideas fused
into one song…. everything from Scripture references to huge concepts
that conflicted with one another.
She was “writing from her heart,” but the message of her heart wasn’t
coming through until she learned through our coaching that expressing
the deeper messages of the heart require a lot more than the passion to
say something. It requires learning how to say it well…
Shift #2 -
Stop Writing Only for Yourself
Most aspiring Christian songwriters
think of writing as self-expression
only, but that’s just part of it…
Most aspiring Christian songwriters think of writing as self-expression,
but that’s only part of it from a Kingdom perspective. We write for the
end user of our songs, believers all over the world.
This may seem like the first shift, but it’s really not - it’s more than
learning how to mine your life’s story for ideas - it’s all about figuring
out WHO would want to hear or ultimately USE your songs.
It’s about writing with the END USER in mind…. even singing in your
The most important voice
ISN’T yours.
Shift #2 -
Stop Writing Only for Yourself
CHORUS = “many singing together”
While there’s much to be said about finding YOUR voice, the most
important voice is the end user of your songs, the people who will sing
or sing along with your song.
Even if it’s Contemporary Christian Radio you’re targeting, the end
result is that a LOT of people sing your song. The word “chorus”
actually means many people singing the same thing together, but that
could mean a hundred thousand people in separate cars singing along
to your song on the radio as much as it could mean a hundred
The WORLD is flooded with
very BAD “Christian” songs…
Shift #2 -
Stop Writing Only for Yourself
So, what’s at risk here is that the Gospel is being watered down all
around us, including by Christian songwriters. One author I read
estimated that there are 100 million songs on the internet (and his book
is several years old now).
The world is flooded with bad Christian songs.
Now, I know that’s a matter of opinion, but the stakes are eternal in
what we’re doing - decisions about Jesus are being made by the kind
Great Christian songs have
three key elements:
Heart, Art, and Strong Doctrine
#2 -
Stop Writing Only for Yourself
I’ve always taught as a clinician for Integrity Music’s Seminars4Worship
and for Worship Leader Magazine’s national worship leader
conferences that great Christian songs have three key elements: heart,
art, and great doctrine. Most of us have the heart part down, struggle
with the art, and usually have weak to non-existent doctrine in our
songs.
But this can be fixed. We’ve got the heart for Jesus and the strong
desire to fulfill our place in His plan by writing great Christian songs like
Stick with broad Biblical
themes and STILL check…
#2 -
Stop Writing Only for Yourself
I was working with a client recently who comes from a particular strain
of Christianity that is extremely narrow in its doctrine of salvation. The
words in his songs were very judgmental, condemning, and even
damning to the whole world except for those who bought into his
particular brand.
It was a delicate situation for me because I’m trying to encourage this
young guy, yet his song would ONLY be suitable for Sunday mornings
in his church and hardly anywhere else on the planet. We’ve got to
Check your current
ideas, style, ego, and pride
#2 -
Stop Writing Only for Yourself
CHECK YOUR CURRENT STYLE
Songwriters tend to believe that their current style and skill level should
be "good enough" and that people should/will love their songs as they
are.
If people would only recognize how passionate they feel about Jesus or
the message of hope they bring, etc, then they would LOVE their
songs. What they're doing is focusing on themselves instead of writing
#2 -
Stop Writing Only for Yourself
Attached to OLD way
of writing and to songs…
Got over writing just
for himself…
Writing commercially-viable
songs I’m currently pitching!
Terrance
Terrance, one of my clients, and I have a joke about getting over your
attachment to songs you’ve written - - we call it “killing your darlings”
because he had held on to his OLD way of writing and was very
attached to one particular song. The day he FINALLY let it go was the
day he started writing really commercially-viable songs and we’re close
to getting some of his songs placed.
He got over writing just for himself and stepped up into writing at a
much higher level, that of writing in a way that a lot more people will
#3 -
Stop Listening to Music
With Your Emotions Only
Most aspiring songwriters have
stopped listening critically to music
Most aspiring Christian songwriters have stopped listening critically to
music, if they ever started.
This means that they’re distracted by other things like envy or their own
passion to write that they don’t take notice of how the songs are
contracted and WHY they have the impact they do.
By “critically” I just mean with discernment as to HOW and WHY the
song works, not being critical or judgmental about the song itself.
#3 -
Stop Listening to Music
With Your Emotions Only
Move beyond the emotions you
feel to deconstruct the song
The next thing a successful songwriter does is to move beyond the
sheer EMOTION of the song to deconstruct it.
I probably mean this as much or MORE about our own songwriting, but
it applies to listening to others’ work, too.
The songwriters who’ve beneath me for a while often report hearing
something on radio or television finding themselves deconstructing it
and actually UNDERSTANDING the form and structure of the song -
#3 -
Stop Listening to Music
With Your Emotions Only
Listening critically demystifies
songwriting and gives you
more control
The point is that having your eyes opened to how songs are
constructed gives you more CONTROL over your own songwriting.
To not do it means you’re always left guessing how you got to where
you got, if you get there at all.
We are emotional creatures and often don’t recognize how our
emotions are engaging or being played, even. To stop and examine
what’s going on in a song gives us a better position to use those things
#3 -
Stop Listening to Music
With Your Emotions Only
This is my buddy, Daniel. Daniel came to us wanting to write for
children, but he needed to move out of writing from the IDEA of what
children’s songs are about into how children’s songs are REALLY
constructed.
His initial songs were too long, had far too many ideas in them for
children OR adult songs, and his emotions around writing for children
were keeping him from effectively capturing what he needed to do in
his songs.
#4 -
Stop Writing On Empty
Most aspiring Christian
songwriters are writing on EMPTY
and don’t even know it.
Most aspiring Christian songwriters are running on empty and don’t
even know it.
So, here’s the deal - everyone’s overloaded, including you. Unless
you’re independently wealthy, name your own hours, or never have to
work and can devote 100% of your time to songwriting (which is rare),
you’re juggling 5,000 other things while TRYING to write great songs.
This is hard, for sure.
#4 -
Stop Writing on Empty
The bad part about this is that time slips by SO fast. I know this by
personal experience because I didn’t write for almost ten years until last
year when my life got turned upside down through some very painful
circumstances. I always thought I would write again and couldn’t
believe a decade had gone by, one day at a time, as I became
overwhelmed with life and all that it takes from us.
An entire lifetime can slip by without us fulfilling the very call of God on
us… and I just don’t want to die with my best songs unwritten.
GO “STEALTH” AS A REAL SONGWRITER…
#4 -
Stop Writing on Empty
So here’s how you deal with it. Songwriting becomes your constant
companion. You get creative about it and start turning the busyness all
around you into the STUFF of your songs. You start listening to
conversations at your kid’s ball games and really LISTEN to what
people are dealing with in their lives in order to address it in your songs.
You feel their hurt, see the pain in their eyes, and capture it in YOUR
songs with Jesus as the centerpiece and the healing answer they need.
You take their stories and craft them into songs.
#4 -
Stop Writing on Empty
Here’s one of my favorite exercises for my clients to stay current and
creative and to NOT be writing on empty…
It’s what I call an “iTunes Sweep.”
What that is is a CRITICAL listening through 30 - 50 songs on iTunes,
but only the SAMPLES they give of each song.
Here’s what I recommend. Sit down with your laptop, plug in your ear
#5 -
Stop Trying to Go It Alone
Realize the importance of COMMUNITY…
Just like writers who are “writing on empty,” many writers are lonely
and don’t realize how much they’re missing by not being in community
with others…
There’s greater strength to be had in community with others pursuing
the same thing and helping each other grow through accountability and
inspiration.
Some of the most FUN I’ve ever had is in co-writing or the creative
Songwriting is a
CONVERSATION..
#5 -
Stop Trying to Go It Alone
Songwriting is more of a CONVERSATION than writers realize - - it’s
about an emotional exchange that’s happening not just between the
singer and the listener but the SONG ITSELF and the listener…
“God called you to be a
songwriter because He wanted
to spend more time with you.”
~ Andi Rozier/Vertical Worship
#5 -
Stop Trying to Go It Alone
My friend, Andi Rozier at Vertical Worship, said in a conversation with
me recently that, “God called you to be a songwriter because He
wanted to spend more time with you.” I like that, because that’s where
the power really comes from, spending time listening to His heart and
then having the level of craftsmanship to interpret that amazing, loving,
awesome heart to other people in songs. Songwriting is both skill and
inspiration - the great writers know this and keep leaning into the
spiritual and practical sides to write.
STEPPING UP into a place
of higher calling through
our songwriting…
#5 -
Stop Trying to Go It Alone
And that’s why we need each other and need to lean into the
accountability and truthfulness of brothers and sisters and be honest
with ourselves, even when it means STEPPING UP into a place of
higher calling through our songwriting.
BUT HERE’S AN INTERESTING FACT…
Songwriters often don’t
THINK they need any help.
#5 -
Stop Trying to Go It Alone
The #1 reason aspiring Christian songwriters flounder, get
discouraged, never have songs anyone thinks are great, and even quit
is that they don’t think they need any help.
“God gave me
this song…”
#5 -
Stop Trying to Go It Alone
The one phrase I hear over and over that Christian songwriters say is,
“God gave me this song…” Now, that’s either really GOOD or really
BAD, depending on what the song really sounds like. I try to be
generous, but sometimes I have to break it to writers that maybe God
inspired a desire to write a song, but their craft wasn’t where it could
have been to capture it as beautifully as He intended for it to be.
We’re not ever going to get other
people to actually LIKE a bad song,
no matter WHO gave it to us…
#5 -
Stop Trying to Go It Alone
So here’s what’s at stake if we keep saying that and writing mediocre
songs: first, we look foolish. To say God gave me a bad song is to
make ourselves look kind of crazy. We’re not ever going to get other
people to actually like a bad song, no matter WHO gave it to us, so why
can’t we just admit that WE wrote it and accept the fact that it could
use some work?
That brings me to the second highest thing at stake here, that, if we
believe our songs are flowing from the pen of God, we will never invest
A good mentor will give you great
ideas and help you execute them.
Your songwriting will grow quickly
and exponentially with a mentor.
#5 -
Stop Trying to Go It Alone
A good mentor will give you great ideas and help you execute them.
They will hold you accountable and you’ll get excited when you see
great things beginning to happen for you in your songwriting.
Your songwriting will grow quickly and exponentially with a mentor.
A great mentor will also pull you into a community of great people
aspiring for similar goals so you can grow exponentially together - one
of the key principles here is “iron sharpening iron” as we rub shoulders
#5 -
Stop Trying to Go It Alone
Anna
God told her she was going to write,
but she knew she
needed help…
In two months she was writing
commercially-viable songs!
This is another one of our clients, Anna. She’s taught piano for 20 years
and then felt God tell her she was going to write. She came to us a
beginner and has now written three commercially viable songs that
we’re out representing to Nashville publishers.
She started with basic musical knowledge and has now accomplished
more by trusting herself and trusting us to mentor and coach her.
A great mentor
becomes a
mirror for you…
#5 -
Stop Trying to Go It Alone
A great mentor becomes a mirror for you…
I wound up with some of the TOP Christian songwriters as mentors in
several seasons of my life/career…
They made all the difference and are why I’m still able to write and
place songs today.
Today I promised you…
How great songwriters THINK about their songwriting.
Tap into hidden creativity.
Lose the fear of getting your
songs in front of people.
So, like I promised you in the beginning, I’ve talked a lot about how
great Christian songwriters think about their writing and how you can
think about your writing in that way, too, so you can STOP this endless
cycle of frustration you’re going through.
I’ve talked to you about GOING STEALTH to help you tap into hidden
creativity and resources you didn’t know you had so you’ll never
struggle to find great song ideas or have writer’s block - - you’ll realize
an endless source of ideas and be able to capture them.
Today I promised you…
How to get UNSTUCK in your songwriting
Release the POWERGod’s put in you
Stop making the same MISTAKES
We talked about seeing more clearly how great songs are assembled
so you can STOP stumbling over pieces of your songs that don’t
work--you can discover exactly how songs really work and make yours
work, too.
We talked about the difference in “finding your voice” and having a
kingdom perspective, that there’s a true service and ministry for what
we do as Christian songwriters.
UNLEASH YOUR MAXIMUM
POTENTIAL AND REALLYLIVE YOUR CALL…
Today I promised you…
And then we wrapped up with the BIG ONE - helping you to fully
EMBRACE YOUR GIFTS AND UNIQUE CALL to write Christian songs
so you can STOP THE PAIN of wondering if you’ll ever be heard or ever
fulfill this call from God to express Him and His truth in great Christian
songs.
There’s just no reason to stay unclear about that and I want to help you
walk in all God has called you to walk in and making these FIVE
CRUCIAL SHIFTS are what will take you there.
5 key shifts…
STOP WRITING “FROM YOUR HEART”
STOP WRITING ONLY FOR YOURSELF
STOP LISTENING WITH YOUR EMOTIONS ONLY
STOP WRITING ON EMPTY
STOP TRYING TO GO IT ALONE
These five shifts alone are enough to propel your songwriting to new
levels of effectiveness and power.
IT’S YOUR CHOICE…
YOU
CONFUSED
DISCOURAGED
UNFULFILLED
AFRAID
FRUSTRATED
OR…
CONFIDENT
FEARLESS
FOCUSED
POWERFUL
FULFILL YOUR
CALLING
Now you have a choice… you can listen to all that I’ve said, but then
just shove it to the side and forget about it. This can be just another
webinar and just another day that you got some nice information but
then promptly forgot it without changing your life with it.
But think about… you believe God has called you, you really WANT to
fulfill this call and write great songs, but you’ll just stay stuck where you
are and struggle for the next five years, or ten years, or even the rest of
your life and never have the satisfaction of knowing you did something
49Here’s how we can help…
My team and I have set aside some time over
the next few days to speak with you personally
about how you can incorporate these
FIVE SHIFTS into your songwriting
to see immediate results.
COST: ABSOLUTELY FREE
My team and I have set aside some time over the next few days to
speak with you personally about how you can incorporate these five
shifts into your songwriting and see the results you long to see starting
immediately. If you’re wondering if you can really become a great
Christian writer...
THE COST: FREE.
You must be absolutely
COMMITTED to taking BOLD
ACTION in your songwriting
and be ready to INVEST in
your calling to write.
WHO THIS IS FOR…
You must be absolutely COMMITTED to taking BOLD ACTION in your
songwriting and be ready to INVEST WHAT IT TAKES TO ENSURE
YOUR FUTURE SUCCESS.
Here’s WHY we’re doing this…
On the call, we’ll seek to give you total clarity on the NEXT BEST STEPS for you and your
songwriting.
IF you want us to help and we feel like it’s a good fit, we MAY invite you to become one of
the new clients we’ll take on this month.
On the call, we’ll help you get total CLARITY about where you are in
your songwriting and where you want to be with it, and the EXACT
steps you need to get you there.
If you want us to help you AND we think it’s a good fit, we may invite
you to become one of the new clients we’ll take on this month.
IF we work together…
We will take you through the same
program we’ve used with high-end professional
songwriters over many years.
You’ll gain mastery like never before and see powerful results you’ve wanted badly but
never thought could happen for you.
We will put you through the same program we’ve used with high-end
professional songwriters who’ve gotten amazing results over many
years, giving you and training you in the essential tools and skills you
need to write successfully for the rest of your life.
Here are some of the nice things people have said about our program…
What our clients are saying…
What our clients are saying…
What our clients are saying…
What our clients are saying…
IF you fit
those criteria…
GO TO: www.nashvillechristiansongwriters.com/apply
Here are your FREE gifts!
I’ve worked with a lot of great songwriters and all of them used these TEN pro
songwriting tips as they developed their songs. Now you can use them, too!
Always start with a strong hook and title. The primary “hook” of a song is almost
always the title and must be the most memorable part of the song - that’s why they
call it a hook. One notable exception is Redman/Silas’ 10,000 Reasons where the
hook is actually “Bless the Lord, O my soul” and not the title, but you get the point. If
you start writing a song and the hook is weak, the rest of the song just won’t gel and
come together the way you want it to.
Think through the song’s FORM. What kind of song are you writing? What popular
songs would compare to yours and what form did they use? How can you use
that form to make yours great? Even worship songs for congregations rarely have
only one verse, so yours should probably have two, as well, along with a chorus (of
course) and maybe even a pre-chorus and a bridge. Think about the FORM as the
blueprint for where you want to go, then start laying in the building blocks.
Don’t throw any idea out. No professional writer throws anything out. They always
keep snippets in their phones, on their laptops or tablets, and when writing they
NEVER throw away any great lines, even if they don’t seem to be working in the
present song project. You never know when it could fit in and be the perfect line! As
you write, jot down extraneous lines at the bottom of the page. If you don’t use them,
transfer them to an idea file you can come back to later.
Write with and keep a notebook of your song ideas, titles, and snippets.
I know I just said to keep random lines on your phone or other handy electronic
gadget, and you should, but there’s nothing like an old fashioned spiral notebook for
jotting down your ideas and finishing out those songs. In some ways, it’s easier to
play with the lines on a page with your pen or pencil than to erase and cut and paste.
I’ve done it both ways, but I love the feel of a pencil and there are times the phone or
tablet or laptop aren’t handy. I always transfer a lyric and rough demo recordings to
my digital file when finished and I’m ready to move to the next phase of making the
song come to life.
T H E P R O S O N G W R I T E R ’ S
T O P T E N T I P S H E E TB Y J O H N C H I S U M
Devotional
• Devotional• Personal• Private• Prayer Closet with Jesus
Instructional
• Sunday School• Scripture Memory• Functional• Catechism
Congregational/Choral
• Congregational• Praise/Worship• Choral• Solos/Special Songs• Teaching• Singer/Songwriter• Soaking/Prophetic (relates back to first category...)
Commercial
• CCM• Radio• Touring for Artists• CD Sales• Popular• Singer/Songwriter• Reaches Broadest Audience
Characteristics
• Free Form• No Repetitive Hook• May Never Be Repeated
Characteristics:
• Simple• Memorable• Instructional• May have potential to go beyond on this continuum...
Characteristics:
• Singable• Memorable• Biblical• Celebratory• Unifying• Service Music
Characteristics:
• Singable and Rangy• Artistic License• Testimonial• Evangelistic
Go to:
http://nashvillechristiansongwriters.com/webinar-gifts/
to download them now!
IF you’re ready for your
breakthrough call…
GO TO:
www.nashvillechristiansongwriters.com/apply
© Copyright 2017 by Nashville Christian Songwriters LLC Int’l. All Rights Reserved.