So….You Want to Be a Music Artist? (Tips for the Curious Newbie) (PART 1 - WRITE)

I remember when I first decided that I wanted to pursue music as an artist. I was in high school. 50 Cent, Mariah Carey, and Kanye West ruled the airwaves. I wanted to make music too and I wanted to be great at it! There were a couple individuals around me making music and doing something with it so I knew it wasn’t an impossible task but I wasn’t sure where to start. 8 years later and I am successfully creating tons of music, making a name for myself and getting it out for people to hear. Over the years, I have found myself being frequently approached or contacted by people interested in doing the same and asking me to help them get started. I applaud any individual seeking any type of knowledge that will promote their own self- growth so I am always happy to help. So this morning, I thought to myself, why not write a couple tips, aimed towards helping new artist, for the entire world to see!

And now here we are….!

I have decided to, every so often, post my experiences and include things I have learned during my journey as an artist. My hope is to share tips that I feel will help any person interested in, not only pursuing music, but being good at it!

 

                                                                          WRITE

Back in high school, whenever class started getting boring I would make sure I stayed productive in some type of way by turning to the next clean page in my notebook and jotting down lyrics aka my thoughts. I began writing so frequently in class that some classmates would come up to me and ask what I was doing. When I told them I was writing a poem or writing a rap, they would ask to see it. Now I’m not sure what type of people you have around you, but my classmates were pretty honest people and they never hesitated to read my words and let me know exactly what they thought about it. Most of the time, they were impressed, but if there was ever a wack line or two, best believe they would be running around the class repeating it over and over again out loud! Though I was embarrassed at times, this motivated me to write more! I was determined to be ready for the next time someone peeked over at my notebook. The frequency at which I wrote mixed with the constant review of my peers, not only helped me improve but, built up a confidence in myself and in my skill. I began going line for line with the top writer/rappers in my class and even embarrassed a couple cats along the way!

With all that being said, here are my tips to you:

1. Buy or find a clean notebook with nothing written in it and designate it as your go to writing canvas. Whenever you have an idea or a thought, start jotting them down. Use the notebook as an outlet for your creativity. Try writing a song or a poem or a 16. Even if you are not the best at writing, write down ANYTHING! Pick a topic and force yourself to think. You don’t have to show anybody just yet but at least get a couple things down that you can go back and read yourself.

  

2. When you have written something you can say that you are proud of, find someone you really trust and share your work with them. Trust me! I know how difficult this could be. You want people to like your work and when they don’t it can bruise your confidence but the goal is to grow and in order to achieve growth you must find ways to improve yourself. Share your work with someone close to you and ask them to be honest with you and constructively criticize your work. Ask them to point out their favorite parts and the ones they think you might need a little work on. As you write more and gain confidence, start showing more people. These people can potentially be your strongest supporters.

Those are just a couple tips to help you get started on your journey. Stay tuned for more advice throughout the month. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comment boxx below and a JooseBoxx representative will answer it for you ASAP. If you are reading this and feel you have some more tips on WRITING that you can share with readers feel free to also leave them in the comment box.