How to Find Your Songwriting Community

We humans are social animals.

The need for community has been hard-wired into our brains over the course of human evolution and we’re deeply driven to find it in most areas of our life. Between biological family, chosen family of close friends, co-workers, workout buddies, online groups devoted to our favorite shows and sports, and even the strangers that surround us as we work on our laptops at the local coffee shop, community is ever-present. 

But for some reason, that does not always translate to our songwriting. Why is that?

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Songwriting can be a solitary pursuit, especially if co-writing is not a regular practice in your life or in your corner of the world. We songwriters hole up in our rooms with our guitars and our notebooks, bearing our souls and vulnerabilities to an audience of one. When it’s time to perform our finished work, it’s often alone on a stage. And unless you live in a city like Nashville, Los Angeles or New York, you may not have had the opportunities to connect with other songwriting peers. 

But having a community of songwriters is hugely important! 

There’s the obvious benefit of having partners to collaborate with. Co-writing might feel uncomfortable to a songwriter who has only ever written solo, but there is an entire universe of creative and inter-personal lessons to learn from both successful and unsuccessful co-writes. We are exposed to new methods and techniques, and seeing the inner-workings of another writing mind helps us to clarify our own strengths, weaknesses, tendencies and blocks. Plus, when you find the right co-writing fit, the sum can be much greater than the parts and you may find yourself writing some of the best songs you’ve ever written. 

It’s also crucial to have the support of peers who understand what you’re going through. It is not easy to be a songwriter. We tend to look our most painful truths in the eye more than the average person, and the ups and downs of a music career or even hobby can be difficult and exhausting to navigate. Having people who are a few steps ahead or who are walking that tightrope alongside you can be exactly what you need to stay motivated when things get tough.  

We at Thinking Outside the Blocks are lucky to have grown up in an area with a thriving music community. We have built our tribe over the course of our entire lives, through open mics, music school, years on the road and many many co-writes. 

We know it’s not that way for everybody, so we want to share with you a step-by-step guide to help you find your own songwriting community! 

1. Show support for local musicians: One of the best ways to make genuine connections with other musicians is to show up and support them. This means attending their shows, introducing yourself, signing up for their mailing lists, and sharing their releases on your social media. Of course, you will want to limit your endorsements to people whose music you truly enjoy, but it’s up to you to go out to some shows and discover who those local artists are. It may seem like an extra time-consuming task in your life, but we urge you to consider it a valuable investment in your own music. Even committing to go to one local show a month is a solid start! 

2. Go to open mic nights: Open mic nights can have a bad rap. You might imagine some awkward slam poetry or Wonderwall covers. But we have both met some quality songwriters at open mics in our lives. People who attend them are usually looking for the same thing you are: to connect with other artists and to gain experience in front of an audience. Often times the same artists show up week after week, so becoming a regular can really jump-start your search for community. And if you aren’t into the vibe of one or don’t feel like you connect with anybody there, try another! Most towns or cities have a few options to choose from.  

3. Curate a local event: Let’s say that after going to some local shows and open mics, you’ve identified a few local artists that you have a connection with. A great way to solidify that relationship is to curate a show at a local venue or a house concert. We recommend reaching out to one or two artists first to gauge their interest, then booking a location and involving them in the process from the get-go. Some options to make it feel even more collaborative are to do an in-the-round style show where everyone is on stage together or to team up for a song or two at the end of the concert. Performing together can be a real bonding experience and might be something you could eventually take on the road! 

4. Start a songwriting club: Once you’ve found a few songwriters at local shows and open mic nights, shown some support for their music and maybe even played a show with them, you can start a monthly songwriting club! This can be a great opportunity to chat with your peers about their writing process, challenge each other to grow and stretch your writing and create some accountability. Here’s how it works: invite few writers over once a month to each play a song for each other, talk about the process, assign a songwriting challenge for each month, and have some snacks and coffee together. Everyone benefits from a community-building event like this, both personally and artistically. You can even use some of the mini-challenges on our blog to kickstart song ideas! 

5. Find an online community: All of these suggestions thus far have been for finding a local community, but you can get those same benefits online! Our workshops and private Facebook Group for TOTB alumni are a perfect example. Here you’ll meet other writers and potential collaborators to share your work with and cheer you on as you work towards your artistic goals. There may also be Facebook Groups for musicians and songwriters in your area and a quick Google search reveals a wealth of other paid and unpaid songwriting groups to try out. We also encourage you to try online co-writing. If you find an artist whose writing you like but who isn’t local, you can get together via Google Hangout or Facetime! It does pose some minor challenges with a slight delay and potential connection issues, but those are well worth the benefits of collaborating with a global community of writers! 

Hopefully this list gives you some new ideas and motivation. Finding your community definitely takes effort and time, so don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen right away. We promise that if you put in the consistent effort to find your people, it will happen, and it will greatly enhance your songwriting life.

Happy writing,
Allie & Bess