Three Ways Songwriting Unlocks a Flow State
Psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, in his seminal book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, describes flow as a powerful state of being where the world drops away and time disappears in service of our complete focus on a given task or challenge. In my work leading organizations through the songwriting process, I’ve seen participants go from a state of wary disbelief to a state of flow as they begin to understand that writing a song is, in fact, something they’re very capable of doing. It is this balance of skill level (smart people who simply need a little instruction) and challenge (songwriting is brand new to them after all) that leads to this state of flow. Below I’ve put together a few of the ways that learning to write songs unlocks our flow state.
1. Songwriting Increases Focus
There’s nothing quite like stepping out of our comfort zones to dramatically - and immediately - increase our focus. When I tell an assembled group of bright, motivated participants that they’re going to write a song, there’s a moment of nervous laughter and then I can sense their attention refocusing on what I have to say. My program is designed to briefly take participants out of their comfort zones to make sure they’re going to have to pay close attention to the instructions I’m going to provide. My intention is not to make people uncomfortable for the sake of discomfort but, rather, to help them begin the process of focusing intently on the task at hand.
2. Songwriting Heightens Creativity and Innovation
The creative process - in this case, songwriting - is all about unlocking new ideas. Although many of my participants would insist that they’re not creative, this is simply not true. We’re all creative and it’s just a matter of breaking down the creative process into its component parts so that it becomes accessible. One of the big discoveries that I’ve made along the way is that the same skills that songwriting requires (creativity, collaboration, communication and even risk-taking among others) are the same skills critical for innovation. Learning to write songs not only reminds us of our innate creativity but also heightens our innovative awareness. The best part is that once we focus on our creativity, a state of flow follows naturally.
3. Songwriting Silences Distractions and Removes Self-Consciousness
Another hallmark of the flow state is that we’re unaware of distractions and wonderfully unselfconscious. If you ask any of my participants at the outset of my program whether they’d like to sing, I’d say it’s a safe bet that the answer would be “no” ten times out of ten. However, at the end of a sixty-minute songwriting session where everyone has entered a state of creative flow, it’s still inspiring to me how willing and enthusiastic my participants are to sing their new song. Flow is about immersion in a given challenge at the expense of our normal (and unnecessary) self-consciousness.
Conclusion
As a songwriter for over thirty years, I’m well aware of how a flow state can enhance a life. Flow requires something called “activation energy,” which is the push it takes to get us out of our day-to-day mindset and into this new state. My work is all about giving people that little “push” so that they can see for themselves how powerful and moving a flow state can be.
Bio
Cliff Goldmacher is a GRAMMY-recognized, #1 hit songwriter, music producer and author with recording studios in Nashville, TN and Middle River, MD. Through his studios, Cliff provides songwriters outside of Nashville with virtual, live access to Nashville’s best session musicians and studio vocalists for their songwriting demos. Find out more. You can also download Cliff’s FREE tip sheet “A Dozen Quick Fixes To Instantly Improve Your Songs.”
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