Jud Caswell's songwriters circle, Brunswick, Maine

If you are a songwriter, your songs are like your kids – you love them, you protect them,  you get a little touchy when someone criticizes them.

But if you want them to grow and evolve and reach their potential, you need to get some objectivity into the picture.

Enter Jud Caswell’s songwriter’s circle in Brunswick.  How do I love this idea – let me count the ways:

1.  Jud is a great songwriter; getting a song critique from him makes this a no-brainer right from the git-go;

2.  This circle attracts some other great songwriters – does the name Martin Swinger ring a bell?  More song critiques from people I respect;

3.  How about just having the opportunity to play some of my songs for writers of this caliber?

4.  My songs get better;

5.  I get to hear some  killer songs very close to their point of creation – a real privilege!

I could go on… but I won’t.

Is it difficult to have your songs dissected and analyzed right in front of you? Well, sometimes…  but mostly, the comments are fair, constructive, and because they come from other songwriters, extremely relevant to the craft.  It can actually be a lot of fun.

I’ve had this experience before – you write something that you are pretty proud of, and take it to a song critique circle.  You play the damn thing in front of all these gifted songwriters, and even before you finish the song, you begin to see what can be improved.  It’s almost like telepathy – the mere presence of these folks, who understand what you are trying to do, gives you an objectivity that you didn’t have when you put pen to paper.

The commentary afterwards only serves to confirm and augment what you sense.

What you get at the end is a much better song and some additional insight into the process.  It’s an invaluable way to learn this craft, especially with someone like Jud Caswell and his friends.

If you’re interested, post a comment and I’ll hook you up!