What is the process of writing a song like for a beginner?

My essential question has changed a lot throughout the 6 weeks because I’ve realized the process of writing a song as a beginner doesn’t always mean you’ll be proud of it in a trimester’s time. However, I’ve learned that it’s okay not to be incredibly proud of what you do when you start out because to me it’s more about what I’ve learned than what I’ve created. I’m glad I made the songs I made but I find the journey to be a lot more enriching. Through quarantine, it’s been very hard to do work because it’s been hard to find the motivation when nothing really exciting is happening and life just feels paused. I’m one of many people whose mental health has not been at its best during this time but managed to channel that energy into making music. From writing down exactly what I felt to finding a chord that illustrated it even better, working and investing so much time into music actually helped my mental health. I learned that it’s important for me to feel like I’m doing something productive in a long period of time otherwise I don’t feel too good about myself. It really was all a question of laziness and whether or not I was going to watch this project go by and do minimum effort or do some work, get back on my feet and feel productive.

I didn’t expect to learn so much about myself and how I work when I wanted to do this project. I realized I had a lot to learn and researched what that was and got it done. Bess, my guitar and music teacher had a huge role in helping me feel productive. She made me do exercises, homework, guidelines, that were key to having something to show for this project. She was there to teach me more about music and fill in the blanks of the basics rather than write my songs with me. That’s one thing I was very big on was I didn’t want any help on my songs. I really wanted to feel like even if they were horrible, at least it was all me and only me that created this horrible content. I also expected to be the next Jimi Hendrix on the guitar but realized that might not be possible with zoom guitar classes, little motivation and only a trimester. However, I am proud of how much I have learned on the guitar and in music theory. I always wanted to know how to read music because I felt like that was one of the first necessary steps in playing it. Outside sources like Steal Like an Artist, my childhood songwriting journal and the podcast, Song Exploder, have also been a great help in highlighting what I will remember from this experience. It definitely has changed me because it taught me music is something I want to keep working on. I’ll definitely keep playing the guitar after this and keep composing because I really enjoyed this journey. Something I really want others to know is that the songs I made are like little drafts to illustrate the bigger picture being what I learned and the process. The songs, only having guitar on them and having been the product of quarantine are very simple and basic and I do not think any of them are strikingly good. They are just that, a reflection of my work during this trimester.