In lesson 1.3 we talked about how incredibly simple and useful it is to keep a practice journal. This is one of those things that you only benefit from if you actually do it — so here are some prompts to get you started.
1. Your Strengths
In your new practice journal, take stock of your strengths as a songwriter—what are you good at? Have you got a good singing voice? Have you taken some guitar lessons? Have you got some useful books that’ve been collecting dust on the shelf for a while?
2. Your Long-Term Goals
Where do you ultimately want to end up as a songwriter? Do you want to be regarded as a master someday? Do you want to write a song for a particular artist to sing? Do you want to tour the country playing your own songs for hungry audiences? Or do you simply want to record a high-quality album of original songs from your own home?
3. Your Short-Term Goals (and misc. things to work on)
Is there a particular song you’d like to learn how to play? Do you need to get better at reading music notation? Would you like a better understanding of music theory? Do you need to learn more chord forms? Do you want to hire a music teacher?
Capture everything you can think of that you need to work on sometime in the near future. Later on, when it’s time to practice, you’ll be glad to have some goals written down.