One more thing ... I just think you will really like this. My guitar teacher gave this to me years ago. She really helped clarify how I felt about music. Enjoy ... and best wishes to you! Terri

Poet Cynthia Rylant

I was afraid of writing poetry for the longest time because I wasn't any good at rhyming, and I thought poetry had to be complicated and very, very deep. I didn't know that the very way I looked at things was poetry. I mean, I notice things other people don't and usually it has something to do with the way one small thing means so much.

I once met a boy who had read my book of poems about growing up in Beaver, West Virginia (Waiting to Waltz...A Childhood) and he said to me, "I know just what you mean about Todd's Hardware Store. Every time I walk into the Western Auto Store in this little town I live in ... "And he proceeded to describe to me what it was about the Western Auto Store that hit him the way a good sunset hits you and I thought to myself, this boy's a poet. I believe he was born with that way of looking at things, as I was, and even if he never writes one single line of poetry, he'll always be a poet. And the people around him will mutter about how intense he can get sometimes and his teachers will complain about how he never pays enough attention and people will wonder why he can't just lighten up and watch "The Cosby Show" with them.
What they don't understand is that he's seeing all those small, meaningful things they're missing, and it sucks away so much of your soul and energy when you're trying to make sense of what you see with your poet's heart. They will want him to be a regular Joe and he will never be able to be that and because of it he will feel lonelier than most people-even though he may be a popular boy-and he will wonder why he can't live a normal life like everybody else. He will wonder why he hurts so much sometimes.
Why he feels so different from everybody else who's just fitting right in to all the systems: everybody else who's getting the gold stars at school, or marrying and settling into a nice job in a nice town and finding a nice wife and having four nice kids and keeping a nice lawn and a nice clean car. He will to often feel like a failure, and he will to often never pick up a pen and try to get published because he doesn't know what a good poet he is since there's no test that told him so. A lot of people think they can write poetry, and many do, because they can figure out how to line up the words, or make certain sounds rhyme, or just imitate the other poets they've read. But this boy, he's the real poet, because when he tries to put on paper what he's seen with his heart, he will believe deep down there are no good words for it, no words can do it, and at that moment he will have begun to write poetry.

www.terrihendrix.com

...More from Terri Hendrix

Stay in love with the song. Protect and nurture your music.
Don't get weirded out by the wheel of the industry. It's just a wheel.
But there will never be another you. Practice ... even if only 10  minutes a day.
Play every gig like it's your last. Don't work with or for vampires.  They suck.

Take care and best wishes... also, happy playing!

Terri

Ruthie Foster

singer/songwriter

Hello Ladies,

I'm hoping that you're all working on your callouses!!
I've found that the key to playing great guitar is to always allow your own voice to come thru. Everyone has something unique about the way and even how they play. Never deny that. It's who you are.
Keep shinin' ..keep playing.

PS: ALWAYS keep your at least one guitar out and ready to play at all times in your home. You never know from what, where or when your inspiration will come.

Yours Phenomenally,
Ruthie

www.ruthiefoster.com

... I know my guitar has been a great friend to me and helped keep lonliness, boredom and ego in their place!  As far as words of encouragement go, I can tell you that I wrote a song that would become a cornerstone of my songwriting career (Wide Open Spaces) before I even called myself a songwriter.  I was a college student in Montana (and not a very good student, at that) when I wrote that song...before I had ever read a book or attended a seminar or anything about songwriting.... I was just writing about something that moved me and writing from my heart.  Sometimes, I think it was easier to do that before I was making a living by writing songs... nowadays, I am concered with things like who the audience for a song might be, will it fit on a record with the other songs, etc. whereas before, I was only concerned with writing something that was true to my heart.  I would encourage your students to keep journals and when they get a good idea... write it down...that's why they call it songwriting, not song-thinking.  Keep their ears and their hearts open and practice, practice, practice anything they want to be good at.  Compassion and empathy are two of my most important songwriting skills, because they help you identify and relate to other peoples' stories and in turn, probably will help you write stories that other people will relate to.  Humility and confidence are important~~more important that spelling and punctuation in songwriting...hahah.  Write about things that you believe in and have fun with it.  If you are afraid of writing about something, pretend that you are not afraid. If you are afraid of singing in front of someone, pretend that you are not afraid.  Practice courage.   
That's about all I have for now.  I wish all good things for you and your students.

Sing-cerely,
Susan Gibson

www.susangibson.com