The Songwriter's Podcast with Anne Sibley

On Today's episode I dive into my nerdy obsession with words and offer ways to improve your lyric writing by playing around with words! These shorter episodes always offer an exercise and a takeaway to inspire your own songwriting.

*Join the Free Songwriting Challenge and write a song this holiday season! These zoom calls are a quick and highly inspiring way to start AND finish a new song in a sweet community. Hope you'll come join us, it doesn't take much time and I think it'll put a spring in your step this holiday season. Click Here to Register for the Songwriting Challenge.

**8-Week Songwriting Course still has some available spots but is filling up, reach out to me (Anne Sibley) via my website! www.annesibley.com

Thanks for tuning in, every Monday I will release a new Podcast!

I created this exercise for my 5-Day Songwriting Challenge folks and I thought you might enjoy trying it.

(If you are looking for more information on my Online Songwriting Course that starts Jan 2025, just head to MY WEBSITE LINK HERE)

Getting To The Heart Of Your Song - Writing Exercise

Look at a song that you are working on and then journal on each one of these questions, take a few minutes at a time to fully answer them:

1. What do you think is the message at the heart of your song?
2. What is the feeling(s)?
3. What do you think this song needs to fully express itself?
4. If the song were unafraid to tell the truth, what would it say?

Now you might go back to your answers and circle any words or phrases that really pop out.

You might use the actual words or phrases in your song or they might just help you really tune in to the heart of your song and what it is trying to say so you can move forward with it.

Allow these questions to give you guidance to continue with your song.

You can also revisit this journaling while you continue working on your song. Whether you read over what you wrote or even ask the questions again.

It really helped to move forward with our songs after the first inspiration was written.

Yours in Songwriting,

Anne

I will not hate and I will not fear

In our darkest hour, hope lingers here

Lissa Schneckenburger makes music that showcases everything from traditional New England dance tunes, to original songs inspired by her experience as a foster and adoptive parent. It was an incredible joy to spend an hour with her.  She performs two live songs for us including her viral a cappella song entitled  “Hope Lingers On” plus a moving version of her song "They Sent Me A Picture" written with Mark Erelli.

Lissa sings the medicine we need in this world. She is all about community, communication, and connections with others. 

Enjoy today’s episode and check out and follow Lissa and her music, I can’t wait to cross paths with her again!

Visit Lissa’s Website: https://lissafiddle.com/ and you can hear the 4-part Harmony version of "Hope Lingers On"

Follow Lissa on Instagram: lissafiddle

Watch the VIDEO of Hope Lingers On YouTube: https://youtu.be/lv9R60CSQ54

Listen to the Vancouver Youth Choir singing Hope Lingers On: https://youtu.be/b0bmhcvPwTI?si=nYWFDF1DN6HngKqq

Check out all of Lissa’s music & offerings: https://lissafiddle.com/store/

Thanks for listening! Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE and REVIEW the podcast, thanks!

Meet Aaron Davis, the musician’s musician.  Not afraid to be ALL the things as an artist and community leader wearing many hats and uplifting so many others.  Warning: this episode is packed with recording takeaways for Songwriters, prepare to be inspired!

We talked about ALL the things: how he makes time for his passion projects, the art of simplicity (sounds simple but usually it’s not), and we dug into his extensive recording knowledge and experience and so, so much more.

Aaron’s Website: aarondavismusic.com

His NEW EP is called Medicine Lid

Follow on Instagram: aarondavissongs

Listen/Download high-res audio: https://aarondavisongs.bandcamp.com/

Everything Aaron: https://lnk.bio/aarondavisongs

Takeaways:

• Keep the sides separate: the technical side and the creative side
• Have your tech ready to go so you can quickly capture, doesn’t need to be difficult!
• “Turn it on, get a quick level, and work in that space”
• Multi-tracking for high fidelity can be difficult for the singing guitarist but there are numerous ways to record
• Important to remember what makes you feel comfortable playing your song! 
• No right or wrong way to do it, you want to feel the most comfortable as possible in the studio
• Feeling comfortable is half of it! Being in a comfortable space
• Collaboration is a great way to work in the recording studio
• Experiment and see what suits the song the best

“I’m the best of me when I’m with you”

Courtney Hartman's music is like the most beautiful summer day, relaxing and one you want to savor! I find that the trifecta of her voice, guitar playing, and songwriting cause the listener to drop deeper into the present moment.

“No more indulging in useless doubt, I’m only carving the good bits out”

Maybe you didn’t know but you are about to fall in love…in love with Courtney Hartmann and her music. She sings two absolutely beautiful songs on the podcast today from her “Glade” Album. (By the way, the artists perform these songs live for the podcast!)

There’s a warmth and authenticity that will sneak up on you like a superpower! I’ve always had a special place in my heart for her ever since we played alongside one another at festivals.  Her outstanding flat picking guitar playing may have first caught my attention but it was also her presence which has only grown over time.  She commands with a magical kindness. 

Don’t miss deep diving along with us in this episode to follow Courtney from her family band in Colorado through her touring and diplomacy work she did with the band Della Mae while they performed hundreds of days each year. She has also walked The Camino, and we journey with her  through the places she has lived. You’ll hear it in her songs.

Takeaways:

• Music helps us drop in deeper
• Be the best version of ourselves as songwriters and musicians
• Find out, what’s the next thing for your growth?
• If it’s not healing, I won’t do it

“I want to talk to ya…while the moon is talking, too….”

Follow Courtney through her Website: https://www.courtneyhartman.com/

You can sign up for her Newsletter on her website

Watch her gorgeous music videos: Courtney Hartman "Moontalk" (Official Music Video)

Follow on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CourtneyHartman

Instagram: courtneyhartman

Courtney has 24,000 followers on Instagram, go check out her posts!

We are back with a special episode featuring songwriter Johnsmith and more new episodes coming shortly so please "Follow" or Subscribe to the show!

John's beautiful albums that span his forty year career are special soundtracks from his life that have become the accompaniment for so many of his fans lives. One of ten children, John has been singing and making up songs from a young age.

One of my favorite quotes from today's conversation, "Remember that your songs are a gift". 

Thank you, John, your songs are gifts to us, an inspiration. We are so fortunate that John tours the country performing, leads trips in Ireland as well as River Trips in the West. He is part of the Kerrville Folk Scene and he has won the hearts of fans and songwriters all over the globe. 

Check out John's music, touring and trips on his website: https://johnsmithmusic.com/

In today's mini-episode I share "Three Ways to Become a Conduit for Effortless Songwriting."

Get your Free Songwriting Guide Here: https://www.annesibley.com/events

Want to feel inspired again? Write those songs that are on your heart?

Hint: It’s all about your energy. 

Connecting with inspiration, becoming power charged and letting the music pour through you.

Memorize what it feels like to be in a flow state.

Three ways to have more inspiration:

1) Listen to music that juices you up &  touches your emotions
2) Connect with your soul family
3) Write your morning pages

Key Takeaways:

Inspiration is your battery pack for songwriting

Be there for yourself by writing your Morning Pages: show up willing to hear your own truth

when you are in the flow and feeling connected, inspired, grounded

Synchronicities abound when you are the conduit

Let your boat go somewhere !!! Put the wind back in your sails

Give yourself the permission to receive inspiration

Ready to receive support for your songwriting? Experience love for the songs you are writing? Want to write more with less self-criticism? Applications are now available for our Songwriting Membership Group.

Head to my website for songwriting coaching and a free consultation call: www.annesibley.com

Laurie Lewis, in my opinion, is the queen of bluegrass. She is a masterful storyteller, performer, and a special human being. It was an honor and an incredibly lovely experience to be with her; to talk with her, laugh with her, and celebrate her songwriting and musicianship.  

In this episode, she sings about the town of “Barstow” while she delves into the background of how she came to write it.  Then from her new album, “Trees”, she treats us to a song she wrote during the pandemic when she found out that her friend John Prine, the great songwriter, had passed away. 

My own duet with my husband in our earliest years was so inspired by songs like “The Oak and The Laurel”, a song Laurie wrote with her music partner, now suffering with Parkinson’s Disease, who also painted the cover art for her newest album, Trees. 

She has sung and played with her influences and some of the greatest musicians of our time.  I think you can hear the people and the miles in her songs and in her voice. She is a special soul with whom it was a great pleasure to have the company of this special conversation, thanks for following and listening to the podcast!

Visit the amazing Laurie Lewis on her website:https://laurielewis.com/

Join Laurie on a River Trip: https://www.nwrafting.com/bluegrass

Check out her Tour Dates (scroll down): https://laurielewis.com/

Her New Album Trees: 

Her impressive Discography

Follow Laurie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurielewismusic/

Or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurielewismusic/

A Few of the Takeaways:

• Receive your songs like gifts from the cosmos
• Music helps us get through hard things
• Be an observer when you’re traveling around for your next song
• When you write your own songs you have something unique to sing
• Great songs can get away if you don’t write them down
• If you don’t write the song, who will?
• Don’t live life by your fears (always wise when we can remember!)

Laura Wortman and Kagey Parish are The Honey Dewdrops. They seamlessly weave a thoughtfulness into every note, harmony, chord that they play and sing in their soulful duet. They first captured my heart in 2008 with their winning performance on “A Prairie Home Companion” and they have spent decades touring the country and sharing their music with audiences far and wide.

On today's episode, you'll hear the gorgeous studio versions of two of their songs.  They sing “Garden” a song inspired by Kagey’s walk by a zen garden with yoga platforms where he found this sanctuary that inspired this song plus a powerful song of theirs with incredible harmonies called “More Than You Should Say”.

The Honey Dewdrops music has been part of the soundtrack of my life as we have been friends since I heard them win on “A Prairie Home Companion”. I was so moved by their singing and their song that I had to pull off the road to listen!

They tell the stories behind their songs on this podcast episode and whether you've heard them before or not, I think you'll be hooked not only to their music but to the genuinely kind and talented human beings that they are. You can check out their tour schedule to see if you can see them perform live near you (go see them!).

Check out their beautiful website: https://www.thehoneydewdrops.com/

Listen to their many great albums on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/42FAfgZpAliDGkyucfGnWM

And on Bandcamp: https://thehoneydewdrops.bandcamp.com/track/more-than-you-should-say

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehoneydewdrops

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehoneydewdrops

Takeaways:

• Don’t push or edit too hard, just let it be. Let it be something without needing to control it too much. 
• Having an instrument in hand while songwriting yields something that feels and sounds more natural
• Embracing our creative parts instead of our thinking brain
• Try a lot of things! Follow your gut reactions
• Skills are important but permission is so super important for songwriting

“If we look around, there is always something to be grateful for and some kindness we can give.” - Katy Oberle

Stars and algorithms aligned to connect me with Katy Oberle, a singer-songwriter friend who I like to call a creativity goddess! She uses her love and talents both for mindfulness and music to share her gifts and practices for healing. 

Following a career as a therapist, she now runs Katy Oberle Creative where she coaches individuals and businesses in mindfulness practices while deeply nourishing the creative lives of others.

On today’s episode we get grounded with Katy and hear her sweet songs, “Walden” and “Shine” with her beautiful soprano vocals and peace filled lyrics from two of her recent albums. We talk about the meaningfulness of playing music in hospital settings and how music provides connection, kindness and more love in the world. So grateful to Katy for sharing her music and wisdom with us on the podcast.

Katy has a great newsletter, visit Katy and sign up for her newsletter here:

https://www.katyoberlecreative.com/

Follow Katy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katyoberle/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katyoberlecreative

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBd4njDkswQK_CQDQF4kh6w

A few Takeaways:

-Music saves us and helps us makes sense of our lives 

-Creativity buffers our hearts against the hard stuff

-So many people need to write songs 

-Capture chapters of your life through songwriting

-Songwriting is like scrapbooking, an audio collage of your life!

-The songwriting process can be intuitive and unpredictable

-Just like mindfulness practices, the more you can show up in your songwriting consistently the more like you’ll catch the muse