Evaluating 2023

The end is nigh! Well, actually the end of the year is nigh. I know that I have a lot to be proud of and a lot of ways I hope to improve in the year to come. I’m sure you feel the same. Here’s a list of questions songwriters should ask themselves as they evaluate all they’ve accomplished in 2023.

On Co-Writing 

Who were my favorite co-writers? Who did I write the best songs with? When did I feel the most comfortable? When did I feel the most uncomfortable? Was I in the right the amount of sessions or should I be in more? Should I be in less? If I got cuts, what contributions did I make to those sessions that helped the song come out? Was I someone that people reached out to to co-write with again? Where can I improve as a co-writer? 

On Song craft

How many songs did I write? Did I write often enough? Which songs were my favorite to listen to? Which songs were my favorite to write? Where did I improve my songwriting? Are the songs I wrote this year better or worse than the songs I wrote in years past? Did I develop any new skills in harmony, chordal arrangements, melody writing, or lyric writing? 

On Networking 

Did I expand my network? Could I have gone to more live shows or did I meet enough folks? Which relationships fell through the cracks that I can reignite next year? Did my networking lead to more or better co-writing or additional cuts? Did I network with folks who can help me push my career forward? Who were my favorite new music industry professionals that I met? Who would I like to continue building community with?

On Listening 

What were my favorite new songs? What qualities do these songs have that I can bring into my own work? Did I listen to enough music? Did I discover any new songs to listen to outside of my typical genre? Which popular songs did I dislike and what can I learn from those? Which album did I listen to most this year? What new artist did I fall in love with? What did I learn from listening to music this year? 

I hope these questions help you think more clearly about this year and how it will fit into your life moving forward! I wish you all a beautiful end to this year and a beautiful beginning to the next. Thank you so much for reading along this year!