**Guest post by One Submit, the ultimate music submission platform.

"I have been producing and composing music for the last few decades, and I can honestly say that the songwriting process has changed quite a bit since I first started out.

From music recordings on 2-inch tape in the early millennium to digital recordings in the present day, using a variety of DAWs, plugins, AI, VSTs, and more.

Even the process by which artists write music has changed a lot. These days, it has become so easy to collaborate with anyone in the world.

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As a teenager, I was working on a computer with floppy disks, trying to learn how to write and produce songs. I was able to slowly improve my creativity and technical skills over and over until I figured out how to write and produce real songs.

Over the course of the years, I have learned that there are very important and valuable skills in particular that make a big difference and, from experience, have helped me continue to improve.

Surprisingly, it's not time management skills, networking skills, or even improving your songwriting skills or talent that will launch your art career.

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So, what is the most important skill you'll need to become a successful artist?

It's basic but valuable. It's called self-awareness! Let's call it SA for now.

So, what is SA?

SA is the ability to focus on oneself and how one's actions, feelings, or thoughts match or disagree with one's internal standards.

Looking at SA from an artist's or producer's point of view, it means knowing how to objectively assess one's musical abilities and skills.

Whether your medium is acoustic or digital art, you need to be able to use your SA. SA is a personality trait that not everyone is born with, so it may take practice and effort to master.

Many musicians are so engrossed in creating art that they lack the ability to step back and look at things objectively. So use your inner communication skills to find the perfect balance.

My first few songs were terrible, but the saddest part was how confident I was that I could make it to the top of the charts. It took me a lot of time to put things into perspective, actually listen to my songs, and examine them in an objective way.

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So, believe me, as much as I wish that self-confidence and simply the desire to create art were enough to become successful, the working artist should also look to develop certain crucial skills.

Why SA matters

SA is the most crucial skill you need to be successful as an artist. No one is born a producer or a songwriter. Every time we make something, we are improving ourselves, our own work, and our own style, little by little.

A person with developed SA improves much faster than someone who is completely oblivious. If you've written a song with a boring chorus and never noticed, or your latest synth track is simply painful to listen to, you’re not going anywhere.

The sooner you identify your weakest areas as an artist and improve your other skills, the more likely you are to reach a point where you will thrive and succeed in your artistic career.

It's a long road, and many artists drop out along the way.

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How can you honestly review your song?

If you’re recording a song, you are emotionally involved in the process of creating a work of art.

The average novice artist almost always hypes up their tracks and thinks the song is a real hit, even when statistically it's not.

So how do you build a healthy, objective SA?

Below are some suggestions:

Don't fall in love with your creation.

Almost every artist I've worked with has had problems falling in love with their own art.

Everything looks great when you fall in love with something or someone. It has a rainbow of colors, and the guitar chords sound like angels singing.

At some point, I was convinced I had created a worthy hit and was well on my way to conquering the charts.

This is where self-awareness should step in and ring the alarm. "What elements of the song are the weakest? How are the vocals? What about mixes and masters? Is it a catchy melody?"

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If you're just starting your musical journey and think your music is top-notch, chances are you're not ready yet.

References

Musical references can teach you a lot of music production skills. They are free, and knowledge is valuable. Use them to your advantage.

Explore where you are on the music genre and subgenre spectrum and find songs that are similar to your current style. Once I find a good reference, I move back and forth between tracks and references. Find out what makes your references so great, and then infer from that what your own song is missing.

This is an essential technique for producers, mixers, and mastering engineers, but it can also be effective for songwriters.

Another set of ears

Another technique that I found greatly beneficial was to imagine hearing that song from someone else. Imagine hearing a new song for the first time by a completely different person, separate from your own perspective.

Try to block out your emotional feelings towards the song and criticize it in a raw way, as if it’s your first time hearing it. Once you've done that, you'll know where you can improve and how to approach these aspects of the track with new techniques.

There is always room for improvement.

It can take a little while to master, but once you do, it'll prove very effective.

Always be open to new ideas and get feedback from music industry experts.

If someone you think you could learn from understands your own unique style and what you are trying to achieve, their input will be invaluable.

Your neighbor and mother do not count. While they may give you honest advice, it can be confusing because they don't necessarily have the right tools to evaluate your song or technique and professionally explain where your track needs improvement.

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For example, I saw a documentary on Lewis Capaldi where his mother heard his new song and gave him some very bad advice.

This can be incredibly confusing for an uncertain young artist.

Try to accept good feedback from the right people.

SA doesn't just affect music production.

SA is also about making the right decisions in your music career.

Know who you are, where you are in your music career, and where you're going.

If you’ve just released your second single and your stream and followers are slow, contacting Universal Music Group and other major record labels is a waste of time.

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Take your time, and always remember:

It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Be prepared for a long journey. Everything you have achieved is a step closer to success.

If you look back at all the successful artists in musical art history, you'll find that a lot of them worked for years before gaining any recognition.

The faster you improve, the faster you can get where you want to be.

If you were to make a list of what it takes to truly become a great artist, "work hard" should be second on the list, with perseverance following close by.

Don’t give up.

When starting a project, song, or production, never stop midway. Stop paying attention to what other artists are doing and always get to the finish line.

In doing this, you train your mind to be patient and stick with a creation even when you encounter something like a block.

Practicing this with your smaller projects early on ensures that when you start bigger projects later in your career, you will be prepared in the face of any mental obstacles.

Good luck, and just remember, your music career is only one song away."

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