You’ve heard this story before: someone gets bonked on the head and wakes up changed in some sort of profound way. For Jeff Shattuck, the change had to do with songwriting. Here’s his incredible story.

It’s one of the most common questions anyone is asked when meeting for the first time. What do you do? For musicians and songwriters, it may not be such a clear-cut answer. In this open question to our readers, I ask how do you answer the question: what do you do?

This is the second article in a two-part series on MIDI and Songwriting. Going beyond the basics of MIDI and how it works, this piece speaks to the songwriter / composer and what kind of role MIDI plays in the creative process. Some of the topics covered here are choosing sounds, time management, and fighting the urge to be a perfectionist.

Like all forms of art, there has to be a driving force behind every artist. It’s that certain intangible that makes us go the extra effort. A reason, a want, a desire. Whatever that unexplainable power is, I can only call it like I see it – insecurity.

Is that to say that all artists are insecure? We can have a discussion going back and forth about how everyone has a sense of insecurity, but are musicians more prone to insecurity? Are musicians the most insecure individuals out there?