I have always believed that writing music is a secret language for sensitive people. What we cannot verbalise, show, or even constructively say, we tell in the form of a song. An honest and well-written piece of music can carry an indescribable amount of emotional depth, even in most cases – beyond what words alone are capable of.

Take Phoebe Bridgers’ “Funeral” as an example. The song opens with a haunting guitar feedback loop which transitions beautifully into a folky acoustic guitar line, followed by Bridgers’ soft vocals narrating her lament for the human experience. The peculiar thing is that the music was not even written in an objectively sad tone; the uplifting key of the base chords contrasts the nihilistic nature of the lyrics, creating a unique and bittersweet view of her world. This layered piece results from phenomenal songwriting as it turns complex emotions into a pleasant and moving form of art that can be easily understood. You can also have a piece like Sam Smith’s “The Thrill Of It All”, which is nothing short of a cinematic profession of heartbreak. The sheer passion and impact of the strings, keys, and harps, with Smith’s sensitive, yet powerful vocals, lend this track a larger-than-life representation of what it’s like to be betrayed, or broken.

The overarching similarity between these two different songs is that they were both written as a means of communication, not just as a piece of music or a collection of chords and melodies, but rather; as the only way to get their point across. This deep need to express through music as if it’s the only intelligible medium is what phenomenal songwriting is made of. 

It’s also the magic dragon that I chase when writing my own music. 

The notion of sincerity is my north star when I pick up the pen, or at least it’s the destination of where I set my sails, creatively speaking.

Unmistakably, this is also a struggle because pouring your heart into a piece of art can be overwhelming. It can be a daunting task because it requires so much emotional maturity and internal understanding to recognise what to express clearly. Pair that with the requirement of being musically literate, and it suddenly becomes a scary mountain to climb. But ultimately, it’s a climb worth striving for, as any pursuit of greatness will demand you to constantly push the limit of your abilities. 

The only question remains, why should you climb? Shouldn’t “as is” be good enough?

The dangerous trap of mediocrity is not only lethal but also silent. When the artist finds themselves comfortable with what they’re producing, it unknowingly becomes no different than a factory-assembled product. This repeating process slowly kills artistic value in the material and damages any sense of uniqueness that the artist has. When you start multiplying this mentality; you’ll have almost an entire ecosystem of artists predicated on putting out uninspiring material. This hurts two groups: The listeners and the future artists.

The average listener will either succumb to mediocre music; or worse, exclusively listen to foreign music once they realise better material exists. And when mediocrity becomes the norm, the next generation of artists will only adhere to the low standards set by their predecessors. This perpetuates the damage even further. “If Artist X did it this way and it worked, why should we change the formula?” becomes the potential mindset of newcomers. The fear of being different also emerges due to this hyper-conformity, which ends up forming an industry of artists that are so chronically bland and homogeneous. Everything just sounds the same. 

If we don’t combat mediocrity on a personal level, that dystopian reality can occur, and truthfully speaking, it already has. Music can lose its authenticity when it’s made to be made. And if that is all there is to offer, we collectively suffer. Of course, on the bright side, we are at least starting to see more daring acts today trying to break that mould. With the advent of social media and hyper-connectivity, newer acts today have access to fresh and unique material from all around the world. Some are pushing the boundaries of existing genres, some are even bringing in unheard styles and making it their own. This gives me hope that we have a chance at a diverse and mature ecosystem.

Regardless, music should be inspiring and honest. That should be the prevailing reason why we should strive to do better. Every effort to push oneself positively affects many others like a ripple. You continuously set an example by putting out good material as it naturally motivates others to do the same. And if your music can mean something, if it speaks to people you’ve never met before, move them, well then you have done your job. We owe it as creatives to be creative; we owe it to our community to explore new trails, and we owe it to ourselves to bring the soul back to music. As a love letter, an outlet, a medium, or a message, whatever music means to you, keep it alive and full of life.

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Aiman Z. is an aspiring producer and plays in the Malaysian rock band, Mascot. You’ll find him posting mini originals, thoughts on the community, and all-around love for music on his socials:

Check out Mascot here: