Songwriting
Written by Jesse Tollestrup
Sometimes writing a song can help process a tough day at school. Sometimes songwriting is an overflow of creative expression. Other times, it might be more reactive. Like in response to a significant life event.
Songwriting is not something that's one-size-fits-all. It's unique. It's therapeutic. It's work. And sometimes it's pure magic.
Below, three of our students give us a glimpse into their individual songwriting processes and what writing music means to them.
MEET EVA.
Eva Hyshka is 13 years old and just wrote her first song this winter. When she’s not doing music, you can find her doing sports: basketball, swimming, skiing, skating, ski-dooing….you name it!
There has always been a lot of music in Eva’s life. She’s been singing as long as she can remember, and began learning piano at age seven. Eva’s family is very supportive - she’s encouraged by not just her mom and dad, but her brother too! Recently she’s begun learning acoustic guitar for their big family jams.
"“My inspiration was always my dad, because he writes music, and I always thought that was really cool.”
- EVA
Eva grew up listening to country, but enjoys everything from pop to the rock songs she plays with her band, Roadside Rats, at Backbeat. If Eva could jam with any musicians, it would be Billie Eilish and Zach Bryan: Billie Eilish because of the methodical way she constructs her songs, and Zach Bryan because of how fun it is to jam his music with other people.
Eva has been interested in songwriting for ages. “I’ve tried writing songs before but I never could figure out what I wanted to write about.” Then one day, an unexpected event happened. “All of a sudden, I thought ‘maybe I could write something!’” This led to her first song, “Halfway To Your Heart.” Going forward, Eva wants to work on writing songs about simple things as well as big life events. “When I wrote my song, the event that happened to me was very big and drastic, it happened without warning and just kinda came out of nowhere…but what about the small things?”
Eva is inspired by the creativity and talent of others. “I see all these younger kids my age doing all this stuff [on social media] and I‘m like ‘that would be so cool!’” Eva is also inspired by musicians she finds out in the wild: “When I go to markets and I see people playing and they’re young like me I think – I wanna do that!” Recently, Eva was able to experience that joy from the other side when, after performing a song for a friend, this friend was so inspired that she also started to learn music. “I felt the feeling that maybe people feel on the streets – like they’re performing and then they see me come by and I’m super happy about it – and it felt really nice to spread that to one of my friends” Now Eva’s friend has her own piano at home and they jam together!
The main advice Eva has for other songwriters is – explore! “You don’t have to think the mindset of ‘oh I’m gonna write this song,’ think the mindset of ‘I’m gonna write this down and see what happens.’” In other words, “Do it how you want to do it and it’ll come to you.”
MEET VERA.
Vera is 17 years old and began seriously thinking about songwriting in 2022. However, her love of composition began much earlier: “From a young age I enjoyed making little melodies on the piano and would do things like that quite often.” Vera’s first “truly complete” song was for her Rock Band, The Connotations, at Backbeat in 2024. Her primary instrument is piano, but she also enjoys playing the saxophone and has recently begun teaching herself guitar.
Vera’s songwriting is “a slow and constant process” of exploration. Rarely will she sit down knowing exactly what she wants to write. Instead, Vera spends time at the piano and exploring different sounds, pausing to expand on ideas that catch her ear. “I don’t write songs very industriously…it’s a very in-the-moment thing for me.”
For Vera, the music almost always comes first. Once she has a chord progression or melody, she will start writing lyrics to match it. She tends to write in first person, and dabbles in character work. “I don’t really write narrative in songs. I like to write vignettes that are more about bottling a feeling into some tight phrase.” Some of these musical and lyrical explorations become fully fledged songs, but many are allowed to float back into the ether: “Finished songs I’ve written maybe 3 or 4, but I do have a lot of unfinished ones…I think 15 to 20.” Her songwriting is influenced by “...artsy, kind of whimsical indie pop from the early 2000s” like Regina Spektor and Vampire Weekend.
“[Songwriting] is work, it is a process, it takes time, and it takes effort."
- VERA
Vera’s creativity and musical taste changes shape from season to season and her playlists reflect this. In the fall, she listens to indie folk like Devendra Banhart, Big Thief, and Joanna Newsom. As autumn bleeds into winter Vera’s playlists tend more towards lo fi indie rock like Pavement or Modest Mouse - music that “...has a dryness to it.”
Vera’s songwriting journey is still just getting started. When asked about what kind of songs she writes, she says “I don’t really know yet.” For this reason, she is hesitant to give advice to other songwriters. However, she does share this: “It is work, it is a process, it takes time, and it takes effort. If you can’t come up with a great song really quickly, that’s not indicative of any kind of personal failing."
This fall Vera will start going to university for English. She is excited to be surrounded by peers with similar interests to her, and is looking forward to building a social life grounded in the local arts scene.
MEET LAINEY.
Lainey is 17 years old and has been writing music for more than half of her life. “A lot of my songwriting comes from my feelings, and I think that’s why I’ve stuck with songwriting my whole life. Truly, it does help me get over those feelings and process them more.” Navigating big feelings has been part of Lainey’s songwriting since day one. She wrote her first song, “If I Was A Sunflower,” at age seven on ukulele. It was about wanting to fit in at school. Over the years, Lainey has honed her skills as a storyteller and learned a ton of new instruments: guitar, piano, trumpet, bass, and drums.
“When I am feeling bad or feeling angry or feeling upset about something I tend to write about it rather than dwelling on it.”
- LAINEY
When Lainey writes, she doesn’t play favourites between lyrics and music. “I usually figure out a cute little thing on guitar and then I'll put some lyrics over it and then…I create the rest of it at the same time.” She does, however, have a favourite instrument: guitar. Specifically, acoustic guitar. Even more specifically, Taylor acoustic guitars. She got her first Taylor guitar around the age of 13. After an incident involving a foot going through her Taylor’s soundboard, her parents bought her a new Taylor guitar for Christmas. This is Lainey’s preferred instrument to write with.
Who encourages Lainey to be creative? “I would say…myself! I tend to work really hard if I want something and I have had a dream my entire life to have music out there and perform and have other people enjoy me as much as I enjoy creating." That said, there are lots of important mentors in Lainey’s life. “Obviously Francesco Rizzuto…he’s my teacher at Backbeat.” Lainey also credits previous Backbeat teachers like Esther Forsyth, who “definitely pushed me and got me places that I’ve never been before” and community members like Rhea March, who “helped me get a lot of gigs and pushes me to do the best that I can.”
When asked what kind of music Lainey listens to, she laughed and said “I listen to everything! I don’t know, that’s so hard!” Eventually Lainey settled the indie folk artists Phoebe Bridgers, Lizzie McAlpine and Kevin Atwater, as well as some older groups like The BeeGees and Fleetwood Mac.
Lainey is not immune to the winter blues. “When it is colder outside, I lose my motivation a lot for a lot of things.” One thing that helps Lainey deal with this is Backbeat! Specifically, the connection, community, and mentorship that comes from playing and learning music with other people every week.
In looking for inspiration, Lainey turns to the tangible: “My senses. The things that are around me. Usually I write in my room by myself so I find a lot of inspiration from that.” Scent is also important to Lainey, and she finds that the smell of lavender helps her find the right headspace. “Whenever I’m writing I’ll sometimes just take a little petal and go like this -” (Lainey mimes crushing a petal between her fingers) “- and just smell it or put it on my wrists.”
“I don’t want passion to feel like a chore. I want it to feel like a privilege and I want it to just keep on going every single day.”
- LAINEY
Lainey’s advice to other songwriters? “Don’t think too much about it.”
“It’s something that you shouldn’t have to beat yourself up over if you don’t like something,” she says. “What matters most is if it’s coming from your heart. You shouldn’t have to worry about making it perfect every single time.” However, Lainey makes it clear that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t edit. Rather, don’t let the editing interfere with the initial process of creation.
