70–20–10 Revisited

I’ve been talking about my 70–20–10 theory for literally 10 years now.

It’s the assumption I’ve been operating under since year 1 of Song A Day. Like any crackpot theory of creativity, it’s useful for some situations and not others.

Here’s a couple of limitations of the theory I’ve been thinking about.

Limitation #1: You are bound to get better.

My piles of “good, bad and okay” are going to look very different if you use the 365 songs I wrote in year on1 vs. if you include all 3652 songs of all ten years.

As your skills as a songwriter grow, so will the nature of the 70–20–10 idea.

Limitation #2: What the heck is a “good” and “bad” song?!

Here’s something that I can almost guarantee you: Your favorite song from this month of writing a song everyday is going to change.

The one that, in the heat of making it, you thought was clearly the best? You might listen to it later and decide it sucks. And the one that you were sure was trash? That one may turn out to contain the seed of something amazing.

You never know what is going to resonate with future you. Maybe even more maddeningly (and exciting), you really, truly never know what’s going to resonate with other people.

I don’t think these limitations necessarily weaken the theory, but they do bring the underlying point of it into sharper relief: Don’t be afraid of the bad songs. Just sit down every day and do the thing, then figure out how you’re going to sort through it later. Also, making something everyday comes with its own reward: practice.