Sara Gougeon - Sara Gougeon

21 Lessons From 2021

Here we are once again at the edge of a new year. The years come and go fast. I am taking the time to reflect on what I did, how I grew, and what I learned. These are my 21 lessons from 2021. 1. Embrace the unknown If there's one

January 01, 2022 - 5 min read

Reflecting on a Year

A year ago today was the first frost in my hometown, Sudbury, Ontario. I was packing up the car to drive south to Tennessee, a journey filled with hope, fear, and the unexpected. Pacing back and forth from my bedroom to the car, I loaded my belongings. Suddenly, I slipped

October 19, 2021 - 2 min read

5 Songwriting Challenges to Sharpen Your Skills

If you’ve read through my blog posts, you probably know by now that I rave on about the Song A Week Challenge. But I want to share some specific songwriting prompts that you can use to improve your skills. Here are five challenges to help spice up your writing!

March 02, 2021 - 5 min read

The Art of Critiquing

I still remember the first time one of my songs was given a critique. My teacher probed at nonsensical lyrics, sections that were weak, my accompaniment that was drowning out the sound of my voice. I remember heat rushing to my cheeks, which must have been beaming red, tears swelling

February 23, 2021 - 4 min read

Taking the Cheese out of Love Songs

So you want to write a love song? Valentine's Day is coming up fast! Here’s how to take the cheesiness out of your song, flip your clichés, and say something that hasn’t already been said 10,000 times. Flipping ClichésFirst, let's define the word cliché: a cliché is

February 09, 2021 - 5 min read

Perfectionism

This week I had a conversation with an old friend of mine, a fellow Berklee graduate who studied songwriting. She sent me her newest song, which was, of course, incredible. She made a comment about how in the first verse, she 'rhymed' you with you, and she asked if I

February 02, 2021 - 3 min read

5 Reasons You Should be Writing a Song a Week

Are you writing a song a week? Do you want to be a songwriter? Here’s why you need to be writing every week. I am going to preface this by saying it took me five years to get to the steady consistency of writing a song a week. I

January 19, 2021 - 6 min read