Most of the great musicians and songwriters that I’ve met and worked with have two things in common.
One is that they have confidence. They’re experienced creators. They’re professionals. They’ve already met many challenges (of music and of the personalities in music) and have a strong sense that they have the combination of talent, skills and tools (preparation), and experience necessary to do what is required of them at the next gig – musically and personally. They’ve run the gamut – they’ve already been through a lot of hair-raising situations and have a reasonable expectation that they can successfully find a way through the next one… and even enjoy it – most of the time, anyway.
They also have humility. They know that music and songs are bigger than any one musician or songwriter. Nobody knows it all or can do it it all. Music and songs come from so many different places; there are so many different ways to create, so many new twists and turns happening all the time. It’ll always be bigger than any one person, no matter how great a creative force that person may be.
Yes, there certainly are master musicians and songwriters. But they are masters of certain areas. There’s always more to learn, or a different way to do things. Just when you think you’ve got it… you don’t got it!
Say you’re climbing a big mountain. On some level you’ve got to believe you can do it. That you have the ability, training, and experience to meet the challenges to come, even if you don’t know what they’ll be or how you’ll surmount them – or even survive them.
But you also need humility. There are forces at play that are greater than you – no matter how skilled you are. If you don’t assess the challenges with that understanding, the challenges have a much better chance of proving to be too much for you, or anyone. And, unlike in music (most of the time, anyway), the consequences of hubris on a mountain can be fatal. No one is superhuman.
A songwriter has to have some kind of confidence – if only the confidence to try. Maybe sometimes it’s just hope. Confidence is crucial… but it can lead to self-deception, which can lead to hubris.
From what I’ve seen, humility is the other side of the coin of confidence. Humility is not a lack of confidence. Humility is what keeps confidence in a truer perspective.