Play Your Own Music

March 26, 2007 · Comments

back home Having a single-subject conversation with Jeff Pulver is like asking Miles Davis to play Brahms straight. If the sentence before deals with Video on the Net Stockholm, the following sentence can be about handing out $10 bills in Times Square or it might be about how VON actually encompasses the disruption of the Internet more than it is about voice apps or video apps.

The point is, that’s how Jeff communicates. And oddly, it’s a method that I can process really well. I don’t always catch every thread and run with it, but there’s nothing jarring to me about starting at A and ending at “land shark.”

Play Your Own Music

If you deal well with structure, seek out people and organizations that deal with structure. If you’re a jazz performer and can improvise on the fly, steer clear of places that play strictly classical. If you’re a solo performer, learn the type of band you can best work with to get your solos heard while still building up the band that helps you express yourself. But pay attention to the music you like to play, and be true to the voice of it that you’re looking to follow.

Discord

When I was 15, I joined a Christian rock band briefly. I tried out with them, and they liked me. I played their songs, and it was pretty interesting music (Petra and Stryper). Cool, I thought. I can do this. Then, they told me I couldn’t play secular music any more once I joined their band. “Cool,” I said. “What’s secular music?” No more Metallica. No more Motley Crue. No more whatever else I liked. Clearly, that didn’t work out.

It’s important to find the people who “get it” or at least get YOU. Surround yourself with people who understand your kind of music, and you’ll have a better chance of moving ahead further. Shared languages are important.

But Then Again

Bringing someone completely different into the “band” makes for some interesting experiences. What does a rap band do with a skilled cello player? How does an orchestra work with Metallica? Sometimes having a mix of skills makes the most sense.

But only when everyone understands the music to be played, and can find their own peace with that music. It *still* requires that everyone play their own music.

I’m curious what kind of music you play where you work and/or in the projects you take on? What styles match your playing, and how do you find the relationships with music and musicians that best nourish you?

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  • Gotta agree with Jay. Professionalism and Chemistry is FAR more important than someone with an abundance of talent. I'd also have to say "People of similar skill sets". More often than not, if you have 3 people that are at level 1 and one person at level 4, the latter will become bored very soon and you will have personel issues.
  • In some ways, this is also about everyone having their own talents and experiences. We each bring something different to the table, and I think even with those you might not immediately "get"- you can understand a little better as their back story fills in.

    Because of the way my mind works, I totally get the train of thought thinkers, and can follow well- but I know it can be frustrating for others, who try to reign me in and steer things gently back on topic.
  • Funny, as a musician I actually find this a hard question to answer BUT I did immediately think of this entry from music guru David Hooper's blog called "Breaking Up The Band":

    http://www.indiemusician.com/music_business/200...

    I thought there were some interesting insights into working relationships that would apply to a lot of places other than music. For instance, I thought this quote could apply to many circumstances:

    "Talent is a valuable commodity, but not necessarily a rare commodity... What's rare is to find someone who is both talented and highly professional ­ and better yet, someone who shares your vision."

    Personally I think that's a huge lesson.
  • So while I could go all folkloric about this, you understand and appreciate the significance of being able to engage in discussions based on shared reference as much as anyone I know, whether you sink it in any particular scholarly terminology or not. My father called it "hyperspeak" observing me and some long time friends.

    Yeah, find the right Idea, the people who Know how to talk to each other, and the rest, well, it comes together. I dig it.

    Candygram.
  • It gets even more interesting when you are trying to 'find your sound and style' - starting from scratch with no money and just an idea, you get the blank slate, but it is much harder to get going than it is to build onto.

    Everyone hears your music a bit differently and has their own perception of it. Jazz is still the best metaphor for me, and for the diversity we are trying to engender with Social Media Club, but I have brought Howard in because he can really play the drums and keep a steady beat so I can wail away on the lead guitar. Of course, like Phil Collins, Howard can also take lead, which makes us much more versatile. The first hires are so important, but defining the sound and style and being able to be true to that is more so...
  • "every day has it's season" ... and that seems like that is the most sensible and Canadian way look at the world. Great blog, and so true. One of the things that rang true in my head all VON was the phrase, "Survival is about being the most adaptable."

    While not directly relevant, Jazz and improvisation is all about being adaptable.

    This new media world of disruption is *SO* new that really is what you make it. I'm still discovering what/where/how that "it" is.
  • Meg
    This is really interesting. It applies squarely to what we're trying to do on GNMParents. Gathering together musicians (parents) who "get" each other. But it's also about bringing in some new views and opinions, with a common thread of respecting each other's different approaches.

    It's hard for me to definitively claim a band or song as my favorite. It's more about finding a mix from different sources to fit a particular mood or situation. The more you listen to the easier it is to build your playlists- or to build your Mom resources.
  • jon
    Session musicians. There are a lot of musicians who are really good at playing lots of styles, of figuring out what you are trying to do and providing the kind of musical bed you need. They are not the innovators, they don't front any band, but they can move from style to style and, ironically, they are often far better musicians than the star. Why? Because they are more committed to the music than the trappings, to the harmony than the solo, to the steady work than the rise and fall.

    or maybe not.

    What do you think?
  • Sue Murphy
    I used to sing in an a capella quartet. The most important quality in a good quartet is the way the voices blend with one another. All of our voices had different qualities; bright and high, dark and low, etc. But when they came together they made something really beautiful.

    I strive to surround myself with people who have different qualities that they can bring to the relationship. But when it all comes together, it blends into something amazing.
  • bgavin
    "Sometimes having a mix of skills makes the most sense. "

    Sometimes having a mix of skills "on-call" or available to you at a moment's notice makes the most sense.
    This model creates an opportunity for those not able or not willing to commit to one band, full-time.
  • Interesting post chris. I think i need to make you a vlog to really describe it. :) - maybe i'll do one. Blogs need a video response button for attaching video responses similar to youtube.
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