Bless This Morning Year: an Instrumental Playlist, & a Little Hope
After last week’s violence, I still felt that cloud of hopelessness yesterday, even though Michigan’s weather was unusually sunny and warm. Have you been feeling down, too?
Yesterday, I went to do some writing at the Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor. On a whim, I asked my friends on Facebook what instrumental music is their soundtrack to work time.
I almost made a closed-minded request for only songs that were acoustic based music. (No surprise that I’m a sucker for the acoustic guitar, old blues, and old jazz.)
Fortunately, I asked an open-ended inquiry. I got hours worth of great recommendations for new electronic based music, some classical, and some unique ambient works.
And then something else happened while I was compiling the songs into a playlist. I started feeling a little better, a little hopeful.
It’s not only a feeling gained from the music; it was a from a feeling of connection. Friends simply offering, “Hey, listen to Jonsi & Alex” or “Do you remember Explosions in the Sky?” I felt hopeful.
So here’s instrumental playlist of music to use for work time, from Chris Thile’s Bach interpretations on mandolin to Brian Eno’s classic sounds, to Helio’s piano mixed with electronic tones in “Bless This Morning Year”.
Get some work done. Stay openminded. And thank you for being there.
Greatness is not only a noun, but a choice
Greatness is not only a noun, but a choice:
- A perfectly on-pitch singer will get a compliment for his or her voice; but a powerful song, even if song imperfectly, will move your heart.
- A blazing fast guitar player can play 400 BPM, but can’t reach past your ear drums without an emotional composition.
- A joke stealer on Twitter might amass some followers, even some chuckles, but won’t move the needle on shining the spotlight on the culture’s ironies.
- An artist who masterfully paints by numbers isn’t going transcend or inspire the next generation of artists.
- Youtubers who are primary performing covers get a lot of clicks, but few can fill clubs across the country like songwriters William Fitzsimmons or K’naan.
- SEO marketers made a lot of money in 2005, but in 2015 we are rereading the works of someone who had an idea, theory, or perspective beyond clicks, beyond numbers.
We all have an opportunity to be great, but we also have to choose to focus that greatness; sometimes you have to take the risk and walk one more step.
During our drive to the Acorn Theater, Mike Gentry and I were chatting about the aspects that need to be in place for art to take off.
We both agreed the importance of the 10,000 hours of practice, but Mike added how there is another aspect, a “cool factor” that can’t be measured. “It’s a intangible thing, but you know it when it clicks,” he said.
Billy Corgan describes finding this hybrid of styles that meshed into the Siamese Dream sound in the 90s:
As a guitar player, I wanted to find something to frame what I was doing in…I took snippets of things of things, like the lyricism of Bob Dylan with the riffs of Black Sabbath and the atmosphere of Love and Rockets…” Corgan uses the magic word, “clicking” in his description of the evolution of the band: “It took about a year of experimentation, good gigs bad gigs, driving around the Midwest, until we saw this clicking point.”
It’s easy to dismiss “the clicking point” as the superficial hipster effect, what’s cool to be the flavor of the moment; but there’s a distinction between the actual moment when the art is getting to a uniqueness.
The clicking point. You know it when you hear it, see it, feel it. You have to put the 10,000 hours in to your craft, but you also have to be experimenting to find that special, elusive thing.
When making and promoting our art, we often feel like we are throwing darts at a dartboard, even the wall and hoping to hit a dartboard.
It’s like this equation:
A + B = ?
A = Music
B = promoting it
? = Whatever happens! (luck, fate, or random!)
I like how songwriter Billy Mann presents a different equation here:
Mann’s idea:
A + X = predetermined outcome.
The predetermined outcome should be something we can control, something we really value, something about the way we want to live. And this can apply to our moments in business.
It might be as simple as:
A = get a meeting with a publisher
Predetermined outcome = I want to represent my music well and share a positive message
X = Being an active listener, sharing my song, but not conforming my music.
Sure, there isn’t a guarantee for “make a lot of money” with this equation, but there isn’t a guarantee anyways.
So focus on what you control. We often find what makes us happy when we define the predetermined outcome, and let X lead us there.
Tips for Musicians Working for Tips!
Nashville performer Jennifer Sullivan shared a great post about working the tip jar: http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2015/11/16/how-i-make-50-an-hour-or-more-on-tips/
This topic is so important for new musicians playing the bar/restaurant scene. I’ll add a few points:
While it’s acceptable in Nashville to walk around the room with the tip jar, musicians won’t be able to do that in most regions. In the Midwest, restaurant owners will not allow for that! That’s an action that will ensure a musician will not get asked back to play.
However, I recommend musicians bring their own stool and their own tip jar, and leave it pretty close to the microphone or stage area so you can acknowledge with a smile or nod when someone leaves a tip. People are more likely to tip if they will get acknowledged by the performer for doing so.
I’d also advise musicians to be considerate that some restaurant owners might not appreciate hearing the request for tips in the microphone. When I got my start at 22 at a restaurant, I didn’t know what to say between songs, so I’d often say the cliche, “Don’t forget to tip your bartender and musician!” The legendary owner came up to me and said, “Don’t say that. Everyone knows to tip! Let’s keep it classy.” It was an important lesson to find a more unique voice between songs. Again, I recognize the rules on Broadway are different. On Broadway, you have to work that tip jar with fury, for the folks bar hop and it’s the only income being made! It’s important for new musicians to recognize the different implied rules for different gigs.
Still, the fact remains, the tip jar is essential to surviving the bar/restaurant scene anywhere. One longtime performer told me that if someone asks for a request you don’t know, make other suggestions in that style or era. Ask the person’s name before they walk away, and give them a shout out at the end of the song.
Folks asking for “happy birthday” requests gets old, but I’ll play a drinking song after 20 seconds of “happy birthday” and mention my favorite drink the bartender makes at end of the song. Treat every opportunity as a way to be unique.
You’ll notice in the photo that I’ll have a sign saying, “Leave a tip, take a CD!” While origianl music shows really need a merch sales person and clear prices, bar gigs are different. Any sale you make is good at the bar gig, and it’s really to encourage interaction, hopefully build a fan or two.
I’ve noticed that I’ve made close to the same in tips and sales this year after 119 gigs then I did two years ago playing 200+ gigs. It’s difficult to make exact conclusions why, but I think part of it is that sign saying, “Leave a tip, take a CD!”
Thanks for sharing your tips, Jennifer. Break a leg at the gigs!
