An Encouragement and Challenge for Musicians

This idea hit me yesterday, so I wrote it down and shared this last night with our musicians at rehearsal. I hope it comes as an encouragement to you as to where you have come from, and a challenge as to where you will go…

“HOPEFULLY IT DOES, AND YET DOES NOT…”

Years ago, probably in your childhood or school years, you discovered a fondness and liking for music.

Perhaps you had a parent that, although not very musical themselves, loved to listen to music because of what it did for their attitude, and thus yours.

Maybe your parent was musical, and so you saw it take tactile shape in their lives.

You probably also discovered that while others endured your required music class in Elementary School, you actually looked forward to it. There was something about it that came easy to you, and that you excelled in – thus your desire and interest in it grew.

Years past, and at some key point in your life, you made a bold, conscious move to immerse yourself in your musical interests, and to develop your natural mustard-seed talents into actual abilities. Some of you did it voluntarily, sometimes even against the desires of your parents. Others did it with the constant prodding, and even hounding from a parent that saw more in us than we saw in ourselves at the time.

More years past, and behind you now are a lifetime of experiences – some great successes and some miserable failures. Some of them are direct results of your own single and series of decisions, and so you are the only one to praise, or to fault. Others have been placed in your path as a test or a trial – to challenge your heart and allow you to either grow or be broken. Either way, you will learn something. All these experiences have paved the way to get you to where you are today. You may see that favorably in some of your life’s situations, and with frustration for other circumstances.

One of the places that your path has lead you is to here. Right here. Right now. With these people, in this building, performing a specific task in a specific role.

The question is: Does that satisfy you?

Hopefully it does, and yet does not.

Hopefully it does, in that you are able to look back at your journey with great understanding, and know that God has you in this place in your life for some very specific reasons. You are here to give back what has been given to you. And the more that has been given to you, whether someone else’s time or talents from God, the more you are now being called to give back to Him.

And be entirely satisfied to know that decades of hard work, grueling experiences, sweat and tears are now paying dividends for the glory of God. Know that both He and your peers are proud of you for putting in the time and effort to be great at what you do, and that you are doing great things when you use the talents He placed in you from your inception.

And, at the same time, hopefully your satisfaction does not turn into arrogance, pride, assumption or apathy. Hopefully you see that there is always room for improvement from your end. Your skills are an evolving and growing entity, and to allowing them to stagnate is a disservice to your Creator.

Are you in doubt? All you need to do is look in your own rear-view mirror! Look at how your skills, along with your personal and spiritual maturity were matched with the situations you were in. Look at each phase of your life, and know that there will be a point, far in the future, that this current time and situation will be just another step in your journey.

The next question is: What decisions, steps and actions will you take today so that years from now, you are able to look back at this time with favorable eyes?

Proverbs 22:29

NIV:

29 Do you see a man skilled in his work?

   He will serve before kings;

   he will not serve before obscure men.

The Message:

29 Observe people who are good at their work—

   skilled workers are always in demand and admired;

   they don’t take a backseat to anyone.

When Does Creativity Strike?

Today I’m pondering the thought of WHEN DOES CREATIVITY STRIKE?

Meaning, when does it not just kind of happen, but when does it come with a whirlwind of force?

Now I’m certainly no expert, but in analyzing that concept this morning, I think I’ve narrowed it down to 3 specific predictable times or situations. I’m interested to see if any of you feel the same.

#1 – FORCED

With my job or with freelance assignments I’ll accept, the occasion arrises where something (usually a music bed, song track or a soundtrack/score for a video of sorts in my case) needs to be created. There’s usually a goal in mind, such as a desired emotion or an existing video that needs to be enhanced emphasized through music.

So that – at least for me – is actually easier than having a blank canvas. It becomes a task to build off an existing item or desired result. There’s also a DEADLINE that exists, so that, for some reason, seems to get the creative juices flowing. Not to mention that I’ll put in some crazy hours (nights, weekends) to meet that deadline.

There’s also a REFINEMENT in the creative process as you collaborate back and forth with the assignor. You give them a version, they comment, you refine, and that cycle continues until everyone is happy. (That process is a whole ‘nother topic – believe you me!)

So there’s #1 – a reason to do something because someone has put their trust in you and your creative interpretation, and is counting on you to complete the task within a certain timeframe.

#2 – SPONTANEOUS

Every once in a while this happens, at least for me. It’s not planned or forced, but almost happens by accident due to your surroundings. You happen to be alone and sit at the piano or pick up a guitar to work on something else, and before you know it, you’re off to the races in a total different direction.

This happened for me a TON when I was in middle and high school, practicing piano for hours a day. You talk about a situation ripe for musical tangents! But Mom would let me go for a while before reigning in those creative juices. But from that, it nurtured the creative side of music for me, not just the discipline of practicing.

Spontaneous creativity for many musicians also comes when we’re doing music of some kinds with other musicians – especially those we respect and trust creatively. The instantly gratifying exchange of ideas and feeding off each others’ energy is great – not to mention the real-time critique of what’s being created. You might like something a lot, but the look on the rest of the faces will let you know when you’re right – or wrong!

#3 – PLANNED

This is the toughest for me. It’s a whole new discipline that I’m only starting to learn. The other concepts come natural – like a byproduct of my job and hobbies. But the concept of planned creativity without a real deadline is foreign to my nature.

And guilt. That’s another issue I struggle with in this regards. Taking a planned time away from my work or family so that I can attempt to be creative? I’m pretty sure that’s not part of any MBA program or marriage book…

Or maybe it is. One of the things that doing The Artist’s Way helped me realize is that I’m not going to ever be satisfied with me – as a whole person – unless I have a specific outlet for my creative side. And that without that, over time, I’m not going to be nearly the man (and husband and father) that I could be.

So that’s where I am today. Only starting to follow the example set by some great friends and respected colleagues, and set aside disciplined time to create.

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So what about YOU – do any of these match your creative lifestyle?

Is one harder than the others?

Are you presenting yourself opportunities to exercise your creative energy?

Let me know what you think!

Reminders…

Hey Fun Seekers!

Sorry for the minimal posts this week – it has been extremely busy. Plus, the continued operating system upgrade and consequent software registration headaches have put me waaaaay behind the 8 Ball.

I mean, the Finale (notation program) registration Nazis and a string quartet transcription alone have occupied far more than their fair share of my time.

That, plus some other cool things that are brewing that I’ll tell you about next week, have reminded me of two valuable life lessons.

So here’s what you can take away from my experience:

#1. Serial Numbers and Registrations.

Right now, before you do anything else today…

- Make a list of all your purchased software and their subsequent registrations and/or serial numbers AND associated user names / passwords / emails. Put them all on one big document, and print it out and store a PDF of it on your computer AND an external hard drive.

- Assemble in one safe, memorable spot, all the software installer disks (CD-ROMs, DVDs, etc.).

- Organize all downloaded installers (.dmg, .pkg, .mpkg, etc…) on an external hard drive

- Backup your system often!

I didn’t do all this, and I’ve paid a price. I haven’t totally lost anything, but I got lucky a few times by searching through old emails and stumbling across old sticky notes. Whew! Plus, I’ve could have saved a TON of time!

#2. Do EVERYTHING Well, All the Time!

Put your heart, soul and absolute best foot forward in everything you do and create. Your reputation and bank account will eventually thank you…

I’ll elaborate on that more next week…

Can everyone be creative?

Hey kids…

I’m pretty busy getting ready for this weekend’s Married Life Live, which is extra-curricular activity in my world.

So let me leave you with one question that arose in yesterday’s The Artist’s Way meeting (as we swayed way off topic in our break-out group):

“(Whether they are right-brained or left-brained,) does every human have the capability / potential of doing something creative, specifically in the arts, at a “professional” or competent level that would be recognized by peers in that field?”

And we were referring specifically to traditional Arts-based creativity (music, writing, visual arts, film, etc.), versus creative problem solving in a non-Arts field.

Think about it….

And here’s another nugget to chew on from me to you:

“As far as “being creative” in the Arts is concerned, what is the difference between someone who is creative in their interpretation / adaptation (musician, actor) and someone who creates a work (songwriter, novelist, playwright).”

Interesting, huh?

The Artist’s Way Group

Hey Fun Seekers, have I got a challenge for you…

There’s a book by Julia Cameron called The Artist’s Way.

Some of you may have heard of, although most of you haven’t – but it has sold over 2,000,000 copies. So it’s got some serious legs to stand on…

The tag is “A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self“

And it’s available at your local bookstore or online.

I heard about this book last year from Eddie Kirkland, Mike Bielenberg and Danny Grady – all of whom read the book, did the book’s exercises, and couldn’t stop raving about how it had changed their creative lives.

And I was so excited about it from what they were telling me, that we decided o tackle it as a Music Department Staff. The 5 of us dove into it, in hopes that it might prove to be something to do as a large group with our body of musicians.

Sure enough, it was.

And after just one simple email invitation, 40 of our musicians (instrumentalists, singers, Worship Leaders, songwriters, etc.) told us they wanted to be a part.

40.

And not 40 wannabe’s or hackers or 2nd or 3rd-tier people trying to butter us up for more gigs – I’m talking about the core of our musicians, singers and Worship Leaders. And at 2:00 on a Wednesday afternoon!

So we’ve divided up into 4 groups of 10 (far more manageable, especially since not everyone can make it every single week) and will meet for 14 weeks. The book takes 12 weeks to do, along with an introductory meeting and a summary meeting.

Now here’s the disclaimer: The book is NOT written by a Christian, but there is constant reference to The Creator and, and a Christian, it is extremely easy to view the book and its contents through the lens of the Gospel. You’ve just got to know that going in.

If anything, we who have done it would all say that it has in fact strengthened our relationship with God, especially after seeing His creativity is us, His creations.

On page 3, the author lists 10 basic principles. Three of my favorite are:

#3 – When we open ourselves to creativity, we open ourselves to the Creator’s creativity within us and our lives.

#4 – We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.

#5 – Creativity is (one of) God’s gift(s) to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.

So here’s my challenge to you: Read and do The Artist’s Way with us over the next 12 weeks, wherever you happen to be. While you might not be a part of our meeting, your thoughts, insights and personal stories are welcome, and I’d love to share them with our group (with you permission).

Whether your creative outlet – whatever that might be – has been bruised in the past, or you’ve had a creative dream that you’ve always been afraid of pursuing, this book is for you.

If you feel you’re not creative – well, you’re wrong. Everyone is in some way, and this may be the key to unlock some serious self discovery.

And creativity is not just music. It’s art, sculpture, photography, graphics, writing, stories, novels, poems, scripts, plays, film, teaching, parenting, marketing, stage design, lighting, etc. Even creating routines for Kick Boxing class…

And you’re not too old, either. Or too busy.

And all those other excuses you came up with while reading this? Nope, no good. Sorry…

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Oh, and as an added bonus, here’s the letter that Eddie sent out to our folks, just to get you inspired…

I wanted to invite you to be part of a weekly group we’re about to start on January 28th. We’ll be going through a book/program called the Artist’s Way, which is an amazing 12 week experience that discusses and encourages creativity and writing.
About a year and a half ago, I picked up this book for the first time, and I talked to many of you about it as I walked through the process. It drastically changed my relationship with God, challenged some very deeply held beliefs I had about myself and my writing, and inspired me to begin writing as a way of expressing the creativity that God had placed inside of me. The whole music staff as well as some of the musicians that play here at North Point have already been through this book and have experienced a similar journey, so we really wanted to open it up to you as an opportunity for us to walk through it together as a group. (Talk to Reid, Karyn, Todd, Jared, Mike Bielenberg, or Danny Grady if you want a second opinion)
Basically, the group will meet once a week for 2 hours, and you should know up front that it will involve a pretty good commitment of time over the 3 months. There are readings for each week, as well as homework to do each day, which sounds like a lot, but please trust me… you will get out exponentially more than you put into this process. I really believe that we will walk away from this experience with a much greater understanding of why God has given us all creativity (even people who have never written or created anything before!), and how we can relate to Him through our expressions of that creativity in us.
For those of you that tuned me out because you don’t see yourself as a “writer”: This is totally for you, as well. This group is not, in any way, a “songwriting workshop.” We won’t be bringing our guitars and showcasing music. You won’t have to sing in front of judges while they critique your work. In fact, through the process, you may find a passion for one of a thousand different creative expressions other than music. It’s not just about writing songs (the book is actually written by a novelist/playwright) so please don’t shy away from it. I think you will get a ton out of the experience if you give it a shot.
And please, please, PLEASE don’t think that you need to be a part of this group to be considered a “good musician” and if you don’t join we will never call you again. That’s a lie… so don’t even begin to believe it! This is completely optional and fun, we just wanted to see if anybody would be interested in trying it out together. I know you are all extremely busy people, and this may not fit well in your life right now, we would just love to have you there because we love getting to see you. Period, no strings attached.
Thanks for reading this long email, hope I didn’t totally bore you. Our first meeting will be Wednesday, January 28th from 2pm to 4pm. If you are interested in being a part of the group, please let me know via email before January 19th, so that we can order the right number of books. Looking forward to it, and I hope you can be a part!

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If you do the book, either alone or with a group of your own, let me know! I’d be really cool to take this journey together.