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Bloom Where You’re Planted
How to
make the most of your musical talents right where you are.
by Greg
Hansen
During any given
week, I receive dozens of demo packages and e-mails from singers
and songwriters who are looking for encouragement, opportunities
or information about what to do to expand their musical talents
on a larger scale. For the most part they are sincere, talented
people who just need some tips on what to do next. What I say here,
in a general sense, would apply to most creative or artistic fields
with an LDS emphasis or otherwise.
Start With
the Right Attitude
“The greatest
art is that of a noble life” said Gandhi. “Talent without character
is more to be dreaded than esteemed.” (Richard L. Evans, Thoughts..for
One Hundred Days {1966} 208.
Someone once
said: “He is a temperamental musician. Unfortunately, he is more
temper than mental.”
You should desire
to use your talents to build others; to enlighten and lift them.
If your secret desire is to be famous, get attention, or show off
your abilities, then in the end you will not succeed. Your life
should mirror your pure motivation; you cannot be an instrument
to communicate the Spirit as effectively when your personal life
is not in order. Today’s music industry is littered with the broken
and destroyed lives of artists who self-destructed from the wrong
motivations. Unfortunately, the LDS music industry is no exception.
Proper attitude and matching character are, in my opinion, the most
fundamental of all requirements in the arts.
Master Your
Craft
Too often the
sender of a demo package has not “paid his dues”, which is an expression
used in musician’s union circles for someone who has not put in
the practice time or training it takes to do it well. Someone may
have inspired musical ideas or feelings but lack the skill to actually
make it a song or write it down. Could it be that those stirrings
are the beginnings of a talent that is to be developed through discipline
and hard work? Is there a class, an instructor, a mentor, or some
way to master the mechanics of the skills you desire? If God is
giving you ideas, what are you doing on your part to make them a
useful reality?
The greatest
inspiration and ideas come to those whose craft has become second
nature, who have mastered their skills so well that they no longer
have to think about them as they create. Getting to this level is
a long process, but in most situations, something can be done on
your part to improve and develop your composition, voice or keyboard
skills to allow greater freedom in expressing those feelings of
inspiration. And the good news is, successes can come along the
way, not just after reaching the top.
Janice Kapp
Perry began at age 40 by writing songs for the Young Women in her
ward. Her songs were so well liked, that she then sent some in to
the Church music contest. Several won, and for years after, her
songs continued winning and being used throughout the Church. She
continued writing and began doing CD’s, and eventually built a living
for her and her family from it. Now she is probably one of the most
well-known LDS songwriters.
If you are a
singer, are you prepared with some excellent material and fireside
programs that would be inspiring to a youth group, adults or Relief
Society cultural night? Are you interesting, uplifting and compelling
when you perform? If you have done some homework and honed your
craft to a good degree, there is great need for this kind of thing
for special occasions in the Church. Much can be done locally and
regionally to inspire and uplift without ever going on tour or making
a commercial CD. When a person seeks to do as much good as possible
where they are, and do it well, people will eventually hear about
it and good opportunities will come from it.
Denny Crockett,
the original songwriter of the seminary Like Unto Us album,
wrote a Christmas song every year for friends and family, and mailed
it out as a Christmas card. Now some of those songs are finding
their way onto new recordings.
What about this
year’s girl’s camp song? Any road shows coming up? How can the next
music number in Sacrament meeting be even more inspiring? There
is also a great deal of community service opportunities available
for performing such as rest homes, hospitals, lodge meetings, weddings
and business parties. Look around and see what there is in your
area, or see if you can create some places to perform in association
with these groups. Organize a festival; check the local fair. Most
cities have Arts Weeks or Fourth of July events where things can
be done.
Do It
Do it a lot.
Work at it. You’re not a real songwriter until you’ve written fifty
or a hundred songs, good or bad. Elder Boyd K. Packer issued this
challenge: “Go to, then, you who are gifted; cultivate your gift.
Develop it in any of the arts and any worthy example of them. If
you have the ability and the desire, seek a career or employ your
talent as an avocation or cultivate it as a hobby. But in all ways
bless others with it. Set a standard of excellence...Never express
your gift unworthily.” (“The Arts and the Spirit of the Lord,” in
Speeches of the Year, 1976 [1977] 280).
Know Your
Audience
Perhaps you
are an opera singer, so be aware that a typical Young Men’s group
may not have much of an appreciation for that genre. People like
music because they feel something from it. It has to do something
for THEM. It is not about you. It is possible to educate and reach
people with unfamiliar material if some explanation can be done
along the way, such as why you chose this song and why it moves
you as the artist. Your job is to inspire, not turn a worship service
or fireside into a concert or recital.
So many performers
come to me and say: “I’ve made my CD; I’m doing my thing, why doesn’t
everyone fall all over me and buy it?" Because you’re not working
for your audience. Your talent, in order to be useful needs to reach
people, be it few or many.
Posterity
Counts
Ebenezer Beesley,
my multiple-great grandfather, came across the plains with the early
pioneers from Britain to Salt Lake City. He was a musician by trade,
who now found himself in perhaps the least hospitable place to build
a music career ever. He was innovative and creative and eventually
became the conductor of the Tabernacle Choir, as well as making
a living in music. His example inspired me, a century later, to
create a place for myself in professional music. Perhaps he is aware
of his example to me. What I value most from him are the songs he
composed in the hymnbook, my favorite being “High On a Mountain
Top”.
My point is
do not overlook the value of your talent as a gift to your posterity.
You may inspire someone with the collection of poetry you wrote
and put it into a family heirloom book or that recording that you
made for your wife’s birthday gift. Such a thing may never be commercially
viable, but has tremendous value nonetheless. My father was a reasonably
good singer, so we recorded a few songs when he would visit at Christmas.
After his sudden death at age 64, that recording is priceless.
Much joy can
come to us when we use our talents for righteous purposes. As we
use talents righteously, they will expand and new opportunities
and abilities will develop.
Greg Hansen
is a professional record producer, recording artist and composer
living in Utah, with four kids and five horses. See: www.greg-hansen.com
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