Maintaining tight relationships within your personal music ecosystem is incredibly important, no matter which stage of musical development you’re in.
There’s a huge difference between short-term, situation-bound interaction and genuine interest towards individuals in your musical periphery.
We brainstormed some individual facts to give you an overview of things to think about.
Let’s hit it:
Availability is not a given
People just can’t be available all the time. Especially freelancers have a whole assortment of projects running simultaneously. They work hard to make ends meet in a competitive, creative environment. To spend extra time on a DIY project that might even be tight on resources is a huge deal.
Service to the technician
Working from a mindset where you, as a musician, are doing all you can so that your technician can shine while conducting his/her profession is essential when building a solid bond. This essentially has a lot to do with the way you adapt your dynamic levels to the surroundings.
Being aware of the challenges that some locations assert while working WITH the technicians on delivering an ideal form of output on a given evening is essential to the shared process. It also shows the person you’re working with that he/she is part of an adaptive process.
Unspoken Footnotes
Oftentimes, the creative process contains a multitude of unspoken footnotes. This means minor thoughts on where things are going, what current worries might be or what the general mood is. A huge part of working collaboratively should be making an effort at establishing a form of transparency.
If a bandleader is starting to lay some pressure on an ongoing production or preparation, he/she should try to enclose information on why this pressure is needed. Oftentimes – even if you think it’s the case – the creative boat is not at all acting on the same page.
This can cause bewilderment and sometimes even negativity. The clearer the agenda and necessary steps are communicated, the stronger the ground on which a project acts as a unit, as opposed to scattered creatives somehow hovering into the same direction.
Vague ideas need tangible moods
Great ideas can be absolutely widespread, without a clear strategy or way of getting there. That’s just part of the creative chaos and it CAN work out eventually. Remembering, though, that externals are not able and don’t necessarily have the calm to stick with this chaos is vital when keeping the mood right and the process going.
The more vague any given idea of a musical director, producer or bandleader is, the clearer his/her moods – meaning exemplary songs, visuals etc. – have to be. It’s definitely a noble cause, trying to aim for something truly unique with sole images floating around in your mind. Chances are high, though, that your creative periphery will have a hard time processing your directives.
By really doing your homework in terms of moodboarding you done respect and empathy towards the fact that others are trying, not always able, but trying their best to realize loose concepts that might come natural to you. This will ward off many forms of frustration and save a lot of time and energy while preventing wild goose-chases.
0 be the first one to show some appreciation for this!