Becoming a musician isn’t about “arriving” or “making it”.
Sure, some musicians are farther along than others. We all have our idols that we want to be like. But even the most advanced, skilled musician has more to learn.
The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop being a musician. The nature of music is that you never arrive. There’s a world of creativity to unlock.
This is true because God is the author of all creativity.
Created in his image, we are made to create. It is wired into our DNA.
Does Creativity Run Out?
Imagine something ridiculous with me. Let’s say I wrote a blog post with the sole purpose of announcing my creative brilliance.
I had finally arrived.
After all my hard work, my 29 year old self had finally reached the pinnacle of creative genius.
There was nothing more to learn, uncover, or discover.
I had worked hard and exhausted all there was to know.
You probably wouldn’t have finished reading another sentence before you were on youtube watching something way more interesting.
This is ridiculous because we know deep with ourselves that there is so much more.
As long as there is more of God to see, there will always be a deeper level of creativity to reach [Tweet that?].
Let’s pull this down from the sky onto the ground level: A musician who is constantly developing is a musician who gets opportunities and others want to be around.
Nobody wants to be around “that musician” – the musician that already knows it all and can’t take an ounce of instruction. Nobody wants to hire that guy. Nobody wants to make music with that guy.
3 Action Steps for Your Learning
Hopefully, I convinced you that you should never stop growing. But I also want to leave you with 3 action steps you can take.
1. Engage in Active Listening – I’ve touched on this already HERE, but let me be clear. We all listen to music. And we all need those times where we listen to music for the sake of pure enjoyment. That’s not what I’m talking about here.
On a regular basis, listen to music for the purpose of learning – analyzing, writing down what you hear, deconstructing what is happening on your instrument. This may be the single greatest way to grow your musicality because you’re not being spoon-fed information. You’re becoming a self-learner. You’re discovering.
2. Foster Curiosity – I’ll mention a couple ideas here. First, become a noticer. Isn’t it true that we race through life at deafening speeds? We run from one activity to the next and never stop to notice the glory of God all around us. We are hardly ever present in the moment.
There always something, somewhere else on our minds. There’s always social networks to check into. We can’t simply enjoy our food without making the Instagram world jealous that we are having a great time.
Creatives are noticers. They slow down, notice the world within their day, and use that as fuel for their creations.
Second, do something that you’ve never done. If you are just a “singer”, pick up an instrument. Make a financial investment into a new piece of gear. Try a new style. Experiment with a new, random instrument. Be ever curious, ever expanding your palette of what God can use.
3. Schedule Creativity – I have an appointment on my calendar called “songwriting” (if only I could keep it more often). Musicians who never stop learning don’t wait for anticipation to strike. They schedule their creativity and get to work.
Most of us avoid this because we’re afraid of writing a bad song, messing up that melodic minor scale, or getting off the click track. We hate for our weakness to be revealed, even if we’re by ourselves.
Musician, please, do not fear. Your crappy creativity appointments over time, will eventually produce something brilliant. You can’t have the masterpiece without the mud. You can’t have the awesome without the arduous. Your painful practice will produce awesomeness if you don’t give up.
Most aspiring musicians give up when it’s hard (think about how many people have taken piano lessons for years but still don’t play the piano). But it’s the visionary musician who catches a vision – a vision for being used by God on a deeper level.
A musician who is ready when God says “now” and pours out His Spirit. A musician who is not afraid of what is difficult but instead, welcomes it. A musician who never stops learning.
Are you one of them?
What is your take on learning? Are you intentional with this in your life? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]
Dude! Just want to say your blogs especially the last few speak to the attitudes required for the musicians present at our church. We are presently going through a shifting, a movement, one in which God’s Glory is the predominant driving force.
As God stretches us, and we are truly feeling the stretching, these are the fundamentals that we are required to be firmly seated in.
I sent your last one on the rockstar drummer to our established as well as our young and coming drummers. It was instrumental to note our youngest drummer is 10 years old………his comment “The article was very moving”. I could only smile.
David continue to keep it coming!
Dude, so great! Thank you for reading and passing it along!