To know what to play, you have to know what to say

Last night Sana and I were having  little brainstorming session to plan a concert we want to perform at various locales around the U.S. and beyond. Nothing special, more of a “wish list” type of thing.

We decided on a certain theme, then set out to list some of the things we both know and that “play us”, both individually and as a duo.

Sana had an idea of singing a certain song, and I immediately resisted the idea because I’m not particularly fond of the song she suggested. But then I thought for a moment, and said “if it works within the context of the theme we’re using, by all means go for it.”

Wise advice if I say so myself.

And I do.

But this wisdom has not been self-evident. It was hard-won through the great wisdom-producing machine known as failure.

About 11 years ago I set out to do some solo concerts on trumpet. No theme, no real purpose of me doing so other than to play things I liked in hopes others might enjoy them too. So we put a few on the schedule, a few people even showed up, and I was able to get some real-world performing experience that I missed out on doing things like a bachelor’s or master’s program in music performance.

I’m not going to say people that attended these concerts didn’t enjoy them. They did for the most part, but again they lacked a theme, or a message to share with the audiences. Something to make them think about things leaving the building.

Consequently, and not surprisingly, my personal brand as a performer never really gained any steam and I just got tired of doing it.

Now years later, and having a bit of education in the art of personal branding, we’re going about it with a bit more intention. So when Sana said she wanted to perform that song, I advised her to do so, but make sure it fits in with the message we’re sharing with the audience.

What’s the message we’re sharing? I’m not telling you, at least not right now. Keep reading my emails and maybe you’ll find out someday 😉

Point is that doing anything, be it performing music, recording podcasts or writing emails just for the sake of doing it has its limitations on the effect it’s going to have on the audience – not to mention the size of the audience.

But when there’s a specific outcome of the concert, podcast, email, you know exactly what to put on the set list, and what to leave out.

A composer named Igor Stravinsky, who was a shall we say “experimental” type of composer, said something along the lines of “when you establish the boundaries, then you can really get creative.” It’s not an exact quote, but that’s the essence of it. In other words, “When you know what you want to say, you’ll know what you need to play.”

Or sing. Or type. Or speak.

Fill in the blank with your preferred creative medium.