It's as old and true a way of teaching as organized school itself. Yet it's been lost somehow in our culture in the past 50 years.
But do we do that now to learn a craft? Do we seek out a master songwriter, painter, recording engineer, or musician to learn from and seek knowledge?
Naw, we just go to a quickie 2 year program that gives us a certificate (online even!) and they tell us, "You're Awesome, and now qualified to make $100,000 a year in a field you have no experience in and in which there are no open positions. Enjoy!"
Wow, all this for $80,000! Thanks America!
What happened to finding someone who knows more than you, who's been around the bend a bit, and who has scratched and fought to find a place for their gifts in this world? Someone who is an amazing master of the work you want to do, or at least has figured out a unique way to use their talents as a career. THAT is how you get to where you want to go. And it's how you find a real way to use your craft in the world.
1. Tinker.
Ok, we all do this. We play around with singing, dancing, painting, writing, or playing an instrument. Or we buy some software with one thousand tracks and musical instruments built in, and think "Hey, this music business thing is pretty cool and I already have the tools!! I'm good to go!"
But we're just tinkerers. We're messing around.
Now I'm all for tinkering. I've been a tinkerer for years. I tinkled just today.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with just sitting around on a piano, putting your hands down on it and seeing what happens. I wish more people would do that than feel so inextricably tied to sheet music that it eventually frustrates them and drives them back to "Dancing with the Stars" on DVR.
But at some point, you find that's not enough if you are truly called and feel gifted by God with a creative talent.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with just sitting around on a piano, putting your hands down on it and seeing what happens. I wish more people would do that than feel so inextricably tied to sheet music that it eventually frustrates them and drives them back to "Dancing with the Stars" on DVR.
But at some point, you find that's not enough if you are truly called and feel gifted by God with a creative talent.
2. Tailor.
So, we look for a way to use this gift. We try to find someone, or some place to go to get seen and heard. We send in our measly demos to try and get record deals. We sign up for online classes that promise us a career in a field where we can work in our jammies. We send our manuscripts to publishers to email addresses we find in a book.
And why not? It's easy. Requires just a little computer time. Not much effort. Maybe I'll get lucky!
Or we enter into a program at a college, and look for a degree in music, recording, dance, or art and reason that, geez, $80,000-$150,000 at college should be good for some kind of job right??
Author's Note: I want to make it clear I am not degrading the college experience here, but just trying to make a point. I am taking college courses myself right now and believe in it.
But at some point, we're going to have to go deeper. And that will mean more than just tailoring a program of certificates and awards and hoping to be discovered.
3. Mentor.
When I was just starting to produce music, and hoping it would turn out to be something I could do for an actual living, I met a producer who did produce for a living.
He had a very skilled background, with impressive credentials, and was employed by a large studio (back when studios employed producers you know).
Long story short, I began to ask him how he did what he did. How did he make a living as a songwriter, music producer, and musician that was enough to support his family?
I began to work with and along side him for years. Not every day. Not every week. But I would work with and for him enough that a little real world wisdom began to rub off on me.
I can remember at first hating to sit with clients at the keyboard and work with them standing over my shoulder while I created music. It was uncomfortable. Like when someone is looking over your shoulder when you type.
I complained about this to him, saying I'd rather do the programming by myself and show it to the client later. He said, "Do you want to a living at this or not?" Of course I did. "Then you better learn to deal with it. Clients like to see you do the "magic" that you can do. It's what they pay for."
This is just one story, but shows you a skill (that I eventually did indeed learn), but was taught to me by someone who knows because at some point HE had to learn this as well.
That kind of master to apprentice (or as we called it, "mentor" to "grasshopper"), seems to be getting lost these days. Students at school feel they are "paying" for this kind of thing, so why should they have to seek out relationships?
Maybe it's our "disconnected personally, yet connected virtually" nature, due to the internet and cell phones. But we need to regain this old way of learning a craft that has existed for millennia.
4. Coach.
One new type of service that is growing is called "Coaching". A lot of people confuse it with counseling or consulting, but its much more guiding than instructing.
I've had a personal Christian life coach for 7-8 years I talk to often. There are also creativity coaches who focus mainly on helping artists follow and find success in their create pursuits.
This kind of thing is exciting, and starts to move us back to the master/apprentice model.
So where are you on this journey? Maybe you need to find a master to learn from to get to a new level? Or maybe you can apprentice someone else who could use your wisdom?
The choice is yours, young grasshopper.
Have a great week!
So, we look for a way to use this gift. We try to find someone, or some place to go to get seen and heard. We send in our measly demos to try and get record deals. We sign up for online classes that promise us a career in a field where we can work in our jammies. We send our manuscripts to publishers to email addresses we find in a book.
And why not? It's easy. Requires just a little computer time. Not much effort. Maybe I'll get lucky!
Or we enter into a program at a college, and look for a degree in music, recording, dance, or art and reason that, geez, $80,000-$150,000 at college should be good for some kind of job right??
Author's Note: I want to make it clear I am not degrading the college experience here, but just trying to make a point. I am taking college courses myself right now and believe in it.
But at some point, we're going to have to go deeper. And that will mean more than just tailoring a program of certificates and awards and hoping to be discovered.
3. Mentor.
When I was just starting to produce music, and hoping it would turn out to be something I could do for an actual living, I met a producer who did produce for a living.
He had a very skilled background, with impressive credentials, and was employed by a large studio (back when studios employed producers you know).
Long story short, I began to ask him how he did what he did. How did he make a living as a songwriter, music producer, and musician that was enough to support his family?
I began to work with and along side him for years. Not every day. Not every week. But I would work with and for him enough that a little real world wisdom began to rub off on me.
I can remember at first hating to sit with clients at the keyboard and work with them standing over my shoulder while I created music. It was uncomfortable. Like when someone is looking over your shoulder when you type.
I complained about this to him, saying I'd rather do the programming by myself and show it to the client later. He said, "Do you want to a living at this or not?" Of course I did. "Then you better learn to deal with it. Clients like to see you do the "magic" that you can do. It's what they pay for."
This is just one story, but shows you a skill (that I eventually did indeed learn), but was taught to me by someone who knows because at some point HE had to learn this as well.
That kind of master to apprentice (or as we called it, "mentor" to "grasshopper"), seems to be getting lost these days. Students at school feel they are "paying" for this kind of thing, so why should they have to seek out relationships?
Maybe it's our "disconnected personally, yet connected virtually" nature, due to the internet and cell phones. But we need to regain this old way of learning a craft that has existed for millennia.
4. Coach.
One new type of service that is growing is called "Coaching". A lot of people confuse it with counseling or consulting, but its much more guiding than instructing.
I've had a personal Christian life coach for 7-8 years I talk to often. There are also creativity coaches who focus mainly on helping artists follow and find success in their create pursuits.
This kind of thing is exciting, and starts to move us back to the master/apprentice model.
So where are you on this journey? Maybe you need to find a master to learn from to get to a new level? Or maybe you can apprentice someone else who could use your wisdom?
The choice is yours, young grasshopper.
Have a great week!
EC
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Eric Copeland is a producer, consultant, and coach for Christian artists across the US and the world. You can find out more about Eric at http://www.CreativeSoulOnline.com or http://www.EricCopelandMusic.com
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Eric Copeland is a producer, consultant, and coach for Christian artists across the US and the world. You can find out more about Eric at http://www.CreativeSoulOnline.com or http://www.EricCopelandMusic.com
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