This is an article I wrote for my web site. I hope some musicians find it helpful.
On Musicianship

Musicianship

An Aspect of Musicianship

By Michael Stevenson


After years of working with numerous musicians, I've found that too many musicians didn't have some of the basics of being a well-rounded musician! The main problem was not listening to the musicians they were playing with! Too many musicians allow their Ego's to get in the way when they aren't the soloist. They are so busy listening to themselves and trying to out-play everyone that the music doesn't flow; there is an element of selfishness that rears it ugly head in the form of overly busy, clashing noise. Now, showmanship (performance) is one thing, showboating (or upstaging) is another and it is at the opposite end of the spectrum! Save the 'showboating' for when you are the soloist; that is when it's your turn to shine, not when it is somebody else's turn to solo or lead!

When you are playing and supporting the vocalist or soloist, you should be listening the soloist and supporting them in conjunction with the other backing musicians, NOT trying to out shine the soloist or vocalist!

You are playing to provide a tapestry for the lead to embellish upon, not to have to fight thru! That tapestry being weaved with the other musicians is what should bring joy to the soul, the intricacy of the arrangement being blended for the lead to paint their feelings on. I'm quite sure that you would want that tapestry for your solo, be a sharing musician and provide it for who ever is leading!

Be a Sharing Musician

Be there for the band, for the music, and for the audience as well as for yourself. Some people might say, "That (fill in the instrumentalist) was jammin', but that band didn't have it together!" Wouldn't you prefer "That instrumentalist was jammin' and the band was kickin', they were tight!", I know I would!

It is so joyful to be in the audience listening to a band where the musicians just meld together. The audience member can focus on one musician and enjoy what they are playing, switch focus to another musician and enjoy them and so on and so forth! When all the musicians are truly playing together, the entire listening experience is heightened!!

Focus

A musician has to be able to focus on so many different things on stage at the same time and still further divide their focus on things off stage. The majority of those things happen at the subconscious level: fingering, intonation, tempo, sinking to the meter as far as placement within the song. For musicians, these things occur as second nature like walking and breathing.

Now, add to that, being aware of what the other musicians are playing at that time. Matching the volume (hopefully) to how their individual part should blend with the rest of the music. The focus shifts to:

· "Am I too loud or too soft?"
· "Am I playing too much, not leaving enough space for other instruments?"
· "Maybe I can go up an octave to open up the sound and give more room or will I then clash with someone else?"
· "Now should I start my solo from the Major Key, off the Relative Minor Key, or approach it from a really different Mode?"

These are a few of the other focal points that a thinking, listening musician deals with. If they also sing while playing, well that opens up another batch of focal points!

I used to be in a "Show Band", meaning that I had to play, sing, and perform sometimes intricate dance routines at the same time. You have to remain well focused if you have to duck under the trombonist's slide, while turning to the right, then stand up and turn to the left being sure that you don't hit the trombonist who is now ducking, come out of a half-spin and getting back up to the microphone to sing your background part! Don't forget to smile for the audience! But to tell the truth, if you've focused on getting those things down pat at rehearsal, it's not hard to do on stage. Those things drop down to the subconscious second-nature level because they were focused upon during rehearsals! You don't really focus on them while you're on stage, you're being aware of your role in the over-all scheme.
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Take care,
Michael
WaterFall Studios, Affordable Music Mixing, Mastering, and Recording in Michigan
mstevenson@waterfallrecordings.com

Nice article Michael and I could not agree more. I have been in bands where jealousy seemed to be a huge factor. Well, I'm sure you have heard that story many times. The drummer decides, gee, I should be singing lead, let's find a drummer. Or a back up vocalist decides, gee I want to sing lead but really cannot hold the lead spot. As a musician, you always try to handle these situations tactifully, but guess what? It is usually a losing cause because the person that really feels that need to branch out will do it anyhow. Most of the time, at least in my personal experience, it has broken up the band and said person found themselves either back to drumming or back to backup vocals. I would ask if there is a better solution then trying to solve the problem. In both cases, I decided they should sing some lead. Me, as a singer, it takes some of the pressure off so I do not mind letting someone else in for a song here or there, even if it does not sound that great. Optimal is when you have 2 very good lead singers, but not always easy to find. The backup singer taking the lead in a song becomes problematic because then they just want the spotlight the whole time, without even realizing what they sound like. Then you find yourself forced into a position of saying NO. Bands bands....worse than relationships because more people are involved..hahaha So for all you bands out there, take michael's advice, step off a bit and wait for your turn to shine. Do what you are capable of doing in the band and don't try to do something you just are not as good at. Too much ego is definitely a band killer.

You make some good points here Michael. When I was taking guitar lessons my instructor encouraged me to hit open jams. It really taught me alot about listening to other players and how to blend rhythm and lead into the jam. It was on the fly performance experience and my musicianship increased 10 fold.

As far as the ego factor goes, I've met a few musicians with inflated heads, but a true performer and songwriter plays music to satisfy an inner desire to express themselves.

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Lori at www.myspace.com/more2moremusic

thanks for sharing dude!______________________________Your forever friend lifts you up in spirits and makes that dark and empty maple story mesos world suddenly seem bright and full.