Questions for Your Artistic Self - #4

Why would other people want to hear/listen to you?

I ask this question to look inward. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in developing our craft/sound/repertoire/performance skills and opportunities that we rarely stop and ask this question to ourselves. Perhaps it’s far too confronting. Nonetheless, I think it is important to take a look at the reasons people may want to hear you, assuming they do. The answer may take awhile to come but I feel this questions puts us in touch with what we convey and what we feel an audience gets from what we communicate to them.

It’s humbling to look at how an audience benefits from hearing and/or experiencing us. Many times we feel that the mere fact we’re expressing ourselves artistically deserves merit alone. Sure it does but if that were all - we'd simply perform for ourselves - yet we want to be heard by others. Is the world truly waiting for your particular form of artistic expression? Probably yes and maybe no. Looking at this question once past the mere confrontation of it can help bridge the gaps between you and your current or potential listening audience.

Questions for Your Artistic Self - #3

If you're a vocalist, how important are the lyrics to you?

To me - if you’re a vocalist performing the lyrics in the group – you have a great responsibility to communicate them so that whomever is listening can understand what the message is. The entire band has the music but only you have the words and those words are powerful. Someone wrote them, maybe even YOU wrote them. They communicate the message of what the music is trying to convey. The audience should at the very least…understand you. In addition, the audience wants to not only know what you’re talking about but also your point of view.

Show them you intention of choosing the particular piece you’re performing. Show them that you mean what you're singing about and audiences will believe in you. Think about how important lyrics are to you and make them even more important and your listening audience will want to take a small piece of you home.

Questions for your Artistic Self - #2

Are you making a statement with your performances?

I’d like to address the importance of this question: too often if we’re honest, we hear, see, and take in performances that puzzle us due to lack of imagination amongst other things. From time to time, I've seen performances where I've been blown away and swept up in the experience. Then there are times when I wonder why that person is standing there at all. I usually feel that way when I sense the performer isn't showing me themselves somehow - however I perceive that.

Now mind you, I don't think it's bad to lack imagination. This too is valued and has it's place. I’m not so sure it works in the realm of creative output, though. In other words, why choose to listen to a Bob Dylan copy when I can just go home and listen to him, himself on a CD.

What are we trying to convey in our performances? What do we want to evoke? How do we want our audience to feel after experiencing what we do? Why are we standing up there?

Questions for your Artistic Self - #1

This is the start of a series of questions I've posed to myself and some of my students. I believe these questions inquires us ask ourselves about our why and what we express creatively. Today is the first one and every week, a new question will be posted for you to ponder. Since this is a forum focused on the voice, some questions will have that as a starting point yet most of the questions could used by anyone involved in producing art of whatever sort. Feedback is welcome.

Why do you sing and/or play a musical instrument?

This is a simple question on the surface and look at it from as many angles as you can and feel your reaction to what comes up. The question is asking you to look at what drives you to create and your intentions as a creative person. It may help better inform artistic decisions down the road you. The answer can be what ever comes up and feel “right” to you. As you develop your craft/art/voice more, you surely will be tested on your beliefs and convictions…I believe it is a strong force in creative people to confront issues such as these and transform what they discover back in their art to show again, one more perspective on any given theme. It broadens and deepens the human experience.