ASMAC Announces George S. Clinton Master Class Feb 16, Golden ...

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THE CHART DOCTOR by RON HESS rhess@filmmusicweekly.com When Great Is The Enemy Of Good There is a well-known but seldom-discussed truism in philosophical circles concerning when headlong pursuit of the optimum is a barrier to the successful achievement of even the minimum. In some quarters it’s called “analysis paralysis,” the mental block built out of oppressive expectations, perhaps traceable to our traditional institutions which cradled our career training. They fill our minds with awe for the achievements of past giants (and dreams of following in their lofty footsteps) without first drilling into our psyches the wiser reverence for successfully (even if less brilliantly) getting a job done at all. This is particularly a problem for those in the “musical-industrial complex” which, if we’re honest with ourselves, takes in practically all of us. How many of us honestly march in the footsteps of Charles Ives, perhaps America’s greatest compositional iconoclast, a man and an artist so fiercely independent that he turned his considerable mental powers to pioneering the development and marketing of life insurance in its early years, both out of reverence and concern for his fellow citizens as well as to underwrite his freedom to compose the music he craved. All of us to some degree must march to another’s drumbeat (in order to receive another’s paycheck,) so we have to get comfortable with the cadence. Simply put, unlike the aforementioned Ives, we almost always have to knuckle under to some external timetable, direction, style, marketing plan, etc. Some of us discover too late that the “freedom” we perceived in the recordings of our heroes was, in actuality, an illusion, and consequently sew discontent and unhappiness in our own careers. The wise citizen-musician, whose real contentment depends on freedom from worries about mortgage payments, health insurance, retirement plans, etc., knows that in order to be a hero to “the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker,” he must first and foremost, over and over and over again, meet a deadline. Brilliance is optional; competence is not. Your clients (and your reputation) will not appreciate your genius if you fail to get all the cues sketched, written, orchestrated, recorded, mixed, and/or archived. How does one ensure that his job gets done, on budget and within deadlines? A good strategy involves the following: 1) Organization: Arrange all the details of your project as details (spreadsheets are great) and think art only when you tackle them individually) 2) Intuit, then polish. Get in the habit of quickly throwing all your ideas, snippets, motifs, melodic or rhythmic inspirations, etc., onto the paper, sequence, sketch, score, what-have-you, and then polish them with the short strokes; don’t fine-tune as you go, 3) Plan your work and then work your plan (self-discipline, pure and simple) This includes the wisdom to give yourself temporal and mental escape routes like self-imposed deadlines in advance of the real ones, helpful associates on call, in advance, (just in case,) backup and contingent hardware and software strategies (extra storage media, printer paper, toner cartridges, Internet connections, alternate printer service bureaus, actually-implemented backup strategies, etc.). Aside from the practical benefits, think how much more clearly your mind will create when it isn’t turning to Jell-O due to stress. Now, unless you are a seasoned professional who has done this many times, you might want to skip right through the above strategies and get right to being brilliant. Bad idea. He who looks too far ahead or too high up eventually trips on his own shoelaces. The histories of Hollywood, Nashville, and New York are littered with the aborted careers of people who did just that and had important projects fail. (Funny how they never teach that stuff back in music school...) Put yourself in your client’s shoes. With a client of your own to satisfy, when given a choice between a subordinate’s job done competently and thoroughly or one done brilliantly but incompletely, which would you choose? If you picked the former, “ding!” You live to work again. If you chose the latter, go home, you’re fired. The bottom line for all of this is simple: don’t ever let “great” get in the way of “good.” They don’t give prizes for being way ahead of the pack if you don’t finish the race. And when you do get in the comfortable habit of delivering “good,” eventually “great” comes along for the ride. n Ron Hess works as a studio conductor, orchestrator, copyist and score supervisor in Los Angeles, where he’s well-known for his quick ability to ferret out the most hidden performance problems and spot score glitches rapidly. He holds a <strong>Master</strong>’s Degree from the New England Conservatory, and is considered one of the top Finale experts in Los Angeles. Email your questions to Ron at rhess@filmmusicweekly.com 10 ISSUE 47 • JANUARY 22, 2008 FILM MUSICweekly
Get a free basic listing today on MUSE411 – The Music Industry Online Directory, and access the industry. Free basic listing includes: • Your name, email, phone and other contact information • Link to your music demo • Your photo • Musical Styles and Instrument(s) Played • Professional Affiliations — Unions, organizations you belong to • A description of you, your bio, and much more Special Zip Code search* allows people in your area to locate you quickly and easily! Get your FREE basic listing today! www.muse411.com * U.S. RESIDENTS DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS PROFESSIONS Lawrence Ferrara, Director 2008 NYU/ASCAP Foundation Film Scoring Workshop in memory of Buddy Baker Exclusive East Coast workshop: May <strong>16</strong>-23, 2008 Participant fee: $1,150 (auditors, $350) Limited space. Apply early. Housing available. Application deadline: April 14 (auditors, May 5) Also, Music & the Moving Image Conference: May 30-June 1, 2008 Visit www.steinhardt.nyu.edu/film2008 or call 212 998 5424. FILM MUSICweekly ISSUE 47 • JANUARY 22, 2008 11 NEW YORK UNIVERSITY IS AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY INSTITUTION.
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ASMAC Announces George S. Clinton Master Class Feb 16, Golden ...

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