TIMELESS MAGAZINE Issue 02

TI M ELES S MAG ISSUE 02 OCTOBER 2017
TIMELESS MAG
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get & they have the right image. Yet still they
have to struggle seeking out gigs & making
themselves known. These guys will get there
in time, they are just too good, but it'll take
time. So the question is, are you prepared to
wait? If you have a time limit on becoming a
success, you are pressurizing yourself & you'll
react by trying to please everyone.
Principle Number 4: Always enjoy your music
Many musicians think that to be a proper musician
you must be serious, and that means
squeezing all the joy out of it. Music should lift
you, even on those difficult days. If it doesn't
do that you need to be asking yourself; why
not? Being a musician can be a struggle, but
what keeps me going is playing music. All the
rubbish, rejections, disappointments and
success is just a means to an end to keep on
playing as much as possible.
Principle Number 5: Find your uniqueness &
highlight it.
Find the things that you do differently & build
on them. Great musicians have a unique way
of doing things, that's why people are attracted
to them. All too often, musicians try to
please everyone (except themselves) & end
up being boring players. Great music divides
listeners because of its uncompromising
vision. If one half of your audience hates you,
but the other half love you, you're onto something.
If everyone says it's ok, you need to
think about what you're trying to communicate
because you're not hitting anyone at a deep
level. Yet being unique isn't about just expressing
yourself, it's about working hard on your
music whilst developing a voice.
Principle Number 6: Learn from people who
are better than you.
This is a difficult one, but once you give up
trying to pretend you're a genius, you can
learn from all the great music that surrounds
you. Rather than wasting energy feeling you
have to compete with something you can
embrace and learn from it. Another trap to fall
into is that you end up trying to reason with
yourself that better music is just different,
when deep down you know it’s really better.
Principle Number 7: Keep a sense of humour
I see learning music is a spiritual challenge,
& the better it get the easier it is to touch
something divine. But within this journey
there are massive ups & downs. Take all the
setbacks lightly, don't let any success go to
your head, & always be glad for any good
luck. It's normal to get frustrated, but don't let
this become a default setting in your life &
music.
Principle Number 8: Don't listen to anyone.
There's a time to listen to criticism or advice,
& there's time to ignore it. In the stage of
building something up, you want to avoid
judgment, otherwise it's in danger of being
torn apart. Once you have created something
fully formed, then you can invite judgement.
Because you know what you have done &
why you can evaluate criticism, & judge if it's
relevant.
Principle Number 9: Don't just tell one story.
It's natural to tell a story through anything
you do, including music. But many musicians
just run one story; I'm a singer; I only play
fast metal guitar, I want to be a rock star.
One story musicians are walking clichés, as
well as making you a boring musician and it
also makes you narrow minded. You won't
listen to acoustic guitar because you only
play electric, you won't listen to punk because
you're a classical musician. Developing a
unique sound requires you to cross pollinate.
Creativity comes from the curiosity. like; what
will happen if i take that & put there? Try not
to be limited by the stories you have about
your music. Everybody has an image of what
kind of musician they are, but that need not
be set in stone. A good thing to do is to go to
the library & find something far away from
where you are. If you are a House music
producer or DJ, you don't only need another
House music CD for inspiration, but you
need Afro-Pop, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Gospel or
Traditional music CD's. When you stretch
your musical wings, you begin to have a lot
more stories running and your music becomes
a lot more creative.
Issue 02
Timeless Magazine
17