Would you get in a car without a map, without a plan of where to go, and/or no clue on how to get there? Maybe in the '50s when gas was cheap and people, I heard, took "Sunday Rides" but not today.

The same with your music career. If you want to have direction, you need to set short, mid term and long range goals. NO, I am not going to rent the Maple Room at the Holiday Inn and have pep talks and we are going to do "team building" exercises, but I am going to recommend an article I was sent as part of being a Studio Partner at Discmakers that I think, IMHO, is real common sense and gets you going without a lot a tedium. It also is very well grounded.

Here it is
http://blog.discmakers.com/2015/01/short-mid-and-long-term-music-career-goals/?utm_campaign=EA1505&utm_source=DMAudio&utm_medium=Email&spMailingID=47896098&spUserID=OTAxNDIwODkxNjAS1&spJobID=603714208&spReportId=NjAzNzE0MjA4S0

A short tem goal could be I'm gonna learn all the notes at this fret, or the chords around these couple of frets to playing an open stage sometime this year. Get it on paper, and have it visible where you pass by it to remind you and keep you focused on where you want to be. And when you hit that goal, check it off with the biggest Sharpie you have!

hope this helps,
Dave Brosky "DBro"
Lessons via SKYPE, Google + and Tea Leaf readings

Good article D to the BRO. I should try to learn how to actually apply it.....
Tea Leaf reading eh?
Nice!

cheers,
kev

Thanks DBro, most helpful!

SMART goals seem to be the en vogue thing. I have heard of them from about 4 different sources on a variety of topics. I think this hits on a similar theme as Gene's class at FHA 2014. As a young teenager it was always stated to me that "If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail." In music, you can probably skate through building moderate skill, but without focus and a plan, it generally does not lead to steadily playing out, making albums, or making a career.

Back to the FHA plans, Laura and I are playing an open mic tonight. That's part of my plan, towards the goal of having a performance worthy set of material by this coming August.

Planning goes hand in hand with success, and as Daniel mentioned, was my primary goal for all Stickists that attended FHA 2014. Individuals grabbed on to a wide variety of different goals - fixing up their studio, learning to incorporate the Stick into their live performance, writing music on the Stick, etc. I encouraged people to stay away from goals that involved other people or gear - the focus was on the individual. We wrote them down, and those who were inspired to do so, had them signed by Emmett, Tony, Greg, Steve, Bob, Kevin, Larry, Don, Gary, Dale and myself. We offered feedback in each case so as to ensure the success of each goal.

This stems from basic project management principles;
*Document, test and validate.
*The 9 areas of knowledge
*ITIL
*discuss, design, develop, deploy
blah, blah, blah

Often times, creative people are not constructive with their time playing music, WE ALL PLAY MUSIC FOR DIFFERENT REASONS AND THEY ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL. This segues into another topic - how to effectively use time spent playing music. You may or may not be aware of my performance pyramid, but I have found it to be very helpful with creating a template to listen, learn, develop and then perform a song, be it an original or more likely, a cover song.

Another principle that I apply is structured and unstructured playing - it's good to have a little of both and depending on your vision for your music, you can adjust that ratio accordingly. My ratio of structured to unstructured practice is about 4:1. So, more classical and less jazz these days. For someone like Emmett, that might be 1:40 as he focuses more on creative and spontaneous performance which I admire greatly. That kind of confidence will come in time, one step closer every time we pick up the instrument.

Perhaps the most intriguing goal, or question rather, that come up was from Robert Thorpe from the UK. He wrestled with goals for the Stick as he was still trying to answer the question - why do I play the Stick? It was a good discussion.

That may be a simple answer, or a complex one. But having an idea of what that looks like will help you to define the music that you make with the Stick. We tend to make goals just out of reach, so as to inspire us to try harder or perhaps invest more time in that which we are trying to achieve, but this approach can lead to lofty goals which are otherwise out of reach. Another way of thinking of this is to find a way to check something off your potential achievement lists, even if it's just changing your strings, watching an instructional video or checking your posture in the mirror while playing. Build your list, refer back to it, validate your success and build momentum to catapult your performance to the next level (playing in living room for cat versus playing for 3 people at coffee shop, 2 of which work there = still a level up).

Many are going to say, Gene - you are over thinking this, and they may be right. I am a technical person that likes to make lists, to plan and to execute, so these processes are perfectly aligned to my musical calling. However, everyone can benefit from realistic short term goals whose trajectory define a larger goal that encompasses WHY DO I PLAY MUSIC (not the Stick).

Realistic short term goals that center around writing and performing will offer the most rewarding results. These are the basic building blocks that will allow one to maximize their creative potential. There are others that prefer a more unstructured approach, which can work well for them - one just has to find their way with something that works with their creative process.

Thread highjack part II

We played 3 songs
Stay - Lisa Loeb
Everything - Stanley Whitaker
Because the Night - 10,000 Maniacs

When other people played, about 50-75% of people were actively watching. For us, it was close to 100%. Applause for us was noticeably louder. We played 3 songs, and were asked to play more. One person asked if she could buy our CD. We don't have one yet.

Onward to learning more.

Get SMART, Agent 99. Get SMART.

Congratulations!