I'm about to clock out for the day, but after a 7 year hiatus, I felt compelled to blog again. My day was pretty good, but like many of you, I once again fell short of accomplishing my to do list. This time Sibelius was the culprit, as I spent over an hour today trying to reauthorize the program for the 4th time on this computer, dealing with Avid's Byzantine customer support system, and trying to remember the extra logins. But this post is not about Avid's lackluster dedication to the customer. It's about respecting the time put into creative endeavors.
Over the long weekend, I resolved to get down to something that I have always found extremely rewarding and fun - arranging. Our marching band will be in this year's St. Patrick's day parade downtown and I like to come up with some Irish tunes to arrange for the group each time we do this so we have something unique to play for our audience. The idea came to me after one year I realized about HALF the bands in the parade were playing Shipping Up to Boston by the Dropkick Murphy's. I'm by no means an expert arranger and I just transitioned to Sibelius from Finale this year, so I knew this would take longer than usual.
Also over the long weekend, I realized (or rather remembered) something that I'm sure many of us are quick to forget. This stuff takes time. It's one thing to get a rough sketch in there, most of the notes, most of the dynamics etc... But to make a score look and sound really good takes some serious, sustained effort. Then you have to fix wrong notes and other dumb mistakes. Many times, even with three screens, you run out of space to get the "bird's eye view" of the score and find even more little things to make it better after you print the first draft.
If you've read anything of substance about the creative process - you've probably noticed that creativity isn't some magic that happens to a chosen few - it comes like anything else, as a product of a sustained effort over a long period of time. Not only that, but putting in the time DOES pay off, even if the results aren't immediate. I've spent a few hours on this arrangement and we're getting close, but I'm already dreading the formatting and printing of the parts. On the flip side, I am much more comfortable with Sibelius!
It always takes time. More importantly, it's always too easy to forget the immense amount of time it takes. It takes time to learn the software. It takes time to make the creative decisions. It takes time to find source material. It takes time to get a publishable version ready. It takes time to proofread. I'm not just talking about arranging here - many things in the music business, like performing, arranging, drill writing, rehearsal planning - all take so much time.
It's important to remember (and I'm talking to myself here) that this will probably take longer than I think it will. Which, by the way, is a nice reminder - web designers, composers, artists, writers, even influencers put in the time and deserve to be rewarded for their efforts. More importantly, if someone is fast at doing something in these areas - it came as a product of immense amounts of time put in to learning. If someone made it look easy, they definitely spent time getting there. Putting in the time is almost always worth it, even if you don't feel any closer to your goal, you probably got a little quicker at the task. Just like performing, focus on the process and you will achieve great results.
I resolve to put my time in on the things I love this year.
It's good to be back!
Over the long weekend, I resolved to get down to something that I have always found extremely rewarding and fun - arranging. Our marching band will be in this year's St. Patrick's day parade downtown and I like to come up with some Irish tunes to arrange for the group each time we do this so we have something unique to play for our audience. The idea came to me after one year I realized about HALF the bands in the parade were playing Shipping Up to Boston by the Dropkick Murphy's. I'm by no means an expert arranger and I just transitioned to Sibelius from Finale this year, so I knew this would take longer than usual.
Also over the long weekend, I realized (or rather remembered) something that I'm sure many of us are quick to forget. This stuff takes time. It's one thing to get a rough sketch in there, most of the notes, most of the dynamics etc... But to make a score look and sound really good takes some serious, sustained effort. Then you have to fix wrong notes and other dumb mistakes. Many times, even with three screens, you run out of space to get the "bird's eye view" of the score and find even more little things to make it better after you print the first draft.
If you've read anything of substance about the creative process - you've probably noticed that creativity isn't some magic that happens to a chosen few - it comes like anything else, as a product of a sustained effort over a long period of time. Not only that, but putting in the time DOES pay off, even if the results aren't immediate. I've spent a few hours on this arrangement and we're getting close, but I'm already dreading the formatting and printing of the parts. On the flip side, I am much more comfortable with Sibelius!
It always takes time. More importantly, it's always too easy to forget the immense amount of time it takes. It takes time to learn the software. It takes time to make the creative decisions. It takes time to find source material. It takes time to get a publishable version ready. It takes time to proofread. I'm not just talking about arranging here - many things in the music business, like performing, arranging, drill writing, rehearsal planning - all take so much time.
It's important to remember (and I'm talking to myself here) that this will probably take longer than I think it will. Which, by the way, is a nice reminder - web designers, composers, artists, writers, even influencers put in the time and deserve to be rewarded for their efforts. More importantly, if someone is fast at doing something in these areas - it came as a product of immense amounts of time put in to learning. If someone made it look easy, they definitely spent time getting there. Putting in the time is almost always worth it, even if you don't feel any closer to your goal, you probably got a little quicker at the task. Just like performing, focus on the process and you will achieve great results.
I resolve to put my time in on the things I love this year.
It's good to be back!