Practicing for The Big Time and Overnight Success
Music is fun. It is a great past time, it is a passion, it is a job, and it can be an obsession. Most musicians/song-writers have had dreams of making it big. However, very few of us actually have seen the type of dedication that it can take to be at the top of your game. Regardless your thoughts of these two entertainers, to be a “superstar” like Taylor Swift or Britney Spears most people have no idea of what they have given up to get to where they are. Do YOU have what it takes?
Talent is NOT enough…here is an eye-opening situation that a friend of ours was in. Several years ago our friend signed a huge publishing/development deal for $250,000…yes, that’s a good chunk of change… All things pointed to this band becoming a big success (in fact they did have several placements in some blockbuster movies as well as videos and radio chart success).
As part of their contract, there were some stipulations that they had to follow. As a band, 6 days a week, they were required to have 4 hour band rehearsals…They would work on playing together, working on their show, listening to each others parts and how they could play off of each other, etc. In addition, they were required to practice on their own with nothing but a metronome for 2 hours a day (by the way, this friends’ timing is amazingly solid!!). This didn’t cover the time that it took to write songs, publicity dates, photo shoots, radio calls, Myspace updates, etc. There is an immense amount of dedication and work that goes into becoming and overnight sensation. This is the price that they were expected to pay. Do you have the focus, desire and passion to put that much in? There are bands that do, and that is your competition. If you are a pop artist, entertainers like Taylor Swift and Beyonce are your competition.
Malcolm Gladwell in his book “Outliers” talks about the amount of work that people on average have to put into something to become proficient at it. He says that it usually takes about 10,000 hours of doing something before you really start to hit your stride. That averages out to about 5 years of 40-hour work weeks. You cannot cheat that 10,000 hours unless you are the “one-in-a-million” persons that is a complete savant. As musicians and band people we can learn from this. Talent is never enough, it will get you down the road, but to finish the race you need a strong work-ethic and consistency.
We live in a day and age of seemingly instant success and money, but ultimately there is nothing new under the sun. The wise words of “practice makes perfect” still ring true today, but only if you are practicing against perfection…and to do that takes a lot of time and focus. Be diligent, be focused and purposeful in your pursuit.
