Ways to make music in these hard times
The experience of lockdown and its effect on live music has been significant and it doesn’t look as if there is any change on the horizon, it is therefore up to us to look for opportunities in these rather chaotic times. It is safe to say that there are always opportunities in a crisis but they may not be obvious, and they certainly will require us to think very differently about what we have to offer.
Often in these situations the answer is found elsewhere, so for instance if you are looking for an answer to your gigging the answer might be found in something other than concerts, it might be found in sports coaching for instance.
If we are waiting for a return to what we did before, we going to have a long wait, we’ll have to think about how we can perform to maybe a few people and go and stream the performance as well, or maybe a ‘drive in’ concert like drive-in cinema might be an idea.
They are relevant answers out there, but we’ve got to use our creativity to work out how we can transfer techniques from other areas if life and business. In song writing when somebody is stuck I often ask them what’s the song about? Maybe the song is just a bunch of chords at that point in time and the lyrics have not been written, when they reply that they don’t know, my standard response is ‘what is it not about’ and interestingly people know; if you know what it is not, you must know what it is; it is probably its opposite.
This happens a lot when we think because our language frames things, so when we are stuck and we can’t think of an idea it’s because we’ve got into a cul-de-sac in that way of thinking. Language creates the context and landscape that the ideas live, and the way we talk and think about music creates a framework which often becomes a cage.
We need to step back and take another turning further up the road, there is always an answer because there are many possibilities in any situation, if you think that it’s more about the question and not about a conclusive answer then you get a flow of ideas.
Questions that give forward momentum are good, remember just like meeting people, the person that you want often need to meet isn’t the person that you first meet, it is the friend that they know that can really change your life; a bit like questions and answers, the first question isn’t the one that’s going to lead you in the direction that you need, but it’s what it stimulates. So going back to our problem, what are you going to do about music in this brave new world, what ideas are thrown up by looking at other businesses and how do they do things?
Viewing things through a different perspective can give you great ideas, look at things outside of your work in this particular period of time, online sales for instance, clothing, things that have to be delivered. Is there anything we can do from that perspective? Can you deliver your music? Serenading for instance?
What is it that you can do for people that’s original and interesting?
I’ve always been successful in getting people turning up to gigs because I involve people in the concerts. Is there any way that you can do something to involve people in your creative processes? Write songs in collaboration with clients for example.
What little niche markets do you know?
It’s all about friendship groups;
Engage with information to broaden what we are doing. It is important and many musicians are already doing this, take for instance the singer songwriter and guitar player who has been doing gigs from his kitchen and his back garden during the worst times of lockdown, being funded online by donations. He was on this from day one; we need that proactive ability now more than ever to deal with what is coming, not just what we are experiencing at the moment.
So here are some ideas
1. Gigs streamed (RSC productions streamed into cinemas)
2. Gigs in a drive in situation like the old American drive in movies
3. Personal gigs in someone’s garden ( got this idea from Chris Difford of Squeeze)
4. Collaborations with businesses for musicians in residence (like artist in residence) this could also be like the Beatles playing on a rooftop in London.
5. Find places that have social distancing ideas already in operation such as churches that you can play.
6. The silent disco but for live bands where the audience have headphones and can dance in a large area such as a field or large marquee.
7. Go back to the rave culture with a secret gig somewhere that nobody knows about till the last moment
8. Read up on the East German Punk movement and see how they managed to get gigs happening in a communist regime (that was really tough and illegal)
So to add a little bit of focus, develop areas in your art that may be week like song writing and arranging or recording.
We are running a completion for next year’s Bluescampuk in Tonbridge all you need to do is record your song on your phone and send it to us here the winner gets a free place at next year’s camp.
Get writing ..
Vic and the team
