tag:stephen-goodson.com,2005:/blogs/this-musical-lifeThis Musical Life:2019-06-17T18:36:15-05:00Stephen Goodsonfalsetag:stephen-goodson.com,2005:Post/57949362019-06-17T18:36:15-05:002022-07-19T04:59:24-05:00Do we know what Talent is?<p>Talent - it’s a word I hear bandied about more often that I’d prefer. Having played music for 26 years, 15 of those professionally, I have had my fair share of accolades in the form of, ”my gosh, you’re so talented.” I always accept this compliment at face value with a polite “Thank You” because I realize this is how many people communicate their gratitude for the musical experience to which I was a party. However, lately I can't help but shake the feeling that people have been misusing the word “talent” in this context. </p>
<p>Starting from talent as “a natural aptitude or ability,” please notice the chasm between popular usage and this definition. If I practice really hard on a difficult piece of music, why would anyone feel the urge to thank me after its performance for my natural ability? Would we thank someone for their blue eyes or towering height? Is gratitude directed at others not predicated on their individual efforts? </p>
<p>My issue with the word “talent” stems from a desire to be acknowledged for the efforts for which I am in control, as opposed to the affordances to which I have been bestowed. I come from an upper-middle class background of engineers, lawyers, preachers and other business-men and women. Besides a primary school education in basic music, or as a hobby in adulthood, none of my extended family members, either living or dead, has ever cultivated the “talent” they must have naturally been bestowed upon me through their genes. However, what they did impart to me was the power of hard work, self-motivation, patience, and grit; the value of a life whose path we are fortunate enough to choose. </p>
<p>Without venturing down the slippery slope of Nature vs. Nurture, let me close by sharing a statement I heard recently: “ I mean, I wish I could play music but I don’t have any talent.” Never before have I been stunned into silence at hearing such a self-defeating statement. I did not know this person well enough to begin expounding the virtues of musical exploration at any ability level, so I remained silent. </p>
<p>Talent exists, but so does grit. Genius exists, but so does spontaneity. My hope is that people will cease using words and their definitions to justify their lack of motivation: myself included.</p>Stephen Goodsontag:stephen-goodson.com,2005:Post/40820452016-03-10T23:44:03-06:002022-04-27T05:54:46-05:00Finally, a Free Lunch!<p>Dear Friends, Family, and Acquaintances, </p>
<p> I hope the interval between the times we’ve spent together will shrink in the coming years, because I miss you guys. All of you. The reason for this letter is to familiarize you with why my absences at Sunday lunches, birthdays, anniversaries, sporting events, confirmations, school plays, dinner parties etc., are entirely justified. </p>
<p> Simply stated, I love my work, which translates into: I prioritize my work. My work as a professional musician entails what some refer to as “off-peak” hours. Please allow me to explain: My work-week begins on Saturday, and ends on Wednesday, leaving “off” Thursday and Friday. I typically get up around 11am and get to work around noon or 1pm. I leave work at 9pm, I do not “get off” or “have to stay until….” I have a 10 minute drive (not "commute") to work on neighborhood streets, and I never to go faster than 35 miles an hour or enter a highway. I am paid well enough to keep up with all my bills and have enough left over for whatever goods/services I deem necessary. I make way less money then you do, but I am the richest guy I know. I am unmarried, but not single. </p>
<p> Saturdays, Sundays, and weekdays between 4pm-8pm are my busiest times, so if your event or gathering falls during any of those days or times, there is a 99.9% chance I will not be in attendance. Also, my “off” days are typically pressed into the service of ongoing musical projects, as I run a bourgeoning studio (www.eastdallasoverdub.com). </p>
<p> So here’s what I propose. I am going to bring all of you people lunch. That’s right. This a real offer. Limited to 2016 only: If you leave your place of business/address in the comments section, I will bring you lunch on a Thursday or Friday of your choice in 2016….I repeat: I will bring you lunch to your place of business/work/play/school on Thursday or Friday in the year 2016 if you tell me when and where! I can only hope this can make up for a small fraction of my absence in your lives. </p>
<p>Your friend, son, brother, step-brother, cousin, grandson, nephew, </p>
<p>Stephen Goodson<br><br>P.S.- Leave your comments/requests below, and please indicate if you have any dietary restrictions etc....<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/180224/c72894a9061ac63c8348e8aafe085a97872c035f/original/12356416-997658736964172-1676759043-n.jpg?1457674952" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Stephen Goodsontag:stephen-goodson.com,2005:Post/39881292016-01-14T12:29:04-06:002022-08-04T14:02:01-05:00How To Avoid Becoming A Copy/Paste Musician<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/180224/9bf94defeffb6780956da15b36a4b1b789f23ace/original/photo-3.jpg?1453014878" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> Copy/Paste musicians are those who learn a musical phrase by imitation (copy), and regurgitate it at an appropriate moment (paste) whenever they see (or in this case, hear) fit. This issue is not exclusive to the jazz musician flexing his expansive musical vocabulary, nor to the “Jimi-Stevie” clones we all stare at, but don’t pay money to see anymore: my aim is to make young players aware of a path that will hurt their chances of attracting positive attention from future audiences and from scoring potential gig opportunities. While I am not attempting to deride the efforts that casual musicians employ in order to play their instrument as a recreational activity, I must caution those seriously considering music as a vocation against the “Copy/Paste” mentality. </p>
<p> Between the ages of 10-15, I shut myself away in a corner of the house and practiced horribly for several years before seeking the advice of an experienced instructor who had “Give-a-shit-itis”….the sincere desire to pass along years of wisdom and experience to a fledgling young musician. And like many kids seeking an identity on an instrument, I was susceptible to Copy/Paste at every opportunity. </p>
<p> Led Zeppelin II and Jimi Hendrix’s “Band of Gypsies” were among my favorite albums from which to steal. While quoting licks is a time honored tradition, copying and pasting entire musical phrases or solos isn’t just plagiarism: it’s uninteresting blasphemy. I still have cassette tapes (multi-track recordings) of myself playing “Heartbreaker” in its entirety. While “bending behind the nut” (ask a guitarist) is a neat parlor trick, it did little to further my musical development. While I did develop a passion for rapid-fire licks played arrhythmically, my playing suffered for years to come. It wasn’t until I started <strong>playing with great, more experienced musicians </strong>did I realize that my shortcomings threw me into one of two categories: Those who have <strong>put in the time</strong>, and those who haven’t. </p>
<p> Music is a language that we all can understand by listening, but participating (let alone contributing) to it requires as much (or more) time and effort as any other vocation one wishes to consider serious. While the hobbyist may cherry-pick his interests in proportion to the time in which he wishes to devote,<strong> the serious musician must have the patience and discipline of the most pious guru in order to succeed on his instrument.</strong> This is not to exclude the passersby we all encounter. In fact, many a musicians’ livelihood depends on the window-shopping novices of every city in the world (Be sure to welcome the newbies!!). So if we all crave a musical experience that is indeed new, innovative, punch-you-in-the-face, undeniably bad-ass, and a musician who hasn’t practiced enough to at least mask his interpretation of a song with at least SOME personal inflection is involved, then what value does he have to an audience in the first place? </p>
<p> Cover Bands: If an audience is present for the expressed purpose of hearing, note-for-note, the relevant catalog of a band at least twenty years old, then by all means, cop the fucking Journey licks (Neal Schon won’t mind) !! Otherwise, <strong>go back to the shed and pour your soul into your craft.</strong> I mean, NOW. There is an ever increasing lexicon of music that is becoming harder and harder to distinguish from a shopping cart full of oversized mousetraps crashing into an orphanage, so I urge you: <strong>play your instrument with at least some modicum of passion. </strong></p>
<p> But how? Why? How you ask can this be done in a world where every 100 plays on internet radio pays $.01 and the listening public are holed up indoors, rarely venturing out to concerts or local shows? Because we must<strong> strike a balance between the familiar and the UNHEARD OF!!</strong> While I can’t tell you how to make money playing music, I can tell you that a large part of my personal equation for success in the form of cash comes from communicating effectively in life. Why? Because this skill will transfer to your playing, thereby promoting compelling, relevant artistry. We all get caught up in expectations and outcomes, and if they are ever out of sync we get frustrated, and that frustration leads to anger, which is kryptonite to great music (except Miles Davis’ Four and More Concert, whence he told the band they weren’t getting paid right before, and that anger/resentment paid serious dividends in the sonic result!). </p>
<p> Seeing the world through a periscope is no substitute for coming up for air and reveling in<strong> the wonderful world OUTSIDE OF MUSIC</strong>. Writers, actors, poets, artists, and other downright vagabonds are amongst the most colorful of characters we’ll meet, but don’t discount the opinions or interests of the accountant, lawyer, dentist, bricklayer or sandwich maker: they too have a story to tell. However tempting it may be to copy/paste in music or in life, let go of your inadequacies and play your own licks the most ;)</p>Stephen Goodsontag:stephen-goodson.com,2005:Post/38903672015-10-09T11:16:53-05:002023-12-10T11:01:02-06:00Pre-Production for "Untitled 2015 Album"Last week I had the distinct pleasure of narrowing down my song selection for what will soon by first full-length album. Jeff Saenz, operator of Modern Electric Sound Recorders in Dallas, TX was introduced to me through Beau Patrick Bedford: co-operator and producer extraordinaire.... I have so much respect for these two gentlemen as they have the unique ability to distill ideas into their most musical and useful elements.... Why an album, you say? Isn't that a rather archaic notion that died in the "'aughts"?<br><br>One of the reasons I am doing this record is: I have too many ideas on the shelf and need to purge them from my "unfinished" stack. Another reason is that when involve good people in the recording process, great things happen, and THAT is what I love about music. I am just trying to shake things up in my own world, and by doing so I am hoping it will inspire others to do the same...Stephen Goodson