DO I NEED TO BE ABLE TO PLAY MULTIPLE INSTRUMENTS TO BE SUCCESSFUL?
Part of building a music career seems to be about developing expertise in many different areas. Singing, songwriting, guitar, piano, recording software, now I gotta learn how to play the drums, the bass, now I also need to understand marketing and promotion?!
Look at the age-old image of a one-man band. They were able to utilize every limb and orifice (ok, almost) to make a sound. Is it really that easy? Well, you may be able to get the mechanics down but have you ever really listened to one of these one-man-band guys? It’s not really the kind of music you want to listen to all the time. At least I don’t, but hey if that’s your cup ‘o tea then you be you! Still, let’s use this as a metaphor for broadening your skill set as an artist and how learning other instruments and skills may be helpful in some ways but a hindrance in others.
Jack of All Trades, Master of None
You’ve heard that saying before because...it’s true. Since we have legends like Prince who were literal virtuosos on multiple instruments, we can feel like we need to be “that good” or we are not “big artist” material. I believe that some, like Prince, are born with that talent. Combine that with a relentless passion for perfection and then you have the legend musician. But superstardom does not require that you be a virtuoso in every musical capacity possible.
Focus on Just Four Areas as a Musician
As an artist, with all there is to learn and do, the easiest thing to do is spread yourself too thin. In my opinion, you are more likely to have success as an artist by focusing on four areas. One; become the best you can be as a singer - not just the technical vocal riff stuff but at delivering the message of your music with power and sincerity. Make sure you can do this in both live performance/live streaming situations as well as in the studio since they are very different and require different types of energy. Two; learn how to write your best songs. Do not be satisfied with “good enough”, every day melodies and phrases that don’t spark something in listeners. You may have to try songs out on audiences but that’s part of the process. Embrace it! Get feedback, read books, creatively write at least a few minutes every day. Three; become *proficient on either piano or guitar as an accompanying instrument which can also become your best songwriting partner. Remember that as a songwriter, the instrument you write with will indeed “color” the way you write songs. So choose this instrument wisely. But also expand your network and be open to collaborate with other writers that play a different instrument than you. Four; learn and understand the role all instruments play in your genre of music so that you can communicate to your producers and band mates what it is you want to happen in your music.
Music Software Can Be Your Friend
One way to learn about instruments and what they do is to play around with some music recording software. There are some great free versions out there such as GarageBand or Cakewalk by BandLab (especially if you are a PC person, this is what I use and love it and it is now free!) Again, this isn’t meant to slow you down but if you are even a little computer literate, you should be able to pop it open once you have an audio interface and some speakers or headphones, or you can even use app versions on your smartphone (though the app versions are not as capable). These DAW’s (Digital Audio Workstation) have virtual instruments. Pull up a drum set. You can hit each drum and here the sound it makes. You can pull up some loops that play those virtual drums and watch the drums react as they play. Do the same thing with any other instrument you are unsure of. Understand what they do, how they sound and more importantly, how these instruments relate to the music you intend to make. Watch videos of your favorite artists performing live with their band or in the studio recording. Listen to the podcast Song Exploder
*Proficiency, not Mastery
I mentioned being proficient. This simply means that your instrument is a tool used to express yourself musically. Do you need to be a classically trained pianist to come up with the right chords for your song? Absolutely not, and I dare share that I’ve worked with many classically trained pianists who had no idea how to simply play a series of chords without sheet music in front of them. Do you need to be the next Eddie Van Halen to be in a legendary rock band? Of course, that can help but Eddie also wasn’t the lead singer, was he? There are many musicians who aren’t virtuosic instrumentalists who are able to compose on those instruments for their albums. Thom Yorke took inspiration from Tom Waits’ ignorance of an instrument quote and felt he could be more inventive when playing around with an instrument he didn’t understand. And Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath wrote the song “Changes” as an exercise in learning how to play the piano. While you may feel that you want to tackle a complex classical piece, you can save that Fur Elise sheet music for a bit later on in your journey when you have retired from pursuing a career as an artist and have some free time. Proficiency does take time, practice and focus. But once you are at that level, your instrument will feel like an extension of your artistic expression and not something that gets in the way or intimidates you.
Just looking at this guy stresses me out. Don’t try to do it all. You really don’t have to! Stay focused so you can be the best artist you can be!
