It's easy to get so caught up in what great artists we are and how God
gave us such unique vision, to forget one simple truth: We're never
finished.

I read the other day that a true artist never stops learning.

If you are like me, you go through spurts in your artistic life. Times
when the creative seems to rush out, when everything you do is
magical, and the artistic energy is really flowing!

Then there are times when the passion wanes. The creative spark is
drowned out by the reality of work, life, and responsibilty. When
doing your art seems more like work than fun. And anyway, everything
sounds the same and it drives you crazy!

When we hit these plateaus, and we've come as far as we can in our
current incarnation, it's time to go back the drawing board.

Now I'm not talking about starting over. But getting back to the
basics of practicing our art.

Whether you're a singer, a musician, a painter, a sculptor, or a
dancer, there is mental, physical, and spirtual practice that you can
do. You know this. But probably along the way, as things started to
take off, you've let practicing go somewhat. In it's stead have come
weekly praise band practices, or corporate design deadlines, or
performances, or studio work.

What you haven't done is push yourself into new vistas creatively.
Worked that voice out with scales everyday like you should, or
listened to some of your favorite, challenging singers and tried to
work on some vocal licks. Sit down to the piano and practice that weak
left hand (that would be me), or work on scales and new chord
inversions on your guitar. Get back to the study of your art form: how
it started, who the early pioneers were, what they went trhough to
bring the art to where it is today.

The history of art can really bring alot of insipration and vision
into what you're trying to do now. And it can spur you on in times
when what you've become seems to sputter.

And that's the beauty of being an artist.

"The practice of art isn't to make a living. It's to make your soul
grow." - Kurt Vonnegut

I think those of us who do creative stuff seriously (and sometimes for
a living), we can get bogged down in the daily "work" of what we do.
When we get home, we just want to watch some CSI and watch our kids
grow, not do MORE artistic junk!

Delving back into the educational part, practice, study, or just
sitting down with no agenda and letting what happens happen, can be a
cure for this. Not to mention, you can get better!

And while I religiously preach that God deserves our best, we
sometimes think that "bigger" is better. The more CDs I move, radio
plays I get, money or attention that comes from my art, the better.

That's flawed thinking. As my buddy Keith says, "Better is better." No
matter what life brings your way, being truly more skilled at your
craft won't ever be a bad thing. You'll just be better, and able to
get clsoer to why God made you who you are.

You're Not Alone

If you're at this point, where you seriously want to bet back to the
basics, you're not alone. I'm writing this specific piece because I
have quietly entered into a time of music study and increased practice
myself.

When I moved here three years ago it was to improve our productions
for Christian artists with great players, personnel, and studios.
Well, we've done that and had some success. Now I've reached another
plateau and the only way off is a tough new climb.

I've decided it's time to scale a mountain I've always gone around. I
knew when I was 18 that I should major in music, learn to play the
piano better, that I kind of liked Jazz, and that music was what God
made me to do. But I always felt I could do things my own way. Play my
own notes. Do my own thing.

And I did. And though it's taken 25 years, I've built a career on it.

But now, I feel the only way I can truly get better from this point is
to improve my skills technically. And I'm not talking about the newest
software, techno gadget with unlimited tracks, autotuner, or the
keyboard with the one touch chord play and the kung fu grip.

I need to read. I want to read. I want to think notes and not just
hear them. I want to think new inventive chordal ideas instead of just
knowing the inversions I've played since I was 18 years old. I'm tired
of what I am and the limited amount that I know, that I can hide with
all my cool software and years of producer hocus pocus.

So, it's back to the basics. Maybe even getting that music degree I
didn't get because everyone told me ALL YOU COULD DO WITH A MUSIC
DEGREE IS TEACH! A lesson to you college age kids who really want to
major in music, but your parent are advising business. (Hint:
Economics class is at 8am!)

Go learn, my young padawans. Get back to the basics yourself, and
you'll find you not only get better, you actually remember why you
love doing what you were made to do!

EC

Posted by Creative Soul Jazz at 11:52 PM

Monday, September 03, 2007
For the Struggling Creative Soul > It's Tough All Over

It seems everyone I know right now is suffering monetarily,
physically, and spiritually.

Call it a recession, the dogs days of summer, the end of days,
whatever you like. But it's tough out there on us folk working music
for a living (and for God!)

If you are reading this and saying to yourself, "This guy has no idea
what I'm going through...", well we kinda do.

You may feel like you are on a Christian music castaway on a barren,
desert island. But friend, you are not alone. We're all fighting a bit
right now. It's the 9th round of a scheduled ten round bout, and we
are on the ropes, just hoping for the bell to ring.

You see, when our hearts and minds are focused on doing God's work,
and we're making amazing progress as many of our artists are, that's
when the bad guy likes to mess with us. Or mess with our circumstances.

I heard a friend say the other day, "I just had to give control to
God, and quit worrying. Since I've done that, money always comes in
when it needs to."

Now I know that seems like an easy way out, but it is pretty biblical.

Philippians 4:6 (The Message) - Don't fret or worry. Instead of
worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into
prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense
of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and
settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces
worry at the center of your life.

So that's the first thing. We have to give it up to God when we no
longer have the answers.

What's next? Reach out.

As I talk about all the time, we have a tendency to stay in our holes,
trying to come up with our little plans to get ourselves out of this mess.

But just like we need to get out to grow musically and creatively, we
need to be in community with folks and share our needs, petitions, and
hopes. We need the prayers and support of other Creative Christians to
at least commiserate with right?

I always see these tough times (and I am just digging out of one) as
the times when I am forced to look at my whole life and see how I can
fine tune this thing. Maybe a road I start down because of these tough
times can turn out to be a whole new world of opportunity.

Also, creatively, tight and lean times force us to be creative with
less. I REALLY wanted to buy a new keyboard lately. I mean I wanted it
bad. It would have opened up so many new musical roads.

Instead, I delved back into software and tools I already had, and
found way cool sounds and options I didn't even know I had. Why?
Because I simply couldn't afford anything new. So the tough times
forced me to dig deep and I found amazing new things to work with.

So, if this is raining on your pity party, then I understand and
apologize. I do have a tendency to be a hard-core optimist (just ask
my wife!)

But if your head and heart are down, get into your Bible. Get into
your equipment. Get in touch with your creative friends or mentors.

Just resist the temptation to give into defeat. That's exactly what
our enemy wants. But the beauty of all this is that God can use these
rough spots in our life to teach us lessons, and even better, make us
stronger so that we don't get here again!

Keep your head up. Stay cool. Stay Creative.

Your friend,

EC
-------------
Eric Copeland is the rather overly-optimistic head of Creative Soul,
an artist development, production, and label services company in
Nashville, TN. Try not to get too mad at him for being Mr. Sunshine,
but he's just coming out of a ringer of a few months where the enemy
has been trying to convince him he made some mistakes. But God was
bigger than this! And now he's trying to spread the
news...www.CreativeSoulOnline.com