The evolution of the modern day music leader.....
A write up on the landscape of community music and what it means to be a music leader in 2012.
The evolution of the modern day music leader… Its important to remember that every human being is driven by incentive, in one way or another. So, whats the main incentive for a music leader? To provide quality music provision that helps your beneficiaries in a variety of ways? Well, hopefully yes! But, whats a music leader's true incentive for themselves? To continue their career as a working musician? More than likely yes and thats nothing to be ashamed of. So how can that be achieved in this current climate of constant cut backs and changes? By evolving. Is it that simple? Yes. ev·o·lu·tion 1. A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form. 2.a. The process of developing. b. Gradual development. I once read an interview with Bruce Springsteen where he used the metaphor of a car to explain personal evolution. He explained how so many of us like the idea of leaving the past behind and moving forward and yet failing to see that we can't. Whether we like it or not we take our history with us without realising it. There are our former selves in the passenger seats, maybe the shy teenager, the student, the former sports player or who ever you have been in the past. Those versions of your previous selves travel with you. However, they're not driving the car, they're on the back seats. The most advanced and updated version of yourself (hopefully the "you" of today!) is the one thats driving the car. I'm no stranger to "having" to evolve. At the age of 29 I retired from life as a recording artist with a true sense of fear of where to go next and how to go about it. I'd set my ideals straight on becoming a more well rounded musician who would eventually become more "useful" to people thus leading to more employment. I became a songwriter who started to get songs published. I became a producer and I became a freelance Educator who was employed regularly by 3 arts organisations to deliver composition and music technology workshops to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Flash forward 4 years. Its 2012 and I'm now 33. In my music industry work I am constantly evolving. I'm gaining more success as a result of not being scared to constantly learn more because its my incentive to be succesful. However, my career as a freelance Educator has been a different animal. 2 of the 3 arts organisations that employed me are sadly no longer in existence. As we all know there have been huge cuts meaning less opportunity and a lot of my fellow workshop providers and friends that I would regularly see on the community scene are no longer around. What happened?? For the last few months I've delivered the same type of workshops that I always have. I've just had to travel further to find the work. Its kept me busy but its kind of been like painting over damp walls. Its looks fine but it needs facing up to. Then one day, I got an email from Music Leader West Midlands offering the opportunity of a 2 day training course called "The Music Leader's Survival Guide". I saw it was run by Barry D'Souza who has been both an employer and a mentor to me. I checked the dates and saw that I'd already got work booked in that clashed with the course dates. I thought "Well, if I've got work booked then do I really need to go on this course?". I knew the answer to such an ignorant question. I managed to re-schedule the work I'd got booked and I went to the course and to say that I'm glad I went on the course would be something of an understatement. The course challenged the mentality of a music leader and truly captured my imagination through sharing the wider importance of why we do what we do and how to use it correctly. "How can YOU use music to solve problems?" Barry asked. It got me thinking. In the past I've always delivered on behalf of arts organisations who already have a remit for activity and aims and a budget. For the first time I got thinking about the bigger picture. "Lets look at economic factors, political factors and social factors on a local, regional and national scale" Barry insisted. Then we picked up on current problems and got creative with ways of using music projects to help combat those problems. For example, lets take a local, social and economic issue. There is an increasing number of Algerian immigrants in the Hodge Hill area of Birmingham and helping their children to learn english is a council priority. The children need to learn english in order to maximise their potential in this country and yet english is their second language so we need to look at ways to help them. Standard curriculum teachings might not help them to command a good grasp of the language so a music leader works in partnership with the council to create a songwriting project which is used as a medium to reach them and improve their english whilst improving their sense of well being and inclusion at the same time. The council are achieving their objective, the Algerian community is benefitting and the music leader is staying in work. Its musical problem solving like this that challenged my thought pattern. Then it hit me! I already do this in the music industry! I compose songs that fit with a brief or a lead. I've learned to specialise in giving people what they want and not what I think they need. I globalised my outlook. This is the same thing. I needed to use music to help people which in turn helps me. I don't think my delivery of music ever got stale but my mindset did. I think my perspective got institutionalised by comfortability. Nowadays, I'm more in touch with whats going on in the news, what intentions and goals are set by the Arts Council, the City Council, the Music hubs and Youth Music. I researched their needs, I listened to their problems, I didn't create my own, I just create a new version of myself that fits within what is required. "Be sure to speak people's languages" Barry insisted. I knew what he meant. When I was in a rock band, how I would talk to the fans would differ from how I would talk to the media which in turn would differ from how I talk to the recording engineer. Again, its the same thing. If I talk to a youth leader I might talk about what music the young people can relate to and what type of activities that could be successful. However, that language would be irrelevant to a funding body. I'd talk to them about statistics, accreditation and outcomes because thats their incentive. How many people talk about how "It ain't like it used to be". Too right it isn't ! That was then and this is now and if you haven't noticed the world is changing faster than it ever has and you have to know your moves. If you're a music leader when was the last time you questioned your delivery? When was the last time you reached out to a new demographic? Is your work combatting problems? If it wasn't for the course I honestly don't think that I would have changed my perspective in the way that I have. "Tough times always produce innovation" - Barry's words echo through my mind. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- www.jonnyamos.com