Building on Strengths

these. Do you get compared a lot to certain music acts? Do people feel you are using a dated approach? Do listeners find that the singer or style the song is written in irritating? Try to go back and tweak your song a little according to some of these comments—they may be valid. True, I like to show off my huge vocal range when I write for myself, but many singers can’t start to pull off such songs. I’ve done better in pitching to others since I reined in my melodies to reflect the average singer’s abilities. The same goes with my guitar work—many feel intimidated by my fingerpicking style, so I have used it because it is a strength, just dumbed it down so it is easier for the average guitarist to play—it will probably be some studio musician that will have to cover this song if you sell it, so it should be easy to learn. Save the fret-burning goodies for your personal material when you want to pitch yourself as an act, if that is your forte, and especially if you are continually told your material is “too busy.” I’ve also done far better pitching myself as an artist than I did pitching those songs to other artists based on recommendations from critics. I once berated a well-known local pianist for using a dated piano line in one of her songs, and she took it really badly—I noticed she changed it, though, and most of her approach and is now quite a local success story—she found a style that was “her own” rather than copy old works of others. Whether I helped or hurt, I don’t know, but the fact remains that she got where she is by doing that which was uniquely her strength and her style—something we all should strive to do. When I win awards, I find that it is mostly for my production style, and for pieces where I played all the instruments, rather than hire help—as a result, I find I now do better when I stick to this style, and my budget is far smaller, now, as well. As much as I’d rather have a rock group at my side, I seem to do far better without one, and I do know how to play all the instruments myself—a strength it seems, I need to build on, whether I like it or not.

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