If you want to really get good at something, then you have to do it in front of people and be willing to fall on your face repeatedly and suffer some serious humiliation. It’s particularly true for Jazz but I think it applies to any kind of profession, be that cooking, writing (ahem), or whatever. But particularly Jazz. This is not an art form you perfect before you bring it out in the public. This is an art form that can function much like a language and “social skills” comes into play; just as you can’t rehearse and practice the art of conversation by yourself, you can’t get good at this form of communication if you don’t get out into the real world, i.e. gigs, sessions, and try it out.
Yes, it is necessary to spend hours alone to master your craft. Definitely. But that would not take you to the next level. (This is why I think the current model of Jazz funding, which is a classical model, is problematic but I’ll write about that at a later date.) You can also flip that and say this: if you are willing to put yourself out there and endure public embarrassment and truly open to learn from these experiences, you’ll get so much better so much faster. When it gets real, you really have to bring your A game and use your creativity and gust to figure it out how to do it.
I feel very torn about Jazz being taught in schools for this reason. (Among other reasons….) In a safe environment of a classroom setting, you make mistakes and nothing is at stake. What I have seen mostly is that teachers who are overly encouraging without giving students feedback and criticism that can really give them something to ponder upon. If I’m paying $20,000 per year to be in the school, I, for one think that teachers owe it to students to say hard things because once you are in the real world, nobody will tell you what they really think. They just talk about you behind your back. True story.
Audience who paid to see you are honest, though. Perhaps not in words but by their behavior. At concerts where an artist captivate the audience, people might take out their phones to take pictures or videos (even that happens less because they are stunned by the music) but nobody would really be looking at Instagram or texting their friends. When there is a disconnect between the band and the audience, it is palpable in the air and I see so many small screens light up. People are fidgety and some leave before the set is over. If they felt that their money was not well-spent, they won’t come back to see you. That is real.
I get a lot of booking requests from young musicians who are just starting out. I get that you want to play at The Jazz Gallery but it is a listening room and you got to have a little bit of skills to musically communicate: translation, a hard room to play if you don’t have a lot of experience. This is why I’d tell many youngins to get out there and play many many random gigs at restaurants and bars where you are basically given the opportunity to practice in public. These gigs probably pay you by meals or tips and that part sucks but they also provide you with live humans for you to grapple with. You’ll get to learn how people communicate in these settings and you’ll get a better feel for how to communicate what you want to say. You’ll figure out how to make an emotional connection with each person in the room. When a listener feels included in the “conversation” rather than being given a talking-to, that is a powerful thing and listeners take that feeling home and that is how they remember you. That would be the reason they want to come back and see you. Think about it. Why do you want to be around people you want to be around with? Because they make you feel good and particularly about yourself. Same can be said about how audiences behave. And you can’t learn how to make people feel whatever you want them to feel in a practice room.
I want young musicians to go out and play and play, and play some more. You can always compose a profound piece of music after accumulating life behind you. Go get your feet wet.