Why Working with Others is So Great

Been very privileged this week to work with a splendid range of new and interesting people.

The thing is, I've worked solo especially on music for so long, it becomes easy to forget how useful and necessary it is to work with others. So imagine how pleasant it was to work as 'sidekick' in an established music college, assisting others with songwriting skills. A big part of it involved promoting confidence. Not only promoting the sense of confidence one has in one's own musical abilities, but a sense of confidence to share their ideas. and then a sense of confidence to  perform those ideas.

Being a musician is not easy. However, what 'the public' see and imagine is 'hardest' is in fact what comes most naturally to a musician. Because for musicians and performers, having to practice and get their craft 'right' is what makes them get up in the morning. Working on riffs, dreaming up lyrics, processing thoughts, structuring and organising songs into verse, chorus middle eight and then finding the right key, melody, tempo and rhythm, these are the real treats in a musician's life.

Sharing, collaborating, performing - often not so much. We know that every so often the so-called 'born performer' comes along. But trust me, they are only that good because they worked at their craft behind the scenes. Doing the 'easy' stuff because it was what they most enjoy doing.

So, when I get an opportunity to work with musicians, and promote their sense of confidence, to share ideas, make them feel at home in their skins, and to see the positive results that emerge when they are able to develop those neural pathways and realise 'I can do this'. That is an incredibly rewarding experience. I fell I've fostered a safe space for growth and development, provided a structured example of how to do this, and have left people with a tangible result -real evidence of their abilities.