The 5 T's that can help you get more gigs Pt. 2 Technique

I define technique as the ability to physically perform your musical ideas. If you notice , I didn’t say that the definition is the ability to play fast and loud, which is what many people tend to define it as. That being said, it is also necessary to have a well-developed technique if you want to clearly and accurately perform your musical ideas.

Possessing a well-developed technique is sort of like having control of your tongue…stay with me on this one. If you have ever been to the dentist and they numb your tongue, and you try to talk what comes out….Nothing right, or at least nothing understandable. Well, musical technique is the same thing. If your technique (tongue) isn’t adequate than nobody will understand what you are trying to say. Technique allows you to express the ideas and your personality through your music. You can have all the best ideas in the world but, no one is going to care if they can’t make out what you are saying.

Developing technique should include things such as basic facility, tone, and control over dynamics and all articulations. It is often studied intently and is often the first thing evident to any listener. However, also believe that even with most developed technique, that unless you have something to communicate to the listener people will quickly get bored. For example, how many people have ever been to a one-hour long fireworks show? Not many people probably because even though they are cool, unless there is an emotional meaning assigned to the show, it is not going to connect with people in a way that will carry them through time.

I believe that only when your technique is mastered are you able perform a piece convincingly. Now I don’t mean that only when you are a concert-level virtuoso are you able to play. However, to be able to communicate at the level where you will emotionally move people, you need to be secure with all the technical issues. That way you will be at a point where you are focusing on the structure and message of what you are doing, as opposed to the details of actually performing it.

In language terms, think of it as focusing on your point in a conversation, as opposed to thinking about how your tongue is moving to form the words. You will quickly notice the difference in mindset. You only having so much focusing power, so if you are focusing primarily on the physical aspect of your performance, then the message and scope of what you are doing is going to be lost.

Each musical language (genre) has its own techniques, and these techniques make up its particular sound. If you plan on performing any of these different styles you need to be able to “speak the language”. For instance, if you are a jazz trumpet player, you are going to know a certain number of idiomatic jazz licks that you can play in probably any number of different keys, and its these licks that help you to define your musical sound.

But say you a get hired for a classical concert, unless you can understand the difference between a classical articulation and a jazz articulation you may not get rehired for that gig. Of course the opposite is also true, whenever switching between musical genres the overall sound changes so the techniques are going to be different as well. Where a particular sound or articulation may not be acceptable in one, in the other it is the norm.

Read next time when we talk about the 3^rd T Taste

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