Some of us thrive in the limelight. We are born for the stage. We feel we’ve got it and we flaunt it. We walk the walk, talk the talk, and we belt it out like there’s not tomorrow. When we strut before the packed house, we command the space and we own our glory.
There are others of us who dread the public eye. We fear that our cracks are actually giant pot holes. We assume that our own self- criticism is shared by a judgmental and unforgiving audience. We crave invisibility despite our many hours of hard-won artistic mastery.
Some of us waffle between these two paradigms, at different times in our lives, and have experienced both ends of this spectrum.
Think back into your performing past. Was it a school play? Your first solo? A community theater production? A music recital? The debate team? A dance number? Was the experience a resounding success or a colossal nightmare? What kind of feedback did you get? Did your objective evaluation of your performance align with the feedback you received? How did your body feel? So many of our intense sharing experiences are stored in our bodies by our autonomic nervous system. Revisiting these personal histories can shed light on how we feel about sharing our art at the present time. It may be a worthwhile exercise and allow us to harness new energies and novel strategies for our performing life.
The important question to ask ourselves is the following: What is to be gained by sharing and what is to be lost?
If art is an opportunity to generate dialogue, to challenge assumptions, to inspire others, to provide alternative readings, to reinterpret a standard, to educate, to protest, to protect, to celebrate, to comfort, to commiserate, to perpetuate – then to share our art is the greatest gift possible to our fellow humans.
There are so many ways to reach across space and time with our musical creations, and so much potential for reinvention and originality, that it has never been easier to create and share original or reinterpreted work. In fact, the technology available to us actually allows us to control many of the variables that make “live performances” more unpredictable and challenging for some.
Imagine recording decades ago when there was no such thing as punching (correcting a specific recorded section in isolation) or A-tuning (digitally modifying pitch to correct off-key vocals) . As an artist active over fifty years ago, you had to get every note head on. Recording was exorbitantly expensive. Being flawless was a necessity and the stress levels were sky high in the recording industry.
In contrast, today with apps like mix-it, you have a sure way to fashion high quality production with ease in the comfort of your home with no major expenses, or stresses. Plus you can manipulate visuals, vocals, instrumentation, and lyrics. What a miracle.
So now is the time to roll up your sleeves and crank out your fresh genius creation! You have never sounded better and you have never had an easier way to get yourself out there. Can’t wait to hear what you’ve come up with . Own your glory and share it with the world!
