6 things I wish I knew the day I started Berklee
September 5th, 2008
6 things I wish I knew the day I started Berklee
Talk I gave to incoming first-year students at Berklee College of Music today (September 5, 2008)
#1 : Focus. Disconnect. Do not be distracted.
My favorite part of the movies is the training sequence, where a young Bruce Wayne, Neo or Kung-Fu Panda goes to a remote location to be trained relentlessly, nonstop, past all breaking points, until they emerge as a master.
The next few years can be your training sequence, if you focus.
Unfortunately you’re not in Siberia. You’re surrounded by distractions.
You’re surrounded by cool tempting people, hanging out casually, telling you to relax.
But the casual ones end up having casual talent and merely casual lives.
Looking back, my only Berklee classmates that got successful were the ones who were fiercely focused, determined, and undistractable.
While you’re here, presidents will change, the world will change, and the media will try to convince you how important it all is.
But it’s not. None of it matters to you now.
You are being tested.
Your enemy is distraction.
Stay offline. Shut off your computer. Stay in the shed.
When you emerge in a few years, you can ask someone what you missed, and you’ll find it can be summed up in a few minutes.
The rest was noise you’ll be proud you avoided.
Focus. Disconnect. Do not be distracted.
This is your #1 most important challenge. If you master focus, you will be in control of your world. If you don’t, it will control you.
#2 : Do not accept their speed limit.
You don’t get extreme results without extreme actions.
Berklee classes set a pace the average student can keep.
If you want to be above average, you must push yourself to do more than required.
There’s a martial arts saying, “When you are not practicing, someone else is. When you meet him, he will win.”
If you are a writer, you should not only write a song a week, but spend twice as long improving it as you do writing it.
Inspiration is a good start, but it’s the diligence to make every note and every word perfect, that will really set you apart.
Luckily, when I was 17, a few months before starting Berklee, I met a man named Kimo Williams who used to teach at Berklee and convinced me that the standard pace is for chumps.
In just 3 intensive lessons, he taught me 3 semesters of Berklee harmony, so on opening day I started in Harmony 4.
In one intensive lesson, he taught me the whole semester of Arranging 1.
Then I learned I could buy the book for a course I wasn’t enrolled in, and do all the examples myself, without even needing to attend the class. I could approach the department head and take the final exam for full credit. I did this for all the other requirements like Arranging 2, and traditional counterpoint classes.
I graduated Berklee in 2-and-a-half years.
Do not accept their speed limit.
Blow away expectations.
#3 : Nobody will teach you anything. You have to teach yourself.
When I first arrived at Berklee, I was disappointed. My teachers weren’t teaching me. I almost dropped out.
I went home to Chicago and got accepted to Northwestern University. Then I realized their music program was more about memorizing the name of Bach’s many children.
So I came back to Berklee with gusto. I decided to squeeze every bit of knowledge out of this place. Nobody was going to do it for me.
Do not expect the teachers to teach you.
They will present some information to you, but it is entirely 100% up to you to either make the most of it, or waste your time here, and go home and get a normal dumb job.
Berklee is like a library.
Everything you need to know is here for the taking.
It’s the best possible environment for you to master your music.
But nobody will teach you anything. You have to teach yourself.
#4 : Learn from your heroes, not only theirs.
When I was here, I wanted to be a great songwriter, among other things.
Berklee’s songwriting courses are amazing! I learned so much about song crafting that made me look at all of my favorite music with a whole new insight, and forever improved my own writing.
But… I remember a lyric writing teacher saying a good lyric needs to use all 5 senses. He’d say, “Don’t just mention your grandmother. Describe the veins on the back of her hands. Don’t just mention a bedroom. Describe the smell of the dust on the curtains and the sound of the creaky stairs.”
So for years I thought every lyric I wrote was crap unless it described all 5 senses.
Then finally I noticed that my favorite songs by Nirvana or Talking Heads were abstract collages of evocative nonsense.
My favorite glitchy electronic music by Björk is nothing they’d ever teach in a Rock Arranging For Live Performance 1 class.
So I finally realized the one important point I missed while here, that I hope you don’t forget.
The teachers are taking their favorite music and using it to teach you techniques.
Learn and appreciate those techniques. They’re great.
But if you only learn the techniques they teach you, you’re only learning their favorite music.
Never think their heroes are better than yours.
You’ll hear a lot about the greats, but whatever you love is great, too.
The same way they will break apart a Shania Twain hit song or a classic Charlie Parker solo to teach you the craft inside, you must learn how to break apart your favorite music and analyze it.
I finally analyzed my favorite Nirvana and Talking Heads lyrics. Finally analyzed the glitches and growls in Björk’s music.
Distilled their ingredients for my own re-use.
Learn from your heroes, not only theirs.
#5 : Don’t get stuck in the past.
While at Berklee, I felt I had to learn Donna Lee, the old bebop jazz standard, to be a good musician.
Got a great gig going to Japan for a month with Victor Bailey on bass.
Here’s one of the best bassists ever, who’s played with Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Sonny Rollins, Sting, and more.
He heard me playing Donna Lee a bit, and said, “Man - jazz was all about inventing something new. For a musician 50 years later to be stuck in the 1950s would be like a 1950s musician being stuck in the 1900s. There’s nothing cool about that.”
A couple weeks later I was at the piano quietly working on one of my own songs, and for the first time he said, “Hey - wow - what is that? That’s great, man. Can you show me?”
Innovation is needed more than imitation.
Don’t get stuck in the past.
#6 : When done, be valuable.
While you’re here, stay locked in the shed.
Enjoy this wonderful isolation, with no responsibility but to improve yourself.
But when you leave here, head to the business aisle of the bookstore and start reading a book a week about entrepreneurial things like marketing.
Never underestimate the importance of making money making music.
Let go of any weird taboos you have about it.
Money is nothing more than neutral proof that you’re adding value to people’s lives.
Making sure you’re making money is just a way of making sure you’re doing something of value to others.
Remember that this usually comes from doing the things that most people don’t do.
For example : how much does the world pay people to play video games? Nothing, because everyone does it.
How much does the world pay people to make video games? A ton, because very few can do it, and lots of people want it.
…
Be one of the few that is clever enough to make money making music instead of pretending it doesn’t matter.
Be one of the few that has the guts to do something shocking.
Be one of the few that takes your lessons here as a starting point, and pushes yourself to do more with what you learn.
Be one of the few that knows how to help yourself, instead of expecting for others to do it for you.
Be one of the few that does much more than is required.
And most importantly, be one of the few that stays in the shed to practice, while everyone else is surfing the net, flirting on MySpace, and watching TV.
Here’s the link to the YouTube of my talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxYt–CFXK0.
Wow, wow, wow.
Now I kinda wish I’d have gone.
Love the line “Be one of the few that is clever enough to make money making music instead of pretending it doesn’t matter.”
Not just that line, but the whole talk, man… great advice for anyone interested in music business and music education. Thanks!
Wow is right. Wow!
Derek, this is the reason why you are one of my heros. I know I sound like I am kissing your ass, but I can’t help it. I think you are amazing at distilling life’s essence into a few, easy-to-understand sentences. Profound and deep yet practical.
I’m going to link to this from everywhere I can. This is what all dream-pursuers need to know, not just musicians.
And yes, I am applying it to my life. All of it.
Thank you Derek.
ari
How I wished I learned all these things when I was in college! Still, better late than never.
Amazing thoughts.
Thank you for the inspiration!
Thanks guys! I really appreciate it.
Derek,
I was there in the BPC to hear your inspiring words. Thanks for sharing your energy and positive message with all the students!
im in the transition from the creative to the productive and you are right…focus, and the shed, along with hustle are the keys to accomplishing anything…thnX
This article didn’t inspire me as much as show me that I am a chump:
I went to a state school to get a degree I’m probably not going to use, focused on playing in a local band that went nowhere, flirted on MySpace, and married the MySpace girl.
Now I’m a chump graduating with an “Interdisciplinary Studies” degree with nothing to show for it, except to get grouped in with all the other chumps who “run a home studio.”
Derek, what’s a chump to do?
Damn. I am not sure I can handle this much motivation on a Sunday morning! Awesome post dude.
Hey Derek,
I couldn’t agree more about your last point. Tim Sanders wrote in Love is the Killer App about the importance of reading books, not just magazines or articles, but BOOKS. My new year’s resolution was to read 24 books and I’m 15 books deep going into September. It has made a world of difference and I now consider myself somewhat of a marketing professional as opposed to someone who’s just confused by the whole concept of it.
Also, every musician MUST read “How To Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie and keep it by their bedside as a bible for how to succeed in the music business today.
That’s just my opinion, and I always enjoy reading yours. Thanks so much for dedicating yourself to helping the little guys.
Take care,
Dave Booda
As a guitar teacher for over twenty years, and about forty as a player, these are point I need to hear both to remind myself, and impart to my students. ““When you are not practicing, someone else is. When you meet him, he will win.” Great quote. Cdbaby has been a great boon for me and many thanks to you, Derek.
Bravo!!!
Great post and I couldn’t agree more. Now if you could write a post on how to keep your friends while you’re in the shed practicing, that would help me out even more.
Hi Derek,
I don’t like that you sold CDbaby. I am very fond of your ideas, and am glad to see you are experimenting, but completely different things brought you where you were. Your “baby” was simply efficient and honest, i.e. it was treating the indies fairly, and was PAYING ON REGULAR BASIS.
FYI, the new owners are already BEHIND with payments. A good omen?
Don Brown : sorry I don’t know anything about them being behind on payments. If you email money@cdbaby.com that will go directly to the accounting department who will be able to give you the real scoop.
Great point about teaching yourself. I can’t tell you how frustrated I was getting my engineering degree in Madison. All the teacher would do in class is re-write EXACTLY what is in the textbook. Why take notes when someone has already typed it out in a much neater form in a nice hard cover book. This is why I don’t take private music lessons for $40/hr, I just buy the whole book for $20.
Awesome post Derek, thanks. I had a frustrating experience at a music school a LONG time ago — this article makes me feel 1,000 times better about the actions I took in response!!!
Derek, I need to print this out. It hits home for me and where I’m at right now. Thanks.
Cheers!
-Jeff
[...] Here’s the post, and here’s the video. [...]
Derek.
Props.
Once again.
You are one of my heroes.
–NMW
I’m glad you posted this. These are good things for we the faculty to hear as well, and I wasn’t able to attend. Thanks so much!
Part of me wants to wish that I had heard this back when I was 18. But that would be crying over spilled milk. And there’s no point in crying over spilled milk. The important thing is that I am hearing this now.
Thanks Derek
Steve Shapiro!
Every passing second is another chance to turn it all around. Make music in that home studio! I wish I had one..
Fabulous list! I would add a few as well.
1. Understand context as much as possible. If Stravinsky were playing bass in a country band he would NOT be making money in music. Nor would he be if sold musical supplies or tubas. For someone else, that might apply.
2.Understand that if you can effortlessly make great money doing something else you will probably end up being able to do more serious musical work than if you cobbled together a tenuous musical context to make small money.
3. If you are not working hard at your musical craft in the most challenging way, you are failing.
4. If money causes you to degrade your music, then only do it if it is a lot of money, otherwise learn to make money in a more efficient way.
5. Listen to music that you are not up to speed with yet, you can grow into it and widen your powers.
6. Bring something NEW to the picture. Don’t just imitate. (Though they say they don’t, strict categorizers tend to demand a hackneyed banality with only superficial rebellion occurring occasionally.)
7.Generalities can only go so far, be intensive in dealing with specifics and minute detail that produces the result you are after.
Thanks again for your great (as usual) suggestions.
Steve
[...] I was 17, I met Kimo Williams, who taught me I could graduate college in 2 years, which gave me an identity as an [...]
While I think being okay with making money with your music is important (it’s not selling out) if you want to “make a living” …
The ability to sell a product (a purchase of your music) is not necessarily any proof at all that you’ve “added value to a person’s life.” Neutral or otherwise.
Depending on what you call value.
Hopefully, yes, you’ve added value to their life - but our economy shows many purchases add no true “value” to a person’s life. Hummers sell (or did); what “value” do they add?
I also think many people today pay someone to make something they’re too lazy to make - whether it’s music, or lunch. It’s not a perfect sign they can’t do it or that you have a “valuable” skill if they buy it from you.
Likewise - truly brilliant music may not sell as well as average music, Madonna v. Tom Waits; Rihanna v. Elvis Costello. So big sales don’t necessarily equate to big talent; thus sales don’t necessarily equate to “value”.
It’s a capitalist philosophy of value that creates phrases like “He paid the ultimate price” when a soldier dies; value and money should be only marginally recognized as equals.
***
Money is nothing more than neutral proof that you’re adding value to people’s lives.
Making sure you’re making money is just a way of making sure you’re doing something of value to others.
Remember that this usually comes from doing the things that most people don’t do.
For example : how much does the world pay people to play video games? Nothing, because everyone does it.
How much does the world pay people to make video games? A ton, because very few can do it, and lots of people want it.
Agreed. A great read for anybody pursuing a dream.
Hi Derek,
Any chance you would post a list of some of your favorite books?
My daughter will be graduating from Berklee in May. Your advice is relevant to her (and she has definitely been “in the shed”, I’m very proud of the effort she has made), but also to me at this point in my music career. Thank you -
Lynda
Definitely. Some day soon. Thanks for the reminder.
[...] Welcome, new visitor! And special welcome to all the Positivity Blog readers. Thanks for visiting my site. My name is Ari Koinuma, and this is my blog about becoming who you are meant to be. Be sure to check out the home page, which will give you an overview of this site and points out some of the major themes. If you enjoy what you see, please drop me a comment, or subscribe, so we can keep in touch. I look forward to getting to know you! “Nobody will teach you anything. You have to teach yourself.” — Derek Sivers [...]
Man…
i already knew the first 5 points. Ever. And that’s great to read those advices with the constant feeling that it is sensed and pure.
And not one of my multiple philo beliefs nonsense.
Thanks for that.
But came the sixth part.
There you taught me something important, and probably solving my problem with money…
great words
great guy
Many thanks.
(EYR)
http://www.myspace.com/eyrmusic
Hmmm, Derek, I did all that during my Berklee years and twice over/ i.e taught myself and testing out of courses though I had never studied music before, got my own band and paid gigs, worked weekends and vacations and with all other time to focus, practice etc 5 years straight. All I can say is hard work had nothing to do with opportunities. Nor did talent (which I assume I have). Did my own marketing, produced my own albums, found my own heroes (while relishing the knowledge served me etc, etc.
There are two playing fields when you are a woman functioning on male turf, but even assuming the playing field is level, I find your points good but a bit too pat!
It irks me, since many peers have done all this too and remain unrewarded either because they are above the mediocrity/ the common chord of the day or simply not politically astute enough!
I suspect what really got you to where you are is that you are SAVVY with playing the game… getting what you want from people…negotiating, salesmanship, etc! I remember meeting you in LA and I did not think, that is a musician. My first thought was that is a cool guy who is a smooth operator who sees both sides and knows how to read people! Elements of that savvy can be taught but I think you are a natural. Top that off with superior musicianship and you are set for success!
But how much time and patience do the rest of us less naturally savvy have to develop that political radar when we are doing the very opposite=which is to avoid the noise and be productive in the zone?
From what I have observed in my path and that of many collegues, that savvy is the deciding factor to success.
Sadly, I think knowing how to play a moment is more important than actually knowing how to play! The rest kicks in when it comes to artist longevity which is when people first start looking for substance.
I think you should include the realpolitik, shadows and all, so that people understand that these guidelines will by no means work for everyone unless combined with political astuteness. Politics start at Berklee! Without overly polarizing the sex angle, you might acknowledge that following some of your advice can backfire for a woman, some guys cant stand when you are strong and daring =tread with caution…it s a crapshoot!
Great stuff Derek. I’m still surprised how little people read, study, and embark in learning things on their own. I was told a few years back, “If you read a book a week for a year in a particular field, that is the equivalent of a Phd in that area.”
Good work as usual, Derek. I wish I had heard this speech when I started Berklee!
Thanks very much Derek for those pearls of wisdom!! Excellent stuff. Really enjoyed reading your words.
Take care,
Robert
Derek’s advice goes way beyond a music career - it applies to anything one wants to do.
Love this talk and will show it to a class I am teaching on music marketing.
did you ever get a copy of Tom Silverman’s Ten Precepts To Live by In The Music Business, if not I will email you a copy.
Chris
Again, Derek–you amaze me as one of the finest humanoids to walk this planet. I have not ever really had music lessons much less been to a school like Berklee, but I found myself wishing I could have gone just to apply these principles! Thanks for being so willing to share your gifts.
Agree with the other posters, great stuff, Derek! And thank you.
Still, it was letting go of money that finally freed me up to really start creating. It’s a funny paradox, for sure.
For many years, if I wasn’t getting paid, then I wasn’t a “real musician”. That’s a trap! In the 1950’s cats in San Francisco’s North Beach were getting $35-50/gig. At that time, that was better than a living wage. It was good. Houses were purchased, kids put through school.
Today in North Beach, guess what we’re getting? $35-50/gig! Doesn’t even buy dinner.
the economics of music have changed drastically. Local cats cannot make a living playing (well a few do, but very few, and usually not with highly original music)
And, today, there are millions of players. Most not very good - but way more great players than previous (all those Jamie Abersold methods, Hanon for rock piano, etc.)
So, I believe that valuing one’s contribution by the money value for most of us can simply lead nowhere.
As my mom told me (a recognized sculptor) “Do it because you love it. Everything else is gravy.”
best
/brook
I couldn’t agree about the focus more. When my family use to watch the Hockey game I’d stay upstairs and plan sketches and paintings. Today I photgraphed 231 24×30 sketch compostions I did in the 70’s and 80s’ in the evenings after I did my day job. I had made a plan years ago to do them then and paint them when I turned 45 or 50. Now I’m there. Money use to be no problem but when I became disabled in 1998 it cleaned me out and I was forced to start all over. I had to remember that focus and had challenges working against it and thena family that became and still is very abusive because of my disability. Now that focus means more than anything. I need to forget all of the mean things they do to me and just keep moving forward with the blinders on.
I was making great music for a while but my step son grew up to the age of college and stole all of the equipment and I had to find another way to focus so I have now created a talk - music show that will promote my peers at CDBABY and help publicity of their music. I am a well trained Broadcaster so it’s funny how all of the cards get stacked in the right order for us to have a winning hand no matter what. We just have to have the right mind set. I think that’s what you’re getting at here. I’m focused on a mission. If something else gets taken away I will still find a way because I am focused and know what I’m doing is right.
This is a great article again. Thanks Derek.
Cheers,
John David Hart
Derek,
You are so awesome & have such great advice! I’m going through music school right now and feel that you completely understand. My fav is #5, as some teachers LOVE to preach the exact opposite of what u were saying. Although it’s great to study other musicians, I 100% believe “Innovation is needed more than imitation.”- you’re dead on!
Thanks again for the great advice… I’ll definitely be using them! woooooo hoooo~ On to link #4.
-CJ
Great article! Thanks!
VERY cool, Derek! I actually gave a speech at Berklee when I was a student there, extolling the virtues of destroying your television:
http://www.berklee.edu/news/1999/convo99/op.html
I worked really hard when I was at Berklee and beyond, but if I could go back and do it again, I would work even harder.
Hope you’re doing well.
Chris
Derek,
Great message on Focus, as many of us get distracted. I enjoyed your video, it teaches very good points and techniques.
Learning donna lee was a good exercize for your fingering and chops, you have to admit, you are right about, the here and now.
Derek, you are the bomb. To Keith Mitchell: The best way to keep your friends while being in the shed practicing is to invite them to your practice performances…not your regular shedding…but offer to have them over at the shed and run your “set”…without partying…just focus on putting on the best performance of your life and see how well it translates…gives you a great chance to see how well what you’re working on is developing into what you perform, or not…and a chance for them to get a free intimate concert, and who knows, you might even get a free meal out of it…that’s a trick I’ve used often…just don’t eat too much…time to get back to the shed…
Good speech you got your point across
Great advice! After more than forty years of playing music, I’m going to start all over again with a new attitude, applying the principles you’ve outlined so well. What an inspiration. Thanks!
Heartfelt thanks Derek. I’m well past the college age and have been out here for almost a decade with some innovative music. I felt literally buoyed up with the information you provided.
Indeed, I intend to pass this along to everyone on my list who has someone in college (music major or not). Folks, (even teens) need to know how to acknowledge (and honor) their creativity and innovative minds. One of the things I’m just getting in touch with is the extent of my creativity and how to handle it. This information is a remarkable shortcut to the learning process for folks and a marvelous guide on how to handle the tunnel vision that academia has while still learning what they indeed have to offer. Are you writing a book about this?
Would love to hear more and I’m sure there is more!
I believe that the creative mind is how God speaks to the masses.
Love
Devya
Yes, I agree with all of the points you make… But a basic problem with human beings is that we can’t be told. Very few of us are driven or extraordinary enough to accept this advice when we’re 18 years old and supposedly ready to take on the world. I knew (and I WAS told) most of these things back in 1987 when I attended Musicians Institute in LA, but it took me 40 years of living to find my own voice and begin to take control of my own destiny as a musician. Love the point about Jazz and Victor Bailey; what’s supposed to be the most creative form of music has become the most stagnant since the 70’s.
Cheers,
Andy
hey derek.. thanks for the links.. this one made me smile.. i really like this part best:
“He heard me playing Donna Lee a bit, and said, “Man - jazz was all about inventing something new. For a musician 50 years later to be stuck in the 1950s would be like a 1950s musician being stuck in the 1900s. There’s nothing cool about that.”
A couple weeks later I was at the piano quietly working on one of my own songs, and for the first time he said, “Hey - wow - what is that? That’s great, man. Can you show me?”
Innovation is needed more than imitation.
—————————–
well i’m in complete agreement with that but if you look around the OMD sites you’ll hear that most are exactly stuck in the past, emulating their heroes..
the few, like myself of course,
who are brave and innovative are largely under appreciated or ignored.. if trane were still here it would music like mine he’d enjoy.. not all the retro stuff
going down everywhere.. i never went to berklee.. would have liked to but what i hear around me now from musicians educated in that way is conservative and tame.. as if people wouldn’t want to upset anyone.. make any waves.. jepardize their chance to become part of the mainstream.. my music will never make me rich although it should.. if people like alphonse mouzon praise my playing then i will have to content myself with knowing that the true creative musicians respect my music.. thanks for inviting me
to comment.. cheers..
too bad the link to my music didn’t publish here.. check me out please derek.. i walk my talk musically.. cheers.. joe aka rapster aka nicky quick..
I really loved this video, its full of wisdom and knowledge and is full of valuable insights and experiences, that can only come from someone who has achieved much success through self-realizaion. Many thanks Derek.
Thanks so much for these words Derek - very helpful.
I will
Thanks so much for these words Derek - very helpful.
I will forward this on to the guys and students at UNI.
Best wishes - keep in touch.
Derek, I always enjoy reading your thoughts and comments through your emails as well as your site. You, Bob Parsons (GoDaddy) and Paul Orfalea (Kinko’s)are inspiring.
Banzai!
~darrell
PS: Can I come work for you?
watch this
The main point I got from this transcript is that Berklee was a waste of time for you. If it’s a library, why not spend a few years living in Boston, using it’s library?
I think this idea that students should be locking themself in a shed is an approach that devalues our natural humanity. Why deny ourselves the ability to flirt? Some of the best songs are inspired, or describe, these kinds of situations. Technical prowess is overappreciated by music scholars - I think we should spend more time understanding ourselves. If we’re dealing with honest expression, than real music is being made.
Why study at a conservatory? It seems like Berklee was a failure for you, and I know it was for some of my friends. I’m a firm believer in the value of a liberal arts education, and engaging not only with every single discipline, but also the world. A more whole perspective produces a stronger conceptual artist. Albeit, a technical education will make them better instrumentalists or arrangers… but who wants to do the physical labour?
Thanks again, Derek, for a huge amount of practical wisdom packed into a few well articulated statements.
You are a motivator of the finest caliber!
Trevor: definitely NOT a waste of time! No! It was one of the best things I’ve done. It was a great environment to learn.
Two things really stick with me from reading this post and the following comments.I too, went to a great music school…did I learn…of course…do I still continue to learn…yes I think I deserve that PHD. Also being an immigrant you can’t deny the power and thought to these words…. “Making sure you’re making money is just a way of making sure you’re doing something of value to others”…my fans reaction to my music is a driving force but not quite as strong as the natural one within me….
Always appreciate your thoughts and efforts!
rada
Some very wise words.
As a 30 year old guy from a small town who earned three graduate degrees by the age of 29, it’s refreshing to hear someone cosign my ideology concerning overdriven-ness. Most people fail to realize that without occasionally sacrificing sleep or “down time” it is nearly impossible to record an album, write a book or accomplish one’s dream. The sacrifice is more than worth it, but the general public simply does not get it. I suppose that’s why some are born to be emploYERS and others lifetime emploYEES. Thanks for the inspiration, Derek!
Thanks for emailing the links, Derek!
I can really relate to “You have to teach yourself”, and not just because I’m a self-taught musician/songwriter but because that’s what I’ve wound up doing in every area of life since learning the disillusioning truth that those who seek to teach you might not be the master of whatever and you discover you’ve been taught, if not incorrectly, mediocre at best.
Focus, hard work, and paving one’s on path are the keys, and you did a great job illustrating it here.
Derek After reading your article, it occurred to me how very right you are. I went back to college at age 27. I went 4 straight years to Berklee and graduated. During that time period, I played in all the top bands (DUES BAND, JAZZ ROCK, LINE WRITING, BUDDY RICH, THAD JONES,etc. )and received the first MAYNARD FERGUSON scholarship but I refused to hang out and party and jam at night. No distractions!!!!
Two years after graduation, I was playing lead trumpet and being a featured soloist with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra and performing all over the world plus the White House, Radio City Music Hall and many colleges!!Now I am a band director of a middle school in Portsmouth, RHODE ISLAND and teach music to over 450 students. We talk about the music business and music experiences and what is right and what is wrong. I hope they will not get distracted!!! They are our future!
Thank you for the article,Derek!
I’ve heard this quote attributed to Frank Zappa:
“If you want to learn something, go to the library. If you want to get laid, go to college.”
I think Derek’s point is that you can learn some valuable things AT college, as long as your “Focus” is on music and not on getting laid (or binge drinking in a fraternity, or other distractions).
On the other hand, Steve Shapiro, you found your WIFE during your college years, and that, I hope you will agree, is a positive thing. I begged my college girlfriend to marry me, and she would not. We broke up. I didn’t find the woman who would be my wife until I was 32.
I think finding your life’s partner is a valuable part of life that you need as much as music, and if you can find the right person early on, so much the better. So don’t think you are a chump, Steve. I’m assuming the marriage worked out, and if it did, being a good, dedicated husband as part of your post-college Focus is a rewarding, noble thing, and rare these days.
Now back to the shed.
I didn’t go to college, because I thought I was going to be a rock star. Duh!
Hi Derek,
This is great stuff. I went to North Texas and worked hard to learn all I could about music. I learned all those jazz solos etc. and used them for my own music. I always felt I had to work on something new musically and not be stuck in the past. I wish I would of had your insight on the money though. I still need to work on that as my thinking was if your good enough the phone will ring. It takes much more then talent to be a success in the music
business. Your insight is very helpful to me and I appreciate you helping all us musicians find the path. Keep up the great work Derek as your an inspiration to all of us.
Derek! I have to say you are so brilliant! Man i admire you so much! It is so hard for me to accomplish my goals with all the distractions. Between working full time, being a family man, getting in my studio to make music, taking care of other necessities,like promoting my music, it is very tough! What you say is so totally true! That why i admire you so much! You are so focused and you know the way to success. Great info Derek! Thanks man! Clarence
I went to North Texas State in the early ’70s, when there was a staggering amount of talent running around that campus. I got to see a lot of those guys succeed and fail, and I would say that I agree with virtually everything you’ve said here. Suitable for framing and posting in every music school.
loved reading your very clear and clever talk. Thanks for sharing! Very inspiring. Nicole
I’m a great believer in CD Baby and the indie revolution. However…
I saw a TV show once where a man says, “It’s easy to make a million dollars. Take a hundred thousand and put it in the bank. Do that every year for ten years and you’ll be a millionaire.” Thanks, I guess.
There are a lot of real distractions that can’t be ignored: feeding yourself, feeding your children are high-rankers. These suggestions are very helpful for kids who are just starting out; but time goes by, you lose money making records and going on tour and if you give your music the focus it deserves, you don’t have time left to become expert in another field where you can get a “safer” job with a predictable income.
What advice do you have for those of us who have already been through the fire and barely survived?
JBall
To Derek:
Very inspirational, as always! Thank you.
To Keith Mitchell:
I have a few thoughts on “how to keep your friends while you’re in the shed practicing”:
Be as honest and direct with everyone as you can be.
Make sure you truly enjoy the (perhaps brief) time you’ve allotted to be with friends… be it 2 minutes, 1/2 hour, a meal, a day, whatever. Be “in the moment” the entire time.
When the time comes, politely and sincerely beg your leave.
Then TOTALLY focus on your practicing, i.e., personal work…while your friends continue socializing or doing whatever each has chosen to do.
Some may be offended to one degree or another that you’ve chosen your personal work over time with them. But your true friends will respect it, or come to respect it, and look forward to the next opportunity you both have to enjoy time together.
Simple, right? (R-R-i-i-i-i-ght…)
Probably more of the articles here.
Dear Derik,
1 : Focus. Disconnect. Do not be distracted.
2 : Do not accept their speed limit.
3 : Nobody will teach you anything. You have to teach yourself.
4 : Learn from your heroes, not only theirs.
5 : Don’t get stuck in the past.
6 : When done, be valuable.
I did not forget these lessons and I shared your speech that you gave at Berklee with my oldest and my ex husband. My oldest is now 8 and soon he will be 9. His good at problem solving. He got A+ on Problem solving. Reason is his a teachable.
I am also teachable and I always remembered what you just mention through your speech. I learn your speech through experience of my life. I was so happy hear such a wisdom through others like yourself.
Now,my son and ex are much more motivated to live a life efficient and
effectively through your motivational speech.
Everything is in “words”. Only a genius can actually “apply” to their life. I must be honest.
Lot of us listens. Just listen!!! Without absolving and live through it. Deceiving them -self’s by just listen.
I did that too and I also forget some times but I know how to get back on the track when the direction is pointed to the right direction. Thank you for being our guiding light, it was a billion $ speech from man who live his life through the words.
Once again thank you very much,Derek.
Respectably Emily Eunjue Hayes
Congratulations derek, on your determination to share your knowlege of what GOD has blessed you with to help all musicians be successful in the independent music business, continued success and prosperity for you and the cd baby family for the rest of 08 and 09 GOD BLESS ALL AMEN.
Wow! This was amazing! I will definitely be putting to practice all this advice. I’m currently doing online college while studying music on my own. So I definitely need to keep up my determination in teaching myself and pushing ahead.
Thanks again!
Rock forever!!!
JP
Truth, inspires.
Thank you!!!
Derek Sivers is every musician’s hero. You are awesome.
Thank you so much.
I went to MI in hollywood… and we all could have used a “6 things… before I started MI” talk there - actually, I did most of those things anyway and became an instructor there eventually before being a professional musician now - and I love it!! thanks derek for you insight!!!
Dear Derek, Again. You are sharing the idea that to strive to be the best is the way to be. I have felt this way from day one. I studied music at The University of Miami and always felt like it takes 4 years to learn all that stuff and 4 years in the real world to unlearn it and become a good musician. I don’t mean it direspectfully, you know what I mean. You really hit home with me. In our National Enquierer fed society of today. People get away with so much and focus on glitz over substance. It’s easy to become discouraged if we focus on pop culture. I call it the dumbing down of our society. My audience looks beyond that stuff, and I am grateful that you do as well.
Thanks again for great insights,
Marc Vee
Thank you for sharing your Berklee experiences with us Derek. You and your words are truely an inspiration and I am already moving forward with my work as a musician because of you.
#2 The ZEN of music, practice, don’t be afraid of errors, The ZEN of music is the ZEN of you.
#5 In music the past are the roots, the music is the tree, and what you make of it, is the future.
I take classical music from 1700 as an example, It teaches me about music, what do i do with it?
I take my electronic instruments, and create my own classical tune in C minor ore wahtever key it is.
**—-
Ask yourself: why are tribute bands today so populair? they just are stuck in the past,
but people love hearing those tune’s
# 6 Is making money the only way of making sure you are doing something of value?
In my opinion money is bounded by time, music with value is timeless.
How would i like to be remebered when i am gone for over 268 years in the year 2268?
Has my music enough value to gain momentum in the course of time?
Ore do i want to be valued in the here and now considering a short period of about 50 years.
#6 be one of the few that stays in the shed to practice, while everyone else is —–
ah ! thats why you hear so little of me.!
Awesome Derek. Very inspiring… focus is one of the things that I need the most. I’ll work on all those 6 important points. Thanks for sharing.
Well, Derek,
I can underline most passages of your article. But I must protest nevertheless here or there: I write more than a song or composition a week, it brings me lots of fun and my fans say the songs are good no matter how fast they were written and arranged by me and my musicians! And since I’m really thankful for my composing gift (don’t know if there exists a god who gave it to me, but the thought just is nice!) indeed I don’t care so much for money, although sometimes I feel a little angry that some people make money with my songs and don’t wanna share it with the composer himself! And believe me I’m not only pretending when I say this!
Mark Stanton
P.S. Like you I have some offers from English colleges and universites to teach music with them in the meantime! I’m just pondering about whether I should accept one of them! (Well, it would mean that I would have less time for my composing that I love so much in the end, on the other hand it will bring me a steady income that I need in some ways, too!)
Mark Stanton
(Mark Stanton and The Dogsters)
Derek,
I so appreciate all of your generous and thoughtful assistance to indie musicians. I’ve forwarded this article on to my daughter, a music business student at NYU.
You rock, in more ways than one!
OH MAN! This is exactly what I needed to hear just now.
Thank you Derek
Awesome speech bro. Dead on!
I’m 66 years old and about to embark on a new phase of my musical career. Even though your talk is geared toward college students, I felt that almost every word applied to me at this stage of the game…very helpful. Thanks!
Derek,
You hit on a lot of Invaluable parallels that are great to come back to again and again!
Great Delivery too!
Respectfully,
George Winters
really good talk, I hope the students took what you said to heart! What really hit me was the first point. when you’re young and full of dreams it’s so easy to follow every passion, every whim, but then you’re left chasing butterflies. Focus, focus, focus is something I wish I had learned the absolute importance of way early on.
Grazie dei suggerimenti che sono ottimi,spero di riuscire ad attuarli.
>Money is nothing more than neutral >proof that you’re adding value to
>people’s lives.
Haha! If this was true, dude, the world would be a better place
Very interesting speech full of enthusiasm, thanks.
ciao
Hi Derek,
Once again you have nailed it. As a graduate of Berklee I found myself reading this over my morning oatmeal and nodding my head vigorously the entire time. Everything you said was true, honest and brilliant.
Thankfully I was one of the people who learned on day one that Berklee is a self-service school. I saw many of my friends fall by the wayside when their hands weren’t held by their teachers. Berklee is, as you said, the best place to master your craft but you’ve got to stay focused.
Now I make my living demonstrating cutting edge vocal equipment and touring as a background singer. Berklee was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I thank you for helping to prepare future students for its reality. You rock!
I smell a Pattison quote! I just graduated from Berklee in August. Everything you said is completely right on. Thanks for sharing!
“Never think their heroes are better than yours.” That’s a quote I that’ll stick. People like Ahmet Ertegun and Tim Westergren might not be on everyone’s radar, but they represent success to me. Taking your advice, I’m off to the bookstore to get everything I can on music business, even if I believe it’s what fills these books that has been slowing the music listening renaissance the internet should allow.
Oh man, the Donna Lee example is a good one. I thought that I had to be able to play that song really fast, in order to be a good musician. It took me a while to realize that it was ok to play music that I loved and grew up with (mostly pop/commercial music), even if it only had a couple chords, and was slow!
Luckily I figured that out by the time I graduated from Berklee. That was one of the biggest things I learned at Berklee. And it was an odd place to learn that lesson, since everyone was spending a ton of time learning Donna Lee!
Thank you so much Derek. Those were the exact words I’ve been needing to hear. There have been way too many distractions for me lately and though it is easy to blame others, or other things for lack of motivation, sometimes you’ve got to take a good hard look at yourself and get back that blind enthusiasm that comes straight from the heart and do what you know is the right thing to do. I will turn off this computer right now and go work on one of those many half finished songs I have been sitting on. You are truly a gentleman and set a fine example for many to follow.
Derek,
First of all, thank you for starting CD BABY. It is the only time anybody ever helped me sell CD’s. I was not lucky enough to attend Berklee. But, I did exactly as you suggest at University of California at Santa Cruz: U.C.S.C
in those days (Uncle Charlie’s Summer Camp) Talk about distractions…. the babes and good green herb would be a full time job all by themselves. I lived in the practice room and carved up any tune I could find from Donna Lee on down. I created my own vocabulary and lived in the moment. When I graduated I could blow that horn!
But when it came to making money, I soon found out that demand for my moderate ability as a piano man eclipsed my first rate ability as a sax player.
I again applied the same concept. I learned every tune in the John Mehegan jazz books, every tune on the Art Tatum box set, every tune I saw on more than 2-3 records.
When I get a request for something I don’t know. I find it and learn it. I try not to judge the request (”you don’t really want to hear THAT?!”) The most important thing in this period, was how to learn tunes in itself.
You soon see plenty of overlap in the American song book as far as chord progressions and melodies.
This is where your personal style takes over.
When you say don’t get stuck in the past, I hope you don’t mean ignore the greats. Jelly Roll Morton still has a lot to add to anybody’s concept. It’s important to find the original sources of trends in music. But don’t feel you need to re-create exactly what they did. Steal the feel not the licks!!!!
ERIC
Thanks again Derek, as usual the majority of what you say is most agreeable.
Respects,
OZ
Derek,
I wasn’t able to read all the responses here, so pardon me if this was mentioned already. I’m a Berklee grad from some time back. I think you missed an important point in your remarks to the incoming class. I always tell kids starting Berklee that just as important as the education they will get is the people they will meet and the friends they will make. To this day, more years after graduation than I care to mention, I still work with people I met all those years ago. Remember, a lot of having success in the music business is who you know…
I learned alot the 6 things…
Thanks for the help!
“For example : how much does the world pay people to play video games? Nothing, because everyone does it.”
Actually, the top video game players in the world do get paid for it. And a lot of us musicians don't get paid a cent. I guess the rule is the same: if you're very good at it, you can get paid, regardless of what field you pick.
(Now, it's maybe *easier* to get paid for music.)