Yo-
When music first appears in someones head, it exists there competely pure in form for their enjoyment only.
Then something makes that person find an outlet of some sort, like their voice or another musical instrument, and the idea now exists out in the real world- but they're still the only one that knows it's there.
Forming a band is a complicated process, but even though your music is now played by four other musicians, and shaped by their collective musical vision, you're still the only ones that know about it. That's a cool thing, playing strictly to please yourselves!
For so many people with music in them, this is the beginning and end of what music means to them- it's fine to have your music playing only in your mind- the idea of singing or playing it doesn't appeal to them in the slightest. And even if they do decide to sing or play it, the music remains purely for their enjoyment only.
At some point, a mucisian can choose to open THE DOOR.
Playing for yourself compared to playing to the public is a quantum leap in your personal priorities. You're now playing your music for a new set of related, but quite different reasons.
Taurineman and I were discussing whether it matters or not that a musician has control over how wide they open that door, or how much work they put into getting their music out to the public, the actions they can take to get it KNOWN, relative to their available resources. What influences how far they open the door, etc.
I don't see any grey area personally- to me the door is either open or shut, anything else is a waste of time. Once you've opened it even a little, you've already decided that what's on the other side is worth a look at!
Taurineman reckons since it's your door, you can do what you like with it.
What do you think? Ha ha... does this even make sense??
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ehco? I just realized something ...
ehco?
I just realized something about this whole idea... what if you've always been surrounded by live music your whole life (like some of us), so music to you is all about it's live performance? You've learnt that with music the door has to be open. Still, new music begins in your mind, and whether you're aware of it or not, a process still applies to how that idea eventually makes it on stage. Yes/no/maybe?
only you know,...
only you know,
I think theres a third factor here: How ...
I think theres a third factor here: How many people are standing on the other side of THE DOOR when you open it.
You can open your door as wide as you want but if theres no-one on the other side of it, it dont matter.
So you must also consider how to get people to be there waiting for the door, ie how to attract people. PROMOTION = TIME + RESOURCES
ie better promotion = more people at your door = more resources thrown at it -- which is governed by, lets face it, money.
So, the more money and effort you throw at promotion, the more there are at your door. How wide you open it, is largely irrelevant.
// I think theres a third factor here: ...
// I think theres a third factor here: How many people are standing on the other side of THE DOOR when you open it.
The outside world is there waiting on the other side. Well, ok- your hometown is at least.
// So, the more money and effort you throw at promotion, the more there are at your door. How wide you open it, is largely irrelevant.
PROMOTION/AVAILABLE MONEY/TIME/RESOURCES = HOW WIDE YOU CAN OPEN THE DOOR
You will attract attention when you open the door even a little- 'Here I am, outside world.' Wide open means that your using all your available resources to move your music out to the outside world- hard thing to commit to. But even a little is better than none- in the end if you're happy with what you're doing, you're the only one you have to answer to.