The Notebook: Mindset for Jazz Artists

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Mindset for jazz artists focuses on your general worldview and your attitude towards being a professional musician. Mindset is about the Inner Game. You take your mind everywhere. That fact alone should make it a top priority for continuous self-work and career advancement for jazz artists worldwide.

The Notebook: explanation

I got inspired by a sentence in ‘The Gift’ by Lewis Hyde, “to possess is to give”. It made me ask myself: why not start sharing notes and the process instead of only the finished end-result? So, that is exactly what this ‘The Notebook’ article is. Structured notes, rough sketches, and initial ideas on the mindset of high-performing jazz artists.

Why is Mindset a career cornerstone?

Your perspective on the world and on your career determines every action and every choice that you make. Perception shapes action. This perspective is called ‘Mindset’. Is your mindset working for you or holding you back? Transforming your mindset is the key to your success as a professional musician. That is why people often talk about the major impact of a paradigm shift. That moment when something ‘clicks’ and you move forward with more clarity and purpose. Your mindset influences what you see. And seeing gives you possibilities. Seeing gives you choices. Seeing makes your goals more clear. It all starts with your mindset.

Mindset for jazz artists: identity

Challenging your own worldview is vital for keeping up with an ever-changing reality. As Bob Dylan sang The Times They Are A Changin. Or as the Greek philosopher Heraclites said: “the only constant is change”. Therefore we would be better inspired by artists like Miles Davis and continuously adapt. Does your mindset as a jazz artist today require the same skills and knowledge as in 1940? Yes, many musical principles still apply. Craftmanship applies. We use the same 12 notes and scales. There is a common artistic ground. But genres develop and cross-fertilize. Defining what an artist was and acting upon it will work against you today.

Mindset for jazz artists: bypassing your lizard brain

For over 2.500 years people have asked themselves the questions ‘what constitutes a good life?’ And we hope to find a single principle for success, happiness and fulfilment. Unfortunately, this single rule doesn’t exist. Why? Over the past two centuries, we have created a world far too complex to understand intuïtively. On top of that, our brain still functions largely the same as during the Stone Age. We still have a lizard brain. And it’s more active than you think! Evolution doesn’t keep up with the fast pace at which our civilisation changes. Knowing all that, is the – often expressed by artists – maxim “Follow your heart” still good advice? With feelings and emotions changing by the hour, you might need something else. You need a mental toolkit fit for the current times. You need a better mindset.

Mindset for jazz artists: mastery

Working on the topics described here will have a fundamental impact on your life. Most people feel this deep-down to be true, but recoil from the introspection and self-work this requires. But just like learning an instrument, mastering your mindset as a jazz artist takes time and effort.

The good news is, you’re an artist. You know this already. Making art takes self-discovery. Mastery of an instrument requires overcoming many obstacles, both physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual. Improvisation takes true listening skills, accepting others, dancing with chaos, … As you know as a professional musician; no growth without failure.

Mindset for jazz artists: purpose

A buzzword for quite some years now is authenticity. The term refers to “how much the work possesses original or inherent authority, how much sincerity, genuineness of expression, and moral passion the artist or performer puts into the work.” (Source: Wikipedia). The question arises, how do you create authentic art? Or live an authentic life for that matter. In short, by aligning both with your values and your purpose. This is your inner compass pointing True North. Formulating your purpose into guiding principles is a great way to bring clarity to your decision-making, your actions and your art.

Mindset for jazz artists: plural

There is not one mindset for jazz artists to achieve growth and career success. There are many concepts and transformational ideas to explore for jazz musicians to benefit from. Most often, they are presented as a dichotomy. This duality of opposite mindsets has a large impact on our behaviour. Often without knowing yourself from which we are operating at the moment. To become aware of these concepts will benefit you more than any other measure because it is your window on the world. Below a list of mindset concepts that could transform your approach to art and business on a fundamental level:

  • Fixed vs Growth Mindset: “A “fixed mindset” assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can’t change in any meaningful way, and success is the affirmation of that inherent intelligence. A “growth mindset,” on the other hand, thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities.” Source: https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/29/carol-dweck-mindset/). The passion for learning that jazz artists have (Growth Mindset) is often not our modus operandi in other areas of our lives. It leads to us saying “I cannot do marketing.” or “I am simply not entrepreneurial.” Since this is often unconscious behaviour, we are mostly unaware of the mindset we’re operating from. The impact however on our life and career is huge.
  • Scarcity vs Abundance: Stephen R. Cover first described this theory as “In life, we can choose between viewing the world as abundant or limited (scarce) in terms of love, relationships, wealth and resources.” As human beings we find ourselves switching between these two states of being often and subconsciously. It takes deliberate action on our sides to step back and analyse which mindset is at work. Are you worrying about there not being enough gigs, not enough music students, orchestra-positions, etcetera? Then the scarcity mindset is doing its destructive work… Results of having a Scarcity Mindset can be:
    • Feeling behind (success = followers/gigs/recognizion), which leads to comparison, jealousy and resentment.
    • Tunneling: a strong focus on solving that scarcity in the immediate term prevents longterm vision (tunnel-vision).
    • From a Scarcity Mindset you will see obstacles instead of opportunities which will decrease your chances of success.
    • Your sense of self-worth comes from comparison to others. Extrinsic motivation. To win means to beat others. This is countereffective, because a big part of becoming successful is sharing knowledge and useful contacts with others.
    Operating from an Abudance Mindset however, makes you think in a Win-Win. You can have enough guitar students and so can the other teacher in town, because you have your own specific method, different geographical location, and so on. Together you enrich and strengthen the town’s music education ecosystem. When you operate on a truly authentic basis, you have no competition.

Mindset for jazz artists: creativity

Creativity is at the core of an artist’s existence, but how much do you understand its inner workings?

  • Flow Theory: flow is the state of optimal experience, as described by psychologist Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi. “The total immersion in a complex activity of creation that you are intrinsically motivated to pursue where your skill level meets the challenge at hand and time goes by to the point that you do not even notice”.
  • Writer’s Block: the problem is not your creative outlet. Writer’s block is a non-thing. Stop treating art as something else than work. As a professional musician, music is your work. You don’t wait for inspiration to happen. You show up at the studio and put your fingers on the keys. It’s about composing, not contemplating composing. There is something behind this perceived ‘writer’s block’. Do you have too high expectations? Is it your second album and are you fearful of the critics? Believing something gives it power. Stop believing in writer’s block, be honest with yourself about the real problem(s), and simply do the work. The Muses reward those that put the labor in. Trust yourself and surrender yourself to the process.

Mindset for jazz artists: productivity

Getting your work done as an artist can be challenging. Especially in the 21st Century with all those empowering tools at your disposal with regards to recording, communication, distribution and sales. It re-defined what it means to be an artist today. It also made it more complex and added opportunities to your music career that require new skills to be learned. Balancing all these different work dimensions and your other responsibilities in life can be daunting. Hence, the explosion of literature on Time Management. Here I’ll list concepts that might help you with prioritizing and managing your time.

  • 80/20 Principle: 80/20 Rule: also called the Pareto Principle. The 80/20 Rule states that most things in life are not distributed evenly. Translated this means that 80 percent of revenue comes from 20 percent of your clients. Besides business, it actually applies to most aspects of your life. For example 80 percent of negativity comes from 20% of the people in your life. Figuring out which 20% of your work generate the largest impact is vital for making better decisions on how to spend your time.
  • Priority is singular not plural. Having several priorities is counterproductive and not true. One action will always have the biggest impact of all. What is your single most important priority today or this week? Do that one first. Forget the rest, for now.

Mindset for jazz artists: fear

The journey of an artist compares best to being on one hell of a rollercoaster. Showing your work takes guts. Creating it can mean to come face to face with your inner demons and angels. There are many challenges to face prior to and during your creative process. Here you’ll find the most common negative mindsets for jazz artists:

  • Imposter Syndrome: facing your inner critic. Who am I to teach the guitar? I just finished my studies… Are you waiting for permission to start to insert dream? If yes, by whom? Choose yourself and accept the reality that nobody is 100% ready or qualified for important work.
  • Overcoming Resistance: The ability to overcome resistance, self-sabotage, and self-doubt is way more important than talent. (Steven Pressfield).
  • The Perfectionism Trap: as you know as an artist, 100% perfection doesn’t exist. In fact, aiming for it is is more likely to stop your creative flow. Instead, focus on doing it well enough (80%) and getting it out in the world. Do you want to learn (Growth Mindset) or do you need affirmation (Fixed Mindset)? Focus on the process and just launch your project. Don’t give fear and resistance a change.
  • Fear of rejection & criticism:
  • Fear of bad ideas:

Mindset for jazz artists: show your work

You have recorded your album, done your international tour, released your EP or created your drum academy website. No more mental challenges, right? Wrong. Besides overcoming fears during your creative work, there are also common problems all creatives face after their work is done. Here certain mindset skills come into play. Especially, once you have been through the circle several times, and start to notice the similarities in the experienced emotions.

  • Resilience: when in pursuit of one’s passion and by experiencing your career as a ‘calling’, musicians show incredible resilience in the face of many challenges (research by Psychologist Sasha Dubrow). Musicians work hard because of their creative work and because their goals give them meaning.

Mindset for jazz artists: suffering artist

We all have assumptions. Things we take astruth, as the way the world works. Opinions on what a true artist or ‘real’ jazz is. Below, you will find the most commonly held ideas about being an artist that might limit your potential. Things you never questioned or followed the group consensus in. The stuff songs are written about and blog posts trying to limit the damage are made of.

  • The Suffering Artist. This is one of the great art killers of past and present. The myth of the mad and suffering creative genius personified by painter Vincent van Gogh or writer Virginia Woolf. Yes, we draw inspiration from suffering and meaningful art is made of it. In my view though, the more artists suffer, the less art gets made. Stress is a proven creativity killer. In addition, according to psychological research, creativity stimulates happiness and well-being which should lead to the opposite state of mind.
  • The Starving Artist. This myth has several faces. The general conception that artists per definition are poor. Hence, parents encouraging their kids to rather study engineering instead of the saxophone. However, linear career paths are scarce today. Creativity, adaptability and leadership are what’s needed. Attributes jazz artists have trained since day one. Another side of the coin is the complicated relationship artists themselves have with earning a good income and words as commerce and business.

Mindset for jazz artists: exclusive creativity

Writing art with a capital A. Putting art on a pedestal. Attributing art and creativity to the sole domain of artists. There are many mental traps when thinking about art. These create often unintended damaging side-effects to yourself or our jazz culture at large. Below a list of common traps for jazz artists that might ring a bell.

  • Creativity is solely the domain of the Arts. Clearly, creativity is part of the artistic process of artists. However, several authors, such as Astrid Baumgardner, highlight that creativity is, in fact, an essential 21st Century skill for problem-solving and generating new ideas. The medium and end-goal might differ, but an entrepreneur and jazz artist can both be creative. So can a plumber and an accountant. Creativity is a human skill. According to some scientists, it is, in fact, the sole aspect AI will have a hard time replacing humans with.
  • The Eureka! Moment. The light-bulb became the symbol for a flash of genius inspiration. Started by the myth of Thomas Edison developing the light-bulb out of thin air. In reality, Edison built on the work of many scientists before him. This myth highlighted the worth of inspiration and downplays the reality of hard work and slow progress. It gave artists – and everybody else that creates – the biggest excuse to not do their work: “I don’t feel inspired today.” Or as Seth Godin says: ‘You can’t have good ideas unless you’re willing to generate a lot of bad ones.’ The act of sitting down to compose is what will bring good ideas forth. Jazz is about mastery and ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’. Art is a verb. That’s why almost all the great jazz artists that I encounter are very humble. They understand the lineage and origin of their ideas and are grateful to all lessons learned from past and present masters.

Pieter Schoonderwoerd, Your Jazz Career

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I’ve been coaching jazz artists for three years to achieve their creative and professional ambitions. If you are interested in a personal coaching session, you can read more about it here.