4/20/24 It's Spring! How's Your Musical Garden Growing?

It was a beautiful spring day yesterday and here in TN the weeds are already overtaking everything else, so I thought I’d do some yard/garden maintenance. And I was reminded of the different strategies plants use to be successful in their environments.

Some plants, like dandelions, distribute their seeds in the wind. Others propagate by bearing delicious fruits or berries that birds or other animals eat and leave behind.

Some plants are fast growers that win the race for precious real estate on the soil by spreading quickly, or the race for access to sunlight by shooting up fast. The cost for that speed is usually a more fragile plant.

Other plants mature more slowly and are sturdier. Or they may be able to survive without much space, water or direct sun. This can be a winning strategy, too.

Depends on the kind of plant.

This is also true in the animal world—some are good predators with enhanced eyesight, venom or speed, others are good at disguising or hiding themselves as prey.

As I was pulling weeds, I was thinking about how this relates to my students and young musicians who are often confused about what direction to take with their careers. We all have role models, but sometimes what worked for people you admire doesn’t really work for you. Then what?

So how do we find what works for us?

Every musician has a unique musical DNA, our personal disposition with our creativity, our musical identity. Part is nature, part is lived experiences, but we end up with a certain set of musical skills and preferences because that’s who we are--our musical personality. That’s the kind of plant we are.

The secret to finding our success strategy…it sounds obvious, but it’s just to place ourselves in the environment that we grow best.

Some plants like sun and will barely grow in the shade. Some like shade and will get burned by the sun. If you’re a water lily, you need a pond to thrive in. If you’re a cactus, you’ll do better in the desert.

Here’s where this relates to musicians. Yes, it’s good to be aware of the many different careers and success strategies of other musicians.

But it’s just as important not to copy someone else’s success strategy, because each of us has our own unique way of thriving, and copying what worked for one person is like trying to be a water lily in the desert.

What works for one plant doesn’t necessarily work for another. To thrive as a musical plant, we first have to figure out what kind of plant we are, and then we need to find our way to the environment where that kind of plant likes to grow.

Groove on!