After apostolic tradition, I was enjoying food and fellowship at Marie Callendar's after last night's service.  The choir director and I were discussing the importance of the "one".  There were a few curious individuals at the table, so I determined to find an easy way to explain the concept to them.  It started with the basic idea that there are so many beats per measure, usually four.  I explained that when you try to do something fancy, you always need to land back on the first beat of the following measure cleanly.  If you play a 64 note lick, come back on the "one".  Shortly into the explanation, I realized it wasn't working.  It then occurred to me that it's like riding a bike.  If I fall off my bike, it's embarrasing.  Even worse is if I fall of my bike in a race.  Other riders may fall too.  We had a lot of fun talking about all the ways this analogy works.  Enjoy the following clip and remember the "one"!

While I had some downtime today (cleaning our childrens' playroom), I started thinking about what makes a successful gospel musician.  After many thoughts on the subject, I realized that there was a question that needed answering first.  Namely, "What IS a successful gospel musician?"  After more consideration, I discovered that if one defines success, then they are well on their way to understanding how to achieve that success.  The definition clearly lays out the goals.  I determined that there are three pillars of commitment of a successful gospel musician.

First, a gospel musician must be committed to self-development.  This is where we begin our journey.  We start taking lessons.  Our music collection grows.  Discovering new styles and sounds becomes a joyful journey for us.  We learn the notes on our instruments and then scales and chords.  Three chord songs are taught to us.  We find interesting ways to move between those chords and learn a few more chords.  Our first lick is repeated for hours in sheer elation.  And our journey continues.

Secondly, we are committed to use.  Starting small we offer our talent as we begin playing in youth service or for childrens' choir.   We happily play for altar call or an occassional mid-week service.  Eventually we are playing on a regular basis in our local assembly.  In time, we gratefully accept opportunities to play for nearby events or even statewide events.  Being committed to use is about graciously releasing our gift for the benefit of many, regardless of how polished it may or may not be.  We recognize that we must remain committed to self-development while committed to use as the more involved we become reveals further areas of improvement.

The last pillar of committment is to tranference.  This is, very simply, the act of grooming other musicians.  Typically, this is in the form of teaching lessons.  But often, we mentor younger musicians and shape their development.  It's about being dedicated to the continuance of the craft.  It's about realizing that gospel music is bigger than self.

If you haven't noticed, these pillars overlap.  Once you begin building a pillar, you continue building it.  Once you begin training new musicians, you still develop yourself and use your talent.  My view of musical success doesn't deal with record deals or playing for welll-known artists.  This is because the purpose of a gospel musician is first to serve their local assembly.  Being blessed with greater opportunities is good, but musicians shouldn't feel like they need to in order to be considered successful.

How much self-development, use and transference must you achieve to be considered successful?  It's truthfully up to you.  I feel that a truly successful church musician is always in an active state of developing all three.  As long as they continue in this, they're successful in my book.  Some may become more musically developed, or used more widely or train many more musicians.  What makes you successful in my book is that you are in the act of building all three pillars.  It's not about the destination, it's that you're constantly progressing.

Take some time to reflect on your path to musical success.  Have you faltered in self-development?  Could you be doing more to nurture novices?  Have you turned away opportunities for selfish reasons?  What could you start doing today to become successful?