Mentoring indie musicians singers songwriters & artists

In many of my interviews with independent artists, I've heard of the artist's influences or how long he has been performing; but only a few will be able to tell me who mentored them, if they sought out someone already established in the industry or if someone sought them out. Or, even if they have attended post-secondary education to learn more about the industry.

The difference between the mentored and unmentored
I think this is a very distinguishing feature between artists who are goal-oriented and those who are not. Regardless of the genre, there are musicians who are willing to train up and coming artists. These established artists have taken the steps that other independent artists are just now walking and they have found success. It only makes sense, then, that those who are pursuing excellence in their music would seek out those who have proven excellence in music.

It's never too late to be mentored
If artists are in their first few years of fine-tuning their craft, they should seek out a mentor. They should take the legwork required to find someone who is open to teaching and who may be specialized in the artist's genre. Many of these mentors use social networks such as twitter or facebook. They may even be open to contact through their website.

Achieving success through mentoring
Without mentorship, I think very few artists will go any further than performing in the same places all the time, never receiving any more publicity than their local newspapers. Talent will only go so far. Talent plus training will equal success and prove not only the artist's credibility but also demonstrate that the artist is goal-oriented and aimed at acquiring excellence.

So, we've established the importance of being mentored. The next question to be answered is why individual artists would choose to be mentored.

The why will be something unique to each artist. It's important for an artist to recognize that he is one of many musicians in his genre. He needs to discover for himself what he needs to improve and separate himself from everyone else. I liken it to a scholarship applicant who has to write an essay. Anyone can write an essay, but it is the essay writer who can add that special flair and can say something in a more polished, more succinct manner than the other applicants who will earn the scholarship.

For example one recent artist I've interviewed grew up in a family of musicians. He knew what it meant to perform in front of an audience, and he understood how to maintain humility in the midst of fame. He had learned how to play various instruments. So why did the artist seek out a mentor? He explains, he needed direction. Until he had the opportunity to be mentored, his mind was filled with music but no real guidance. It was obvious to him that he would continue the music legacy set forth by his family, but he wasn't sure how. Luckily, he found an apprenticeship of sorts, being brought under the wing of an artist who had already succeeded in the music business for many years. He learned where his strengths were musically and how to combine his favorite musical styles into a complementary strong song. He was given the opportunity to be a lead singer after he experienced some training and received immediate feedback from his mentor. After a period of time he set out to be a solo artist, and his debut album made the short list of grammy nominated albums.

A second independent artist I interviewed chose formal education as his form of mentoring. He recently received his MS degree in Business. For this artist, he explains his education offered him two pieces of valuable information. First, he learned how to create a business plan, which also demonstrated he viewed his music to be much more than a hobby. He learned marketing skills so that he could present himself to various venues professionally and with the credibility that could earn him more money than had been offered to other artists in his same genre. Second, he learned sentence and story structure. As a storytelling hip-hop artist, this individual recognized that he needed basic grammar and writing skills reinforced so that he could be successful.

Both of these artists loved music; they loved performing; and they could point to specific influential musicians. However, as described above, they individually had skills to learn to help them improve. No matter how much or how little, there is always something to be learned. There is always something which can be improved. And, there is nothing wrong with being a perpetual learner.

The how of musician mentorship is really a step by step guide that requires a little bit of soul-searching and a little bit of research.

Before an artist finds his mentor, he needs to answer some questions about himself. I call this the job interview. Imagine, for a moment, that you have applied for the most important job in your life. You are finally meeting with human resources, and the interviewer asks you three very important questions: where do you see yourself in five years; what are your greatest strengths, and what are your greatest weaknesses. Each artist will, of course, have his own answers to these questions, but I encourage each artist to take the time to think about how he should answer these questions. Fortunately, his answers are only for the purpose of soulsearching and not to prove himself worthy of anything. Finally, keep these answers in mind, whether they need to be recorded in writing or in a voice memo or simply stored in the mind.

The second step requires a bit of outside research. We all have individuals who have influenced us in some way. Certainly, for the independent artist, those influences are other artists, either contemporaries or artists who have come before. The key is to discover why the artist considers these music greats as his influences. Is it how the influence achieved fame? Is it the instruments the influence used in his music? Is it the influence's ability to fluidly combine genres? Of course there are many other possibilities. The important thing is to know why these people are influential. It's not enough to say the individuals were successful in their genre or that they are influential to others. Again, store these answers in the easiest way for you to remember.

The third and final step is to reflect on how the artist's strengths and weaknesses relate to the specific reasons an artist considers another artist to be influential. This may require the independent artist to be more specific about his strengths and weaknesses, or he may want to add some strengths and weaknesses once he realizes his similarities and differences between himself and his role models.

Once the independent artist has completed these three steps, he is ready to seek out his mentor.

In 1975, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi published his findings from interviews with over 90 individuals, each who had found tremendous success and satisfaction in their field of work. From these extensive interviews, he developed his theory of flow.

What is flow? It is that spot where an individual is experiencing just the right amount of challenge and feels he has just the right amount previous knowledge to learn those new skills. It is that spot where there is no fear of failure, and the concern is the joy of being in the experience, aiming toward a goal, but enjoying the opportunity to learn how to reach that goal. Finally, it is that place where an individual is neither plagued by boredom nor anxiety. Csikszentmihalyi also calls the feeling of flow as an optimal learning experience.

One important aspect of being in flow is receiving immediate feedback for what one is doing, and it is this important factor that immediately relates to mentoring.

Csikszentmihalyi interviewed jazz musician Oscar Peterson, who recently passed in 2007. Peterson first learned to play the trumpet and then the piano. Upon realizing his talent, Peterson's parents found renowned Hungarian pianist Paul deMarkey to mentor their son. deMarkey taught Peterson even greater mastery of the piano and increased his passion for music. At the age of 14, Peterson was first recognized nationally for his piano playing. He continued playing piano until his death, earning him 7 grammys and releasing 200 recordings. He played accompanist to Ella Fitzgerald and was inducted into the International Jazz Hall of Fame. He also mentored students in the Advanced School of Contemporary Music in Toronto and the York University jazz program.

Certainly Oscar Peterson, had experienced flow in his life. Certainly his talent was a mitigating factor, but having such an amazing mentor in Paul deMarkey only helped him to exceed his expectations and expand his piano playing abilities.

What better reason, then, is there for the independent artist to be mentored?