~ Don’t Use It If It Doesn’t Make Sense To You

I’ve been using a capo on my guitar for what seems like forever. It’s just a tool that’s a part of my kit when I play. over the years I’ve learned to use it for more than just the obvious aspect of changing keys. I use this simple machine to half capo across the neck and to get specific sounds out of my guitar that you can’t get when you strum it open. But when I first was introduced to a capo I didn’t know what to make of it. I understood its capabilities, but not its applications. I was aware of it and when I got to a tipping point in my guitar playing, I saw the personally relevant application of the capo.

I’m beginning to see that a lot these days. I come across a new widget/doo-hickey/whatchacallit thing and while I understand the simple purpose of it, the personal application is not apparent. At least not immediately.

Let’s take this blog for example. I’ve been writing in this medium for about a year, posting songs and ideas, but prior to that I didn’t have one and didn’t really want one. I knew what blogs were and I read them and subscribed, but they didn’t have any practical personal application. But blogs were making my head crazy because I was told that as a musician I should have one. I see why, but why for me? Storm like this swirl around when we come in contact with a new medium. The storm of: You should be doing this because… fill-in-the-blank. Yikes, I have to have a blog and I don’t. I’m yesterday’s news, I’ll never succeed as a songwriter. Rats. of course that’s not true. There are millions of artists out there that don’t have blogs and they’re doing just fine. For me, it just wasn’t relevant; that is until the concept slid into place in my brain like a puzzle piece and I knew what I wanted to write about and share with you my faceless audience.

There are a lot of these storms raging out there. If you don’t have a blog-Twitter-Facebook-Reverbnation-CDBaby-website-Bebo-Flickr-flamalamadingdong, well brother… you’re just shit out of luck. But I say again – If it isn’t personally relevant, then why bother?

This really hit home with me when it was strongly suggested that I should start using a contact management system. I was happy with my calendar and proud of my simple spreadsheet list of names. Well not really. I understood that my system was flawed, but when I started trying to use contact management software I balked. It didn’t make sense to me even though I understood the concept. Then, after I had downloaded the same software for the second time I did something with it that just clicked in my brain and it was like the whole application suddenly snapped into focus. I got it and the software made sense.

The point to all of this is that we do not need to use every new thing that other people scream about. If you understand the social aspect of Twitter and how it can connect you to fans, but just don’t see how you can apply it to your artistic world, then don’t. Everyone screams: Make a video and put it onYouTube. You say – Yeah, I see other musician’s videos, but making a video just doesn’t click with me right now – then don’t do it. You gotta start using a capo. Yeah I see lots of people using them, but I don’t see where it fits in to my playing – then don’t use it.

But, you should walk this path with your eyes and ears wide open. If enough (normal)people are screaming loudly about something, you should at least turn around to see if it’s someone waiting to hug you or an axe murderer. At least take a look at the New Widget On The Block to see if it fits with your world. I would also suggest that if the screaming persists you should revisit the concept to see if that new something has changed or perhaps see if you’ve changed and now that thing that you thought was irrelevant is now the most amazing tool in your kit.

Have you had something laying around for a long time that just recently made sense and became a part of your tool kit? What new thing are you ignoring that you think may become relevant later? Leave a comment!