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| May 28, 2009 |
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| In This Issue |  |
Just My Thoughts: Communication and understanding.
What's New? New beats added: East Coast, West Coast & Club Flavor!
Other Stuff: Shout outs to New Zealand and Germany.
Wisdom From The Grind: To be prepared for the challenges of consistent creative output, do what you do every day!
(Please add info@scr-entertainment.com to your whitelist or address book in your email program, so that you have no trouble receiving future issues!)
| Just My Thoughts | |
| I’m going somewhere with this, so just follow me. “Keep it real”; “I’m real with mine”; “on the real”; or, "real talk", etc., are all ways to punctuate a statement. In some way it supposedly adds strength to the statement as an exclamation point might. However, I’m one of those people who look and listen for the deeper meaning in the communication coming at me. So, for instance, when someone says “I’m going to keep it real with you” and then makes a statement, my mind starts asking questions like; was everything stated before not real? Or, should I even be listening to you at all because only some of what you say is real? Follow me. In a similar way, how about those people who refer to others involved in some activity as “Paul, Jeff, an them” (in urban circles; an’em). Is this person attempting to hide the identity of the people with Paul and Jeff? |
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| Maybe you only know Paul and Jeff, so “an’em” would mean others who were present but you don’t know who they are so their names are unimportant in the context of the discussion. I really don’t care in this example who “an’em” is / are, but my mind still catches the name omission. Follow me. How about this one? I check out things going on in the hip hop community (what does that mean?) such as other beat websites and the products and services being offered. (I’m always searching for ways to improve my offerings.) I regularly experience both very valuable and extremely lame product and service presentations. The worst ones are so poorly done that even a novice will notice problems. I saw this one just before I began writing this section of the newsletter: Memberships for $25 per month at a website that includes basically having someone critique your music, access to a (readily available via search engines for free) list of industry insider contacts. Wow! (Insider note from REL: no real industry insider is going to be part of a list which allows outsiders to access them for a small cut of $25!) Also included with the membership, you get absolutely free . . . STOP! How does a membership that costs $25 include anything free? It’s not free, it’s $25! Where am I going with all of this? The reason these different examples jump out at me like someone insulting my mother would is because my fundamental understanding of people and business is this: communication and understanding isn’t happening just because people are talking or writing, and, nothing is free! I will go in-depth on the free thing another time. Being in a capitalistic society, we all know that products and services cost money. We also know that hype and fact often sound the same. Just because someone says a deal is great doesn’t mean it’s great for me (or you). My point: even if I think I know what someone is saying to me, sometimes I ask this question; what does that mean? On occasion I find that what I think they are communicating is different from what they meant. Can a brother get some clarity? -REL |
| What's New? | |
- Jazzy Funk - East Coast
- In The Hole - Club Flavor
- West Coast Funk - West Coast
- Symphony Funk - West Coast
- The Intro - Other Flavor
| Other Stuff | |
MLP asked me, among other things, how he might be able to help me. Man, I love questions like this.
My response is for all subscribers; first, continue to let me know about you, what you need to know, types of tracks you want to hear and how I can better serve you. This is very important because I believe relationships create opportunity and produce willingness to create win/win situations.
Also a big shout to Picketts in Germany; where ya at? Halla!
Beyond this, you can:
1) Buy your beats from me!
2) Recommend me to your friends, both locally and through your online social network connections like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and other sites.
3) Connect with me in these online places; I’m on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.
4) Most importantly, don’t be afraid to challenge me to elevate my game; I’m nice with it, but I forever remain a student.
Halla!
| Wisdom From The Grind | |
Consistent creative output can be challenging even if you have an established process and habit. However, if you don’t have an established process and habit regarding creative output it becomes tougher.
Take this newsletter for instance; I have done six editions so far, which is consistent. It was established in the beginning that this would be a weekly newsletter, sent out every Thursday. There was no process or habit prior to six weeks ago because I had never done a newsletter before.
I hadn’t given much thought to the process of researching, writing, or preparing topics in advance. Being idealistic, I tend to say “let’s go” without giving consideration to the process. After all, I’m creative and I can do anything at the drop of a hat! (Really?!? Not!) So here is some of what has happened over the past six weeks:
The first week I finished the newsletter late in the evening on Wednesday. I was very happy with the results but I noticed that I needed to plan this writing more in advance.
The second week, I found myself trying to fit the newsletter into my schedule after moving some production work around to accommodate a client. Again, I was very happy with the results but I noticed that I needed to plan this writing more in advance and create a process.
Next, I wanted to turn in the draft for editing on Tuesday of each week to ensure I can sit with the edited version for a day, giving myself time to see how I feel about what I’ve written before the final draft. If I love it, I move forward and all is set for delivery. If not, I begin to feel a bit rushed while attempting to come up with new material and feeling pressured by time constraints.
I noticed that I need to plan more topics in advance and create a process which includes preparing a final draft before Wednesday! What would happen if I got sick on Monday? What if I was still sick on Tuesday, felt better but had a client flying in from out of town on Wednesday? (It happens.)
What would happen to the quality of the newsletter? I noticed that I need to plan in advance and create a process that includes preparing at least a month’s worth of newsletter material in advance! This has been some of my six week old newsletter experience. Still learning!
While all of this has been about my newsletter writing experience, there is a deeper point here; there are processes and habits that I engage in every single day in many different areas of my life. In the area of music I create track ideas, hum beats into my Blackberry, play my keyboard or guitar, edit or mix tracks, etc., every day. Every day!
As a result, when someone comes to The Garden (the studio) and asks “what are you working on” or “can I hear something new” I just have to hit Play. I work on my music and my business every day but I don’t write every day. Aaah haa! Now I get it. To be prepared for the challenges of consistent creative output regarding the newsletter, I must write every day!
I recently read an article about songwriter Diane Warren. You may not know who she is (Google her), but you have 100% guaranteed heard her songs. She has written over 100 top ten hits covering nearly every style of music. In the article she said, “I write every day; on most days eight hours a day”. Consistent creative output!
Best-selling author Walter Mosley, who has written over 20 books, wrote in his most recent book on novel writing, “A writer writes every day!” I still struggle to produce newsletter copy on time because I don’t write every day. That changes today! (As I write this, it is Wednesday, May 27th, 3:04 pm.)
However, I never struggle to produce music or handle my business because I do it every day. No matter what form of artistry you are involved in, great accomplishments come from consistent creative output. Do what you do every day!
Wisdom from the grind: To be prepared for the challenges of consistent creative output, do what you do every day!
| Featured Project | |
I am working on my first solo album “Spoken”. This album will be a mix of all the musical flavors I love; spoken word, rap, neo-soul and lounge / down tempo tracks.
I’m an artist doing what artists do; creating art. Of course it’s hip hop, and my hip hop roots will be felt. I’ve already begun production, so as things are developed I will share them with you. At this point I have selected 10 tracks for sure. This will mark album number 13.
Production on the first track began this week; it’s called “Journey to Paradise” and is a spoken word track.
| Quote Of The Week | |
"Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound. The man who does not shrink from self-crucifixion can never fail to accomplish the object upon which his heart is set. This is as true of earthly as heavenly things. Even the man whose sole object is to acquire wealth must be prepared to make great personal sacrifices before he can accomplish his object; and how much more so he who would realize a strong and well-poised life?"
- James Allen; 1864 - 1912, author.
| About Roger E Lear | |
He has built his career as a full time music producer by providing excellent quality music production and song writing services. You can learn more about REL at BanginBeatsByREL.com/About REL.
You can also find REL online at:
| Twitter: Twitter.com/RELTheProducer |
MySpace: MySpace.com/REL_42
MySpace: MySpace.com/RELCreations
MySpace: MySpace.com/SmoothComposition
Facebook: Facebook.com/Roger E Lear