Putting Myself Out Of Business
It's a very helpful question I learned about on a Podcast today. What would I change, improve, develop, or do that would put today's version of me out of business?
In addition, I can ask myself if have I done something that would put me I was six months ago out of business?"
I am relieved but also surprised to be able to say that, at least where my singing is concerned, I have definitely put myself out of business several times over. If I auditioned myself today and myself six months ago to see who makes it onto the album, it would be an easy decision.
Thinking about growth in terms of "what would I need to replace today's version of myself" brings much more clarity to the question. Instead of wondering about a very vague sense of "how can I improve", I can look at specific qualities that, if improved, would outshine me where it matters.
"Becoming a better singer" is vague, but if I ask myself "who would I rather hire", I can easily come up with specifics:
someone with more vocal precision
someone with more vocal consistency
someone who needs fewer takes to get the job done
someone with precise access to their range of styles
someone with more secure vocal placement
If needed, I can break each of these down into sub-criteria. "more vocal precision" means:
less pitch drift on long notes
cleaner beginnings and endings on phrases
only sliding into notes when it is done on purpose
This second list actually tells me what exercises to do and what to practice specifically so that I can get the improvement I want.
"More" is still vague and hard to measure although I think that in the end, the number of takes I need for a song can be telling. At the moment, I am getting good results but it takes a lot of trial and error to make a phrase pop. This is especially true for phrases that use my full range and have a lot going on in either the very high or low parts of my register.
I am very happy with my middle ground, but I want more precision on the ends of the spectrum.
At the moment, I am like a very good amateur cook. I get good results but I still have to follow the recipe closely and sometimes, the Hollandaise gets flaky and the egg cooks too much.
Vocally, I want to make really good Hollandaise consistently and know my recipes well enough to improvise.
I can't wait to put myself out of business!
