Unlock Your Musical Potential: A Key Lesson from Earth, Wind & Fire
Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire realized early on that bringing in talented musicians, producers, and songwriters was the key to elevating his band to "higher music dimensions." I believe this is an important lesson for us to recognize and embrace as music creators.
Let me explain why...
A few years ago, I struggled with imposture syndrome as a music producer.
Today, I am creating music that I thought I was incapable of making. How?
By making reality, my friend.
Everyone struggles with imposture syndrome. And it appears repeatedly regardless of the levels we reach in our careers or activities. Personally, I have known for years what kind of music I wanted to make as a producer, but I didn't identify as a musician and steered clear of what my heart craved.
What changed for me was remembering that one of my favorite producers, Maurice White, did not play every part of hits like "September," "After the Love Has Gone," and "Fantasy."
As soon as that clicked, I began to understand that overcoming imposture syndrome wasn't that hard — I had just been focusing on the wrong thing.
Here's what I should have done instead:
Embrace Reality and Think Creatively
When I thought about how so many great records have been made, I let go of the unproductive belief that I needed to know how to do everything to achieve the sound I desired. Instead, I made reality my friend and assessed my situation. This helped me:
1) Set my goal
2) Acknowledge my strengths
3) Identify my skill gaps
4) Contemplate a plan to fill those gaps
The result: The music I had the potential to create all along and two amazing one-on-one interactions with music legends who inspired my work, Kenny Gamble and Earl Young.
If you're interested, here is an Instagram reel featuring one of the songs and the creative process behind it - Making a disco record
So here is my question to you...
What are you holding back from or avoiding that you really want to achieve?
🧠 Quote of the week
“The greatest obstacle for me has been the voice in my head that I call my obnoxious roommate. I wish someone would invent a tape recorder that we could attach to our brains to record everything we tell ourselves. We would realize how important it is to stop this negative self-talk. It means pushing back against our obnoxious roommate with a dose of wisdom.” - Arianna Huffington
Enjoy your week,
Melvin Darrell
