I recently got a chance to play the video game “The Last of Us.” The game was cool and all but what I found to be most interesting was the “making of” documentary that you could check out once you finished the game. I love commentary tracks and making-of documentaries, man. I love seeing and hearing how stuff like that is made: what kind of interesting little tid bits did I miss, what kind of behind-the-scenes drama went down, what kind of decisions were made to get to that point that was perfectly captured in time. And one of the things that I found most interesting about this documentary, “Grounded – Making The Last Of Us,” was one of the comments by the lead actor on what he learned in the process of filming a particularly emotional scene. He learned that there was a difference in delivering an acting performance that was only satisfying to the self and a performance that served the needs of the story line and the other actors. So I started thinking about how that could also work for musicians. This is about what “The Last of Us” can teach you about being a better musician.
Before I dig into this I want to say that I’m one of the most individual persons out there. I’m a big supporter of individual rights and individual initiative. However, whenever you engage in a group effort, be it a band or an acting troupe, you agree to the terms of the intended outcome. A group effort in band situation is stating that, as a band, we’re coming together as one unit and producing a combined sound that works as a whole. As a group of actors you’re agreeing that you have a scene to portray and that scene can only work when the group comes together and works as a unit.
My point in all this is that there are some people out there that refuse to grow up and refuse to see the reality that stares them in the face. There are some people that have made it their life mission to make everything about themselves despite the negative consequences it plays on other people. This is the difference between selfish (wanting what is yours and owed to you) and being piggish (wanting in excess at the expense of others).
If you’re in a band and you’re constantly trying to get attention for yourself by showing off then you’re damaging the song and the unit. I can understand if you’re in a band like Dragonforce or Cacophony where everyone wants to do crazy shit. That’s the point of those types of bands. But if you’re in a serious band, playing serious music, with other people relying on you, don’t be a pig and make it about yourself. Because when you do that it’s the detriment of the people around you. Pick your time; pick your place.
In the “Grounded – Making The Last of Us,” Troy Baker discusses a particularly emotional scene he had to record. He went to this dark place of loss to emotionally get him to where he needed to be for the scene. When the director yelled “action” he just went for it. Granted, he delivered an emotionally compelling performance but he didn’t hit certain elements that needed to be there for the storyline. Baker initially took the scene to be an opportunity to showcase his acting chops. That’s not to say that he was invested in the integrity of the scene. Just maybe that the scene itself was his moment to shine. And although the scene could work as a scene unto itself, as a whole the scene didn’t work because it didn’t hit certain points.
The director had a problem with this and tried to do the scene over and over again. Finally, as the clip goes on, you’ll see that the director had to explain to him that there were certain points in the scene that had to be hit. So the yelling and crying were great and were compelling but there were other elements that were missing.
Yes, I’m getting to how this relates to music.
Baker goes on to explain that he realized that instead of trying to pull off a performance that would make people say “wow, what a great actor” he should have done a scene that would make people say, “wow, what a great moment.” And by that I mean that the recorded moment should serve itself justice so it could be relied upon later. And sure enough, as the story goes on there are key elements to the story that harken back to that emotional scene that not only carries emotional weight in the moment but works on a variety of levels that help run the storyline in parallel to what happens at the end.
And here we go:
As a musician your job is very similar. Your guitar solo should work in context with the music. It should work in context to the element in which in lays upon. Your guitar solo should not separate itself from the rest of the core in some effort for you to get accolades. You’ll find that the more you try to shine the more people will care less about it. Your drumming shouldn’t be all over the place. Your cymbals shouldn’t be stepping on the vocals. Your bass playing shouldn’t be a constant attempt to shoe-horn in every technique you know. Your vocals shouldn’t be peppered everywhere where there shouldn’t be vocals. There’s a time and place for everything.
Take a step back and examine your role and what it rests into your craft. Ask yourself, “is what I’m doing benefiting the whole or just making me look like a douche.” Because if you want to do solo work then go do solo work. When you work with a unit you need to benefit the unit so the outcome and experience for everyone is worthwhile.
If you’re just showing off the whole time no one is going to want to play with you. That might not have been the case when you were 17 and all your friends thought you were a badass. It’s a different story if your a professional musician getting paid to play songs for people and all your doing is the same shit you did as a 17 year old. Get with the program!
Here’s the video. Watch the whole segment and think of how it relates to you and what you do in your own craft.
