What’s the Score?

When the word “score” is used in the context of music, it usually refers to the written sheet music. But that’s not what I meant by the title phrase “What’s the score?” I was referring to the usual meaning of “score”: the measure of the outcome of some competition. Unfortunately, our society has made a competition out of almost everything, music included. And, like it or not, as a song writer you will be a part of the sport of music.

Of course, music is not a sport. That’s exactly why I use the phrase “the sport of music” to refer to all those competitive aspects of the music industry, that have nothing to do with the music itself, but with the marketing of that music. How much has the song sold? How many Grammy’s has it won? How many downloads?

But there’s another aspect to the sport of music as well. This other athletic side of music deals with musician acrobatics. You know what I’m talking about, the kind of musician who is so freakishly good at their instrument that all jaws drop in the audience at the shear display of physical agility! Of course, the music is good, but the awe factor is in the athletic achievement, how fast the musician can play, or the circus-like atmosphere of performance tricks.

As you’ve probably gathered by now, I’m using the “sport of music” in a negative context, to refer to all the “gee, look at me” aspects of music, anything that you try to put a number on in an effort to rank it against other songs. As soon as you have done this, as soon as you try to reduce music into a ranking, 1 through 100 of the “best” according to some criteria, then you have missed the point of music.

The point of music is to express emotion. Do we have competitions for other emotional outlets in our society? Do we have a national crying champion? A world record holder in happiness? An Olympic champion in love? No. Such ideas seem ridiculous, because emotion is an aspect of being human that we all share. For instance, with love, we all feel like there will be an opportunity for us to experience the best this emotion has to offer at some point in our lives. Similarly, we’ll all feel happy at certain times in our lives, and we’ll all feel depressed at other times. No human is exempt from these emotions or the depth of these emotions. It’s quite a bit different with real sports, where only a select few can be expected to achieve the pinnacle, the gold medal, or the world record. While there can only be one fastest man alive, emotions aren’t like sports. No one has to train hour after hour, day after day, year after year in order to be the world’s angriest man. It takes no training. All it takes is a little time behind the wheel during rush hour, and your stress and anger levels would no doubt rival the world’s angriest (if indeed there was a competition for this sort of thing).

My point behind all this “the sport of music” talk is to get you to place your ego in proper perspective when you share your music with the world, whether it’s playing live, sending your demo mp3s to friends and family, or just singing to your mate. Despite what the “sport of music” industry would like you to think, music is not a competition. Music is emotion, not an athletic event. Music is about expressing how you feel. And who can truly measure whether you express how you feel accurately? Only you.

The real crux of the issue is this: your musical abilities and your skill level do not matter as much as how you use them. You should concentrate on expressing your feelings in the most creative, artistic way possible using your current level of skill and ability, no more, and no less. The honesty and integrity of your work will add more than any “gee whiz, look at me” techniques your ego might want to throw in anyway. Simple songs can be just as powerful as complex songs. Average musicians can express just as much emotion as elite musicians.

As you evolve as a song writer, try not to get caught up in the numbers of it all, in the “sport of music”. If you are happy with your songs, if you get the occasional “I can really identify with what you are saying” comments in response to your work, and if you are steadily improving your craft, then there’s no need to wonder what the score is. If you are communicating effectively with your music, regardless of your current skill level, your song writing goals will take care of themselves. You will steadily improve, and will produce some surprising gems along the way!


Copyright ©2009 W.A. Blevins