Freedom To Follow (Ingredient #3)

Things are really starting to heat up!

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So far we have discussed Love and Devotion, building and sustaining a solid Foundation, honing-in on the Fundamentals. Today we’ll get into one of America’s favorite founding words: Freedom.

All of our lives we have had to live under, and be guided by, some sort of rules. For all Christians, there are rules established by God. As children we had rules and safeguards put in place by our parents, teachers and coaches. As citizens there are laws of the land we are to abide by. There are rules to just about EVERYTHING. And if you haven’t figured it out by now, just like there are rules and structure in song-writing, there are also rules and guidelines in performing. If you know how to properly follow the rules, you will also have the freedom to break them in creative and productive ways.

Back in December, I shared a story about an artist I have worked with for several years and how he came down sick on a Christmas tour he was on. He called me for some advice on how to play his show that night. We discussed some options, but before he even called me, deep down he knew what he should do. I was only there to confirm his decision. Later that night, he called me and shared how well the show went! You can read more about that story here.

That artist worked hard on preparing his live performance, he had a solid foundation and is constantly practicing the fundamentals. He then came to a point where he had the Freedom (To Follow). Actually this very set of “Show Ingredients” as I call them, partially stemmed from that very phone call. I told him to follow his instincts. We all have God-given instincts. Whether you acknowledge Jesus as Lord or not. For us believers, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us.

Where does freedom come from in our performance?

Practicality, Spirituality and Originality

PRACTICALITY

Gaining confidence onstage—leading to freedom onstage—comes from good preparation and good practice. I love having a good team around me on my journey of partnering with artists. Several months ago, I received a text from my dad sharing a quote he came across from a book he was reading and thought I could hold onto it to use in one of my blogs. Well, today is that day. The author wrote, “Confidence and preparation are, practically speaking, almost synonymous.” There is a very real practical side of our performance that we need to continue to develop.

SPIRITUALITY

We should use our freedom to follow the Holy Spirit, listen to our instincts and trust our gut. We should be listening as we’re putting together our show, before we play our show and during our show.

ORIGINALITY

These guidelines, or “ingredients” of putting together a live show, are not to turn us into something we’re not, but rather give us more freedom to flourish in who we are. Every performer is up on some sort of a stage or platform, every singer uses a microphone, every drummer plays some sort of drum, guitarists play a guitar and so on… How you use them is what separates you from the rest. You develop your own sound, you have your own writing style and you can pour your personality and creativity into your performance.

What makes you unique is YOU. YOUR unique love and devotion, the foundation YOU build off of and the fundamentals that YOU practice. That’s what gives your show the memorable and irreplaceable flavor that people can’t get enough of.

Nothing is really ever free. Freedom comes at a great cost. Using your freedom onstage properly stems from a lot of hard work before hand. But you’ve made it this far! I’ll see you in a couple weeks in our final “cook-off” round.

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Are you interested in diving deeper into these areas for YOUR show? I’d love to get to know you and learn about your journey in music! Let’s schedule a FREE discovery call today!

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