During any given week, I receive dozens of demo packages and e-mails from singers and songwriters who are looking for encouragement, opportunities or information about what to do to expand their musical talents on a larger scale.  For the most part they are sincere, talented people who just need some tips on what to do next. What I say here, in a general sense, would apply to most creative or artistic fields with an LDS emphasis or otherwise.

Start With the Right Attitude

“The greatest art is that of a noble life” said Gandhi. “Talent without character is more to be dreaded than esteemed.” (Richard L. Evans, Thoughts..for One Hundred Days {1966} 208.

Someone once said: “He is a temperamental musician. Unfortunately, he is more temper than mental.”

You should desire to use your talents to build others; to enlighten and lift them. If your secret desire is to be famous, get attention, or show off your abilities, then in the end you will not succeed. Your life should mirror your pure motivation; you cannot be an instrument to communicate the Spirit as effectively when your personal life is not in order. Today’s music industry is littered with the broken and destroyed lives of artists who self-destructed from the wrong motivations. Unfortunately, the LDS music industry is no exception. Proper attitude and matching character are, in my opinion, the most fundamental of all requirements in the arts.

Master Your Craft

Too often the sender of a demo package has not “paid his dues”, which is an expression used in musician’s union circles for someone who has not put in the practice time or training it takes to do it well. Someone may have inspired musical ideas or feelings but lack the skill to actually make it a song or write it down. Could it be that those stirrings are the beginnings of a talent that is to be developed through discipline and hard work? Is there a class, an instructor, a mentor, or some way to master the mechanics of the skills you desire? If God is giving you ideas, what are you doing on your part to make them a useful reality?

The greatest inspiration and ideas come to those whose craft has become second nature, who have mastered their skills so well that they no longer have to think about them as they create. Getting to this level is a long process, but in most situations, something can be done on your part to improve and develop your composition, voice or keyboard skills to allow greater freedom in expressing those feelings of inspiration. And the good news is, successes can come along the way, not just after reaching the top.

Janice Kapp Perry began at age 40 by writing songs for the Young Women in her ward. Her songs were so well liked, that she then sent some in to the Church music contest. Several won, and for years after, her songs continued winning and being used throughout the Church. She continued writing and began doing CD’s, and eventually built a living for her and her family from it. Now she is probably one of the most well-known LDS songwriters.

If you are a singer, are you prepared with some excellent material and fireside programs that would be inspiring to a youth group, adults or Relief Society cultural night? Are you interesting, uplifting and compelling when you perform? If you have done some homework and honed your craft to a good degree, there is great need for this kind of thing for special occasions in the Church. Much can be done locally and regionally to inspire and uplift without ever going on tour or making a commercial CD. When a person seeks to do as much good as possible where they are, and do it well, people will eventually hear about it and good opportunities will come from it.

Denny Crockett, the original songwriter of the seminary Like Unto Us album, wrote a Christmas song every year for friends and family, and mailed it out as a Christmas card. Now some of those songs are finding their way onto new recordings.

What about this year’s girl’s camp song? Any road shows coming up? How can the next music number in Sacrament meeting be even more inspiring? There is also a great deal of community service opportunities available for performing such as rest homes, hospitals, lodge meetings, weddings and business parties. Look around and see what there is in your area, or see if you can create some places to perform in association with these groups. Organize a festival; check the local fair. Most cities have Arts Weeks or Fourth of July events where things can be done.

Do It

Do it a lot. Work at it. You’re not a real songwriter until you’ve written fifty or a hundred songs, good or bad. Elder Boyd K. Packer issued this challenge: “Go to, then, you who are gifted; cultivate your gift. Develop it in any of the arts and any worthy example of them. If you have the ability and the desire, seek a career or employ your talent as an avocation or cultivate it as a hobby. But in all ways bless others with it. Set a standard of excellence…Never express your gift unworthily.” (“The Arts and the Spirit of the Lord,” in Speeches of the Year, 1976 [1977] 280).

Know Your Audience

Perhaps you are an opera singer, so be aware that a typical Young Men’s group may not have much of an appreciation for that genre. People like music because they feel something from it. It has to do something for THEM. It is not about you. It is possible to educate and reach people with unfamiliar material if some explanation can be done along the way, such as why you chose this song and why it moves you as the artist. Your job is to inspire, not turn a worship service or fireside into a concert or recital.

So many performers come to me and say: “I’ve made my CD; I’m doing my thing, why doesn’t everyone fall all over me and buy it?” Because you’re not working for your audience. Your talent, in order to be useful needs to reach people, be it few or many.

Posterity Counts

Ebenezer Beesley, my multiple-great grandfather, came across the plains with the early pioneers from Britain to Salt Lake City. He was a musician by trade, who now found himself in perhaps the least hospitable place to build a music career ever. He was innovative and creative and eventually became the conductor of the Tabernacle Choir, as well as making a living in music. His example inspired me, a century later, to create a place for myself in professional music. Perhaps he is aware of his example to me. What I value most from him are the songs he composed in the hymnbook, my favorite being “High On a Mountain Top”.

My point is do not overlook the value of your talent as a gift to your posterity. You may inspire someone with the collection of poetry you wrote and put it into a family heirloom book or that recording that you made for your wife’s birthday gift. Such a thing may never be commercially viable, but has tremendous value nonetheless. My father was a reasonably good singer, so we recorded a few songs when he would visit at Christmas. After his sudden death at age 64, that recording is priceless.

Much joy can come to us when we use our talents for righteous purposes. As we use talents righteously, they will expand and new opportunities and abilities will develop.