Talent is everywhere. It is so common that it is not special anymore. You have musical talent? That’s great!? Congratulations, but so do over 100,000 people in your city.
I gotta break it to you: having talent only WILL NOT make you great.
It is just an entry-level requirement.
It does not guarantee success in music or any field for that matter.
There are a lot of talented people who are wasting away, and yet there are people with merely average ability who are at the zenith of their fields.
What makes the difference?
Grit.
Mental Toughness.
If you like, have all the talent in the world; it is just raw material. If you are not mentally tough, you will not succeed as a musician.
How Can A Singer/musician Develop Mental Toughness?
1. LOOK FOR STRESSFUL TASKS
Fact is, if all the music you do is comfortable stuff- things you can do without effort, then you are most likely not growing.
If it does not stretch you, it won’t make you grow.
Stretching is stressful.
It is essential for growth.
In your personal practice time, DO NOT score a song that you will just breeze through.
If it is too easy, change it.
Another way to stretch yourself is to take a tasking piece and sing/play it on all twelve (12) keys.
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Always attempt things that are slightly above your abilities when you are practicing.
Something to note:
Stretching should be gradual.
You cannot jump from scoring “Ladder, Ladder oh, Our Lord Jesus is the ladder” straight to scoring an Amber Bullock song.
You will crash and probably discourage yourself in the process.
PS: Arbitrarily screaming on top of your voice because you’re trying to sing high pitches, or swallowing a whole banana because they said it can make you sing better, and all such misinformed activities are not the kind of stressful tasks I’m talking about here.
I am talking about a knowledge-based game plan for growth.
Be guided.
Thank you.
2. “WE-DIE-HERE” ATTITUDE
When you have picked up a stressful musical task to undertake-be it learning how to sight read, maximizing your range, scoring a difficult song, playing an instrument-whatever it is, you need to have the “we-die-here” attitude.
This is probably the most important trait of all successful musicians: the consistency in doing what needs to be done even when it is hard and they do not see results immediately.
A lot of people are stuck at their current musical level not because they don’t know what to do, but because they do not stick to their growth plan.
You started learning an instrument and you ran away after one month because “the thing is too difficult abeg!”
Weh done oh.
Did you think it was shawarma??? ? If you think being a good musician is a piece of cake, then you’ve missed your way.
Ask any professional musician the price they had to pay to get to where they are.
Finish scoring that song even if it takes you 3 months.
Go back to your tutor and continue your classes.
Find pleasure in the pain.
Stick to it till you finish it!
Mental Toughness is a trait that is developed.
So, always find ways to push yourself beyond your limits in every area of life, not just musically, because exercising mental toughness in one area of your life will help you to be mentally tough in other areas.