Writing as Jazz, Jazz as Writing: Part 5
Words of writing wisdom gleaned from some jazz greats.
Words of writing wisdom gleaned from some jazz greats.
Because I have a musical background, I often think about writing through a variety of musical lenses.
Writing as classical music with its sonata form and three act structure.
Writing as rock music with its raw power of emotion.
Writing as country music with its love of character-driven stories.
Writing as hip hop with its embrace of the poetry of storytelling.
But if I had to choose one musical genre which best fits what we do as writers, it would be jazz.
Why? Because every time we sit down to write, we have to do two fundamental things:
- Write in the moment
- Improvise
Every scene exists in our present tense. We have to be right there with our characters to experience the story unfolding in ‘The Now’.
Every time a jazz musician performs live, they exist in the moment. They find the spark of creativity by playing off each other and giving themselves over to every second of the songs they perform.
Likewise whenever we sit down to write, no matter how much of the story we’ve figured out, we have to give room for spontaneity and to improvise when our characters veer over here or there.
So, too, jazz musicians whose lifeblood is improvisation, making it up as they go along, pushing the envelope, and testing each song in nightly performance.
That inspired me to do a series this week featuring quotes from some of the all-time great jazz players.
Today: Miles Davis
Anybody can play. The note is only 20 percent. The attitude of the motherfucker who plays it is 80 percent.
Let’s reframe that quote so it’s about writing:
Anybody can write. The word is only 20 percent. The attitude of the motherfucker who writes it is 80 percent.
You can — and should — watch movies.
You can — and should — read scripts.
You can — and should — study books.
You can — and should — write pages.
You can — and should — learn the craft.
But don’t forget about your attitude.
What precisely does that mean?
Here’s my take. I’m no Miles Davis — not by ANY stretch of imagination — but between my 7 years as a working musician and 2 years doing stand-up comedy, I’d say I’ve been on stage performing nearly 2,000 times.
When I think of attitude, my mind goes to the game-face you put on before you hit the stage. It’s a persona, one that empowers you to stand in the bright lights in front of the crowd and KNOW those people are YOURS.
You READ the crowd. You WORK the crowd. You OWN the crowd.
That’s ATTITUDE. You summon it right before you perform and you keep it all the way through the performance.
If you’re a writer, it can come through in the words you write and the stories you tell. It can also appear in the way you interface with people, most significantly those who can hire you.
Like pitching. That’s a performance. That’s where you put on your game-face before you hit the ‘stage’. That’s where you need to read, work, and own the crowd.
So yes, talent… craft… voice… experience… all important. But attitude?
When you’re dealing with people who need to feel confident in you…
You have to feel confident in yourself.
For inspiration, here is a fantastic April 12, 1959 recording of Miles Davis on CBS performing with John Coltrane on tenor and alto saxophone, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Here they are with the song “So What”:
Previous posts in this series:
I hope you’ve enjoyed the series. If you’d like more, I’ve got more. Let me know in RESPONSES.