Our attention is constantly being pulled from one video to the next and one post to another. We are firmly placed in a time where fighting for attention is a constant. The positive is that we depend less and less on others to give us permission to put out our creative endeavors; we are in control!
The big hurtle at this point is the challenge of being seen or heard due to the massive influx of others that are also sharing across the many social platforms. In order to compete for attention, we look for those moments that showcase our abilities, as long as they fit within a brief window of time. We do this by giving brief glimpses into a live performance, maybe throwing out a short lick or concept, thus producing the One Minute Musician.
I'm not excluded from this. I have definitely followed the masses in order to stay "relevant." A big question, especially in dealing with a genre of music like Jazz, is whether this is simply reducing the value of the art form. The songs that we perform and/or compose are usually not easily formatted to a 3 minute window. In fact, it is not uncommon for the songs to extend into the 8-10 minute realm. Within this time frame, the conversational aspect of the music takes many forms. How can you possible limit it to short clips while retaining it's integrity?
Maybe it's not possible to accomplish such a task of retaining the fullness of Jazz with short clips. However, putting out such "teasers" may capture the attention of those that have never really been an advocate of Jazz. Maybe your one minute video created a small ray of light that opened up a whole other world of music. And just maybe someone on the other side of the planet was searching for "that certain sound" and found YOUR music!
Like I've said before, we can resist the current state of technology, the ever growing pull for attention, and the direction the music business has taken, but I would rather join in on the journey and possible contribute in same way.
My goal as a fifteen year old, and rather lofty one, was to communicate with as many people as possible with my music. Our current world has provided me that opportunity!
