the story behind the music

As I sit in my red, vinyl bean bag chair, headsets on, cord attached to the turntable….
 
I’m trying to remember what initially drew me close to The Music. There are so many forms of art available to our souls to connect to. What was the reason I became swept along with the music notes? It began in my childhood. My grandfather hand made violins, and he and my grandmother encouraged us to learn instruments. My brothers played trombone in the school bands. My sister and I learned how to play piano, and also sang in choir. We had the support and music education to guide us.
 
I loved the spirit and community connection created by joining my voice with others. On Sundays in church, and then all through out my school years in choir. Even when I went to college, GO COUGS!, I joined a sorority and we would sing before meals and chapter meetings.
 
And now, all though I no longer sing in choirs, I do go to A LOT of concerts. And once again, my soul is connected with my community, as we all share the joy of listening to the live musicians onstage.
 
Actually, that’s the basis behind my ROCKIN THROUGH MY FIFTIES Celebration of Life. I wanted to share music with friends and family. And, that’s also the reason I was drawn to the Seattle-Tacoma Music Community that Raymond Hayden and his music friends have created. Ray is our center. He calms, encourages, welcomes and yeah….then there is The Unicorn. And cigars. He makes us laugh, feel accepted and realize life is better making mistakes together, rather than being alone. Because, let’s be honest. Life is just a series of lessons, that give us stories to learn from, and stories to tell.

And WHO are the best story tellers? Musicians. They have the vision, talent, passion and energy.
 
These past few years, I’ve been blessed to become friends with musicians, and see “What it takes” to create music AND have it heard. It’s an incredible amount of work. Many artists have the talent, but they don’t understand the basics of how to manage their music successfully. And, they also don’t have the support from like minded individuals, who understand how they think and process life.
 
I really appreciate Ray’s missional approach to helping others in his music community. He’s always finding ways to connect and serve, by passing down his stories from his own personal journey with music for these past 40+  years.
 
His latest musical mission is a self-created series called “4S”. A philosophy explaining the foundations he feels are important in developing a successful music career.
 
SONG, SOUND, STYLE, STORY
 
If you don’t have a plan on how to travel to your goal,  you will never reach your destination. Ray’s 4S Philosophy is a GPS for your music. Initially, I had written down roadmap, instead of GPS. But then I thought, “ When is the last time I actually used a roadmap?”.I always just type the destination I want to arrive at  into my GPS.Pointing out how much our world has changed with digital technology. And, the music world has definitely been affected by digital use. That’s one of the realities that Ray addresses in his “4S” Philosophy.
 
“…simply put, the music industry may have changed, but there are still essential requirements to achieving success no matter how you personally define success!”
~Raymond Hayden, Artist

And then the difficulty of choosing which song/ story you want to share, and the style in which you present it. I still remember my college business professor’s advice. “ Show up for a job interview looking like you already work there. Manicured nails and polished shoes show you care about your product, which is yourself.” Ray is your business professor, with guidance on selling your own personal product; your music.
 
 
And, then in Ray’s typical Servant’s Heart Manner, he has made these tutorials FREE. You just have to sign up with your email address, and he will send you the You Tubes links. No gimmicks. He’s just a mentor, trying to inspire those around him.
 
https://www.grievetheastronaut.com/4s.html
 
Music is all about community and connections. And these You Tubes will help add both to your life. We’re always stronger working together.
 
LET’S ROCK!
 
SUSAN IN SEATTLE