The Seven P’s of Music

Copyright © 2010 by Dr. Brian Cullen,
As a musician and songwriter, I follow the Seven P’s of music that I came up with to help me remember all the things that I want to do. I mentally run through the list each day before I sit down to practice so that I’m sure of my musical goals for that day. Recently, it occurred to me that the seven P’s may be equally valid for many other areas of life. For example, as an NLP coach and trainer, the same pattern works very well very me. Below, I have listed and explained the seven P’s of music. In a future article, I hope to revisit this topic and give more explicit examples of how they can be relevant for an NLP practitioner. In the meantime, you might like to simply consider music as a metaphor and begin to see how the seven P’s can be relevant in your life.

The Seven P’s of Music

1. Prepare

Before every one of the other steps, I prepare – making myself ready by entering into what NLP would term a resourceful state. I allow my breathing to slow down, let my body relax, and recall previous times when I was in flow and able to call on all my conscious and unconscious resources to help me fulfill my musical goals.

2. Plan

Know exactly what you want to achieve in as much detail as possible. It is very useful to consider how you will know that your goal has been achieved. In other words, what is the final step that you have to reach before you can say to yourself, “Wow, I really did it!” Sometimes, it is good to chunk your goals down into smaller goals that are more achievable in the short run. Once you succeed in a few small goals, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you’re progressing towards some bigger goals. So instead of saying, “I want to have a hit record”, it may be useful to set smaller goals such as “I want to complete this song” and then “I want to record a simple demo” that I can share with the band. Once you have achieved these small goals, you can set your next small goals which lead to your big goal. Some examples of useful question that you can ask yourself in the Planning state are given below:

• Are there particular skills that you want to learn on your instrument? In 1 year, what would you really like to be able to play very easily?
• Who do you want your music to reach? Do you want to get paid for it? How?
• Do you want to record in the near future? Which songs/tunes?

3. Practice

Most people have heard the old joke about the man asking for directions and he is answered by a musician.

Man: How do I get to Carnegie Hall?
Musician: Practice, practice, practice.

Like most jokes, it is funny because it is true. It is important to build up your skills over the long-term. It may be frustrating each day as you feel like you’re getting nowhere, but over the long-term, you’ll be amazed at how much you improve if you practice just a little bit each day. Of course, it’s better to practice more each day, but the important thing is to be steady. Make sure that you spend at least a few minutes each day at your instrument. Spaced learning (learning in multiple sessions rather than single concentrated sessions) has been shown in research to have the most powerful long-lasting effects on improvement.

4. Play

In the Seven Ps of Music, Play doesn’t just mean “play your instrument.” It also means just “play” as in “having fun”. Play as if you were a kid, really having fun and enjoying yourself with your music. Have fun every day as you play. It is sad, but true, that not everyone will reach Carnegie Hall, and not everyone will have a hit song on the radio. But what is certain in every case is that music can bring a huge amount of joy to your life. Make sure that you experience a little bit of that joy every day. Play some songs and tunes that you enjoy yourself. Get together with other fun musicians. Listen to some inspiring music and play along – even if you can’t follow at all and are just playing air guitar or air clarinet!

5. Produce

Unlike painting, sculpture, or fashion design, music disappears as soon as it is produced. The energy of the sound waves die away and the music is gone for ever unless you preserve it in some form. Recording technology is so cheap that you can easily preserve your music and that helps you greatly in the next step – promoting it. And I would advise you to produce on an ongoing basis, rather than waiting for a big recording date. Your unconscious mind needs to get into the habit of producing things on a regular basis. Once you signal to your unconscious that you want something, it will start to produce it easily and quickly – make sure that you honour its intention by writing it down or recording it in some way.

6. Promote

One thing that is likely is that nobody cares about your music as much as you do. So go ahead, and work to get your music out there in the world where people can listen to it. Of course, this implies that you want other people to hear your music, but for most musicians that is the case. From prehistoric times, music has been something to share with the community. People got together and played and listened to each other.
Whether you’re trying to promote a concert, a CD, or an online video, the principle is the same. People won’t know about it until you tell them about it in some way. There are so many ways to promote now – using Facebook, email, YouTube. If you make something that you think is good, get the opinion of someone that you trust, and if they agree that it is good, get it out there for people to share. That’s what music is all about – sharing.

7. Perform

While selling CDs and making money is a wonderful thing, for me personally and for most of the musicians that I know, it is the live performance in front of an audience that is the highlight of my musical life. That is the time when I am really in flow – pushing my abilities of musical skill and audience rapport to the highest level. Whether you’re performing in front of three friends or at Carnegie Hall, performing is the ultimate reminder that music is a physical phenomenon, the passing of waveforms through the air from your instrument or voice to the ears of the listeners, and the response in your audience’s movements, words, applause, and smiles.

Conclusion

It’s so easy to get caught up in one stage of music. I used to find that I’d get so involved in promotion that I would forget to actually practice or really enjoy the music, or alternatively I used to get so caught up in learning a new piece or skill that I completely forgot to promote my shows. They are all important and the Seven P’s has been useful to help me keep them all in mind. I hope that it will be equally useful for you – in your music, in your NLP work, or in your life.
And to be sure that you remember the Seven P’s:

1. Prepare
2. Plan
3. Practice
4. Play
5. Produce
6. Promote
7. Perform

You can also download a simple colour wallchart for printing.
Copyright © 2010 by Dr. Brian Cullen,
Associate Professor, Nagoya Institute of Technology
—
NLP Coaching and Training
www.standinginspirit.com