The 4 Phases of Music Growth (Where are you now, and where are you headed next?)

Over my 12+ years of being a committed music creator, having crafted music for brands, games, & artists… and having taught hundreds of producers 1 on 1…

I've noticed a few distinct phases that one goes through in their journey through music.

In this post, I'd like to share them with you in the hopes that it will help you recognize where you might be, and what you need to do to grow faster.

These phases are taken from my own personal experience, as well as what I've seen in the community around me.

By no means am I saying that this is ALL there are...

Humans are variable and you may be a little different.

But I think that a post like this is helpful to be able to see a general path that many of us go through so you can make better decisions.

As you read through, perhaps consider what phase(s) you can relate to?

Phase 1: The Magic Phase: (A call to adventure) 

The first phase is absolute magic.

If we use the metaphor of an ocean, this is where you're on the beach, standing where the waves trickle over your feet. 

It's all so fresh.

It's incredible.

It's exciting.

You're exploring a whole new world, and it seems impossibly overwhelming yet so amazing.

Every small thing you learn blows your mind, and the music all around you makes you fall in love all over again with the journey ahead of you.

You are struggling a LOT in this stage.

You really don't know what you are doing at all.

But you are pulled very strongly forward, because you realize you're chasing something you've fallen in love with.

The main questions you're asking yourself at this phase revolve around:

"How do I start making music?"

"What DAW should I use?"
"What are plugins / VSTs and how do I install them?"
"What are the tools I need to create music in the style I'm interested in?"
"Do I need to learn music theory?"
"What is automation and how does it work?"

Etc.

This phase is the first test... many hobbyists stay here for life, letting the waves trickle over their feet.

They feel they don't need more, and just enjoy learning a bit here and there and find joy by being a satisfied observer of the magic, and that's fine.

But for those who want more, and stick with it, will eventually stumble into Phase 2.

Phase 2: The Growth Phase: (Overcoming challenges)

Phase 1 was all about feeling completely overwhelmed with wonder and dipping your toes in the water.

Phase 2 is all about being completely overwhelmed by your LACK of skill, and starting to wade up in the water up to your legs.

This is where a lot of people drop off, because to make it through phase 2, it takes a LOT of studying, hours practicing, making mistakes... and relatively "bad" music being created. (Or, at least music that you don't really like very much.)

This is a phase often spent with many, many hours on YouTube watching videos, paying for lessons, or taking courses.

You don't know what you don't know, and the fastest way through this stage is to absorb as much as you possibly can from as many sources as possible, to try new things, and to see what sticks for your process.

The overall questions you're asking yourself at this phase revolves around:

"How do I consistently finish music that sounds good?"

"How do I write a great chord progression?"
"How can I arrange my music better?"
"What are the plugins I should be using to get a professional sound?"
"How do I improve my workflow?"
"How can I finish songs I feel proud of more consistently?"
"How do I use a reference track to help me write my music?"
"How do I design sounds that sound professional?"
"How do I mix my songs to sound more professional?"
"What do I need to know about the music business?"

Eventually, as you keep learning, you do make some breakthroughs and start having more control of what you're doing.

Along with tons of "not very good" music, you will also write some music that really stands out, and you're proud of.

They will represent a "level up", and you will likely have many of these "level up" tracks as you keep growing in this stage.

Depending on how business oriented you are, towards the end of this stage you may begin picking up client work, get a track(s) signed by a label(s), or perhaps get your first music placement(s). 

And if you're one of the few who stick with it for long enough, eventually you will likely get to phase 3.

Phase 3: The Talented Disenfranchised Phase: (The great abyss or symbolic death)

Phase 2 was all about learning and improving until you have some pretty respectable skills... and having the water come up to your legs...

Phase 3 is about the emotional slump that can happen after all that work... and having the waves start crashing over your head.

This is where you become disenchanted a bit, because the magic that used to be there in Phase 1 and 2 is now replaced by a “knowing.”

You get how music works now more than ever before, and so what you used to love and think of as "magic" is now just a simple chord progression or melody in a sound that you recognize.

You can now break it down and pick apart each piece of the music pretty well, so you begin to think “what does it even matter anymore?”

You are making what some would call "great music", and you have more control than ever before, but there's something that feels missing, or like it got lost along the way...

...and it's your soul.

The magic that you originally fell in love with.

Despite your skills, a negative egoic voice has taken over and begun to sabotage your joy and unique spirit... and it begins to devalue the music around you.

The original reason you fell in love with music feels hard to reconnect with.

Because in Phase 2, the primary mindset that drove you was a thought of "If I just get really good skills, then everything will make sense and I'll be good."

And while it was TOUGH, you were driven by a greater vision of "being so good they can't ignore me" and seeing some measurable results along the way.

However, in Phase 3 you've now developed a lot of those skills, and so that vision of "being really good" stops being enough to fuel you.

You begin to realize that "being really good" is just the START.

It is the MINIMUM REQUIREMENT if you take music seriously.

And at this stage, you may already have a few wins...

...perhaps a few track signings with labels... or a few placements...

...and while they felt GREAT for a moment...

...you realize that they did not reward you to the level you thought they would, monetarily or spiritually...

...and this further spirals your feeling of disenfranchisement. 

So now you feel like you've PUT IN THE WORK - you've DONE what everyone told you to do...

So why do you not feel more accomplished?

Why do you still feel like you're searching for something you can't find?

And why, at the same time, do you see many people who are "not as good as you," who seem to have more success than you?

To make matters worse, you can now listen to the music around you and understand it like never before, yet instead of being able to listen with appreciation, this somehow makes you DEVALUE it.

This can start to drive you crazy, and lead to thoughts of "This isn't fair. How come I've put everything into my craft, yet still feel so... stuck?"

That's why Phase 3 is really a personal test. It's about looking yourself in the face and asking:

"What do I really want out of music?"

Unfortunately, this phase can be very emotionally draining, and many people give up here despite having worked so hard for years.

This loss of purpose can be extremely depressing.

Some of the Elitists / Trolls you see leaving negative comments on the internet are in this phase.

They are upset with themselves, envious of others, and feeling out of control - so they lash out and "correct" everyone, as it's one of the few things they still feel they can control.

Others in this stage may take a break from music to get some space.

If you’ve ever had a skilled teacher who puts down certain kinds of music for having “no talent or skill” - chances are they are living here. 

For me personally, I remember this stage being the absolute worst. It manifests as literal depression. 

But if you have the strength to stick through it and ask yourself tough, purpose based questions, then eventually you will make it through to Phase 4....

Phase 4: The Free Magician Phase: (Rebirth and transformation)

If Phase 3 was about having the waves crash over your head... Phase 4 is about learning how to surf with the waves, and become one with the current.

To me, the start of Phase 4 is characterized by a powerful realization that just because you understand music on a deeper level than ever before doesn’t take away from the magic, it just puts you in control of it... "with great power, comes great responsibility."

And just because you see others having more success than you with WORSE skills doesn't invalidate anything about you or your music.

And on the flip side, just because you see others with BETTER skills than you, also doesn't invalidate anything about you or your music.

Because you begin to realize that skills NEVER REALLY MATTERED as much as the VISION for what you wanted to DO WITH THEM in the first place.

And just because you lost a purpose, doesn't mean you don't get to be excited by defining a new one, now with greater control and skills than ever before.

And with this thought, you now begin to realize that those with "greater success" often simply had more defined visions of what they wanted, and were going after it ruthlessly, knowing that their skills were important, but didn't really matter as much as their drive to "reach their clarified vision."

And you were stuck, because you were under the illusion that skills were everything, and that once you had them, something would magically just *click.*

And when that magical *click* never happened in the way you thought it might... it forced you to come face to face with your bubbling dissatisfaction.

It forced you to get critical with the quality of questions you had been asking yourself, and the goals (or lack of goals) you had been setting.

And this is what triggered phase 3 to begin with. 

If we look at this through the lens of the Hero's Journey... Phase 3 is where you died... so in Phase 4, you can be reborn.

So now as you take inventory of yourself in Phase 4, you realize that through your quest to learn music you've actually cultivated an incredible gift to yourself, and you were just too blind to see it, because you were so focused on "external" indicators.

You feel a fresh, invigorating sense of excitement... you stop falling for the ego-game of thinking that music has less value just because you "get" it.

In fact, you realize that thinking that you "get it" is the very thing keeping you from the joyous curiosity you used to have!

You may have "skills" - and you may be able to create with more control than ever before - but you will NEVER "get it" - and that's why you've always loved music to begin with! Because of the magic it makes you feel.

Because just like learning any language, it was never about the skills. It was about gaining skills so you had the freedom of intentional expression.

With this realization, a new waterfall of musical freedom begins to spout from inside you.

You are now beginning to embody the musical magician that had originally inspired you all those years ago in Phase 1.

You can listen to music through a lens of open enjoyment, while also understanding how it works.

This is the ultimate power, because you can make just about anything you hear in your head, or hear in the world, and also love it at the same time.

You aren't perfect, and you are still learning all the time, but you are at the phase where you can teach yourself whatever you need to know just by listening, and get deeply in touch with the emotions as you create.

You now wield a powerful, timeless magic.

You look back on your journey, grateful you kept going... grateful you pushed through the endless hurdles... and feeling a new peace despite knowing there will be more to come...

You look to the future with a new expression... one that is excited about the music that will flow through you, and will be unleashed into the world.

You realize it's time to stop letting others influence the story you're writing...  you're past that now.

It's time to write your own story.

You have that power... in fact, you always have.

That's what it's always been about from the very start. 

You just didn't fully realize it... until now.

The main questions you are now asking revolve around:

"How can I create a healthy ecosystem around me that fosters my own self-defined deeper purpose?"
“How can I make sure to maintain balance as I move forward?"
"How can I continue to refine my ability to clearly communicate with the skills I've developed?"
"What is it that I really want to communicate right now, in this moment?"
“What do I want to leave in this world?”
“What is the impact I want to create in my fellow human?”

If you make it this far, congratulations… the journey has just begun. 

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If you enjoyed this post, and see yourself in Phase 1 or 2, consider my courses to help accelerate your learning.

If you see yourself in a Late Phase 2 or Phase 3, and know you are ready to push into Phase 4, consider reaching out to discuss consulting. [email protected].