Through one of my contacts, I learned that a music supervisor needed some original jazz songs for placement in a video project. It wasn’t going to be anything terribly scintillating. Simply background for a couple of scenes in a cable-TV series, as I recall. The description of what the music supervisor required essentially described instrumentals written in the “cool jazz” genre, with maybe some hints of bossa nova, as was popular in the late 1950s to early 1960s.
My co-writer and I crafted three tunes that we thought fit the bill. One was a straight-ahead bossa piece and the other two were classic West Coast/cool jazz, with the beat carried lightly on the cymbal. All of our efforts featured a main theme, a bridge, and then a chorus or two of improvised woodwind solos that interpreted and built upon the themes.
Sadly, our creations were rejected. The explanation given, however, focused on the fact that the improvisational choruses were inappropriate for that particular need.
This puzzled me. If you listen to the key participants in the cool jazz era — Paul Desmond, Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, and others — improvisation was certainly part and parcel of most of their tunes. What happened?
I think this is an example of not making expectations clear. The music supervisor, or whoever screened for him, didn’t set forth his needs. When I dug deeper, it appeared as if what he really wanted was smooth jazz: Something without much in the way of improvisation, but rather jazz phrasing utilizing one or more themes layered over pop or rock beats. Nothing wrong with that. But it wasn’t what was asked.
Expectations, whether relied upon to formulate a relationship between songwriter and music supervisor, or in any other relationship entered into in life, and whether formal, contractual or simply casual, are key. Too often, we don’t communicate clearly enough what we are looking for in any relationship of any kind. I believe this has become exacerbated by the omnipresence of digital communication. Texts and e-mails are wonderful. But sometimes the lack of give-and-take, body language or facial expression of a video chat or face-to-face interaction, or simple vocal inflection from a phone call, can cause a lack of meaning, or even a misinterpretation.
Does this mean we avoid e-mails, texts, social media messaging and the like? Not at all. What I suggest in this opinion — or mild rant — is that we need to be more vigilant about expectations, particularly when our communications don’t afford the ability to add non-written cueing into the mix.
With the next text, message or e-mail you send, how might you better communicate your expectations to more accurately frame the reply you anticipate?