How Can You Know What You Don’t Know?
Every student that I have mentored for the last 30 years, reminds me of me when I was being mentored. I was very lucky and fortunate to have personal mentors such as Phil Collins, Quincy Jones and Phil Ramone. They really opened up
my eyes to what I see my own students going through. It’s a fascinating aspect of mentoring and education:
They don’t know what they don’t know.
And to a greater or lesser degree, each believe they DO know what they don’t know. In other words, by being students, they are obviously saying, “Teach me, I don’t know everything, I want to learn.” However, when asked what
they would like to learn, none say to me, “I would like to learn about things that I don’t even know that I don’t know. Please unveil those subjects to me and everything you can teach me about them.” Instead, they rattle off categories of knowledge that they already know they don’t know. See the difference?
And then one day (hopefully) the student discovers a painful yet empowering truth. They discover something new that they literally never even considered before.”
The curriculum comprising the Gary Gray Advanced Craftsman Clinic Series is both totally customized to the student and quite fascinating. The student first turns in a number of “assessment assignments.” I personally grade each one and from my assessment of the student, a customized
curriculum is created. Included in the curriculum are subjects that I observe may be areas where the student doesn’t know what he or she doesn’t know.
This is a valuable look at your own education, from someone who services clients on a daily basis like 20th Century Fox, The Disney Music Group, Megatrax, Hollywood Records, CBS
Daytime Television, ABC, A&E, etc., all from my Home Studio. Last year I was singled out by 20th Century Fox to create and produce the holiday version of their iconic Fanfare Theme – which I did - right in my Home Studio.
And this year, I have hired Aaron Davison (guitarist extraordinaire! by the way), for studio session work on 6 major projects for Disney/20th Century Fox – my largest single project to-date. Recording, mixing and mastering 6 songs will literally earn me more than a third of my yearly income this
year.
And I want to put you in the same position. I know how to do it. And more importantly, I know how to teach it to others. I’ve been personally mentored by legendary names in the music industry, and I want to pass on that wisdom to you.
People also ask me how I was able to meet and be personally mentored by people like Quincy Jones, Phil Collins and Phil Ramone.
A lot of it has to do with building and maintaining a high level of confidence through study, research and practice. A level of confidence that can be sensed and almost felt when you walk into a room or speak with someone on the phone or Skype. With Quincy Jones, for instance – I introduced myself to him at an event where I
was managing an artist who was performing there.
After speaking to Quincy for 2 minutes, he said, “Hey, pull up a chair and let’s talk, man. What was your name again?”
Why would he do and say that?
When I met Quincy, I wasn’t so much awe-struck by Quincy the person, I was inspired to ask him questions about HIS mentor – Nadia Boulanger, one of the most important mentors in the history of the music industry. And not only the music industry. Nadia Boulanger (1887 – 1979) is said to have been the most important scholar
since Socrates.
When I was 17 years old (1976), I studied piano lessons with a student of Nadia Boulanger. Ever since, I’ve been fascinated with the fact that some of the most important legends in the music industry had one thing in common. They all studied with Madame Boulanger, as she was referred. I have studied everything I could get my
hands on about her ever since. I discovered that Quincy was one of her prized pupils.
So, when I met him, I was keenly interested in sharing thoughts, ideas, feelings and opinions about Madame Boulanger. He saw this immediately and knew that I wasn’t another person trying to get something from him or fawn over him. How do I know that? He told me that.
He called me on the phone a week later and invited me to his home, to his own private studio for mentoring, and to help him work on a film project (a film about another one of his mentors, Clark Terry, called “Keep On Keepin’ On.” I helped Quincy and the marketing team on that project). This started a long-term mentorship and
friendship which lasts to this day.
But our bond is something we both consider sacred: our appreciation for one of the greatest mentors who ever lived, Madame Boulanger.
