Jazz or classical, cover version or original composition, one of the beauties of writing down your music is that with a score to follow, there are no excuses for not playing.
Playing what’s on the score and discovering that a particular combination of notes is impossible to produce is one thing – as long as you tell the composer. Refusing to play a section because you think it will be too hard, or because your arrangement of notes is better, or you ‘don’t like the look of it’ is not.
Playing badly because the instruments you’ve been given are substandard, or you’ve been given no time to rehearse is one thing. Playing it badly because you couldn’t be bothered to practise in the time set aside for it is another.
A musician wouldn’t expect to be paid, or to stay in an orchestra for long if they persisted in behaving like this.
Why should anyone else?
Being responsible for consequences encourages players to speak up about what isn’t working, to insist that to give their best possible performance, the best possible conditions have to be created.
You can give them responsible autonomy to create those conditions too.
Of course consequences work both ways. Every musician that contributes to produce an experience audiences willingly pay a premium for, should share in the profits as well as the applause. By assuming responsibility they are taking a share of your heavy load, and should be rewarded accordingly.
Once you’ve grasped the nettle, you’ll all find that it responsible autonomy is much less scary than you thought it would be, because you’re all capable, adaptable and creative human beings, who will help each other out, collaborate to make things work better for everyone and invent ways to make the job easier and better. Who take on all sorts of responsibilities and thrive every day.
Just not usually at work.
Discipline makes Daring possible.
Ask me how.