Email Newsletter icon, E-mail Newsletter icon, Email List icon, E-mail List icon Join our Email Newsletter

Sunday Edition


01
Dec
2006
The Missing Ingredient


Add this entry to Your Favorites | [0] Favorites [16] Comments

image

We’ve all eaten food that didn’t taste quite right…maybe it tastes okay, but it just seems that something is missing. For years I tried to make my Uncle Pat’s hot sauce, but mine never tasted the same as his, and he never revealed his secret to anyone but my Aunt Ruthie. After he passed my aunt shared his recipe and would you believe…I was one ingredient away from greatness.

Colonel Sanders became wealthy marketing Kentucky Fried Chicken with his “secret blend of 11 herbs and spices”. It just wouldn’t be the same if you only used 10.

My point is that in cooking, and in life, one missing ingredient can be the difference between failure and success.

Sometimes the missing ingredient is elusive and very hard to discover, and other times it is as obvious as the nose on your face.

Southern Gospel Music is suffering from M I S…Missing Ingredient Syndrome.

Something is not quite right…we look good and smell good, but we’re not passing the “taste test”…somethin’s missing.

There is a reason we are dead last in every category across the board…we have lost that one ingredient that made us great, that made us musically equal with all other forms of music, that made us desirable to buy and a pleasure to listen to…

The one ingredient?....PASSION FOR EXCELLENCE !

There was a time when we worked hard, very hard, to get better…now we have countless groups who could care less about improving; they just want a song on the radio and their picture in the Singing News.

We have become an industry of “drive through” recording, “shotgun” radio promotion, “imaginary” marketing, and “trumped up” assessments of our “real” position in the marketplace.

We give awards to individuals who have spent years “dumbing down” our music and others who have stifled the creative energy that is essential to having a “Passion for Excellence”.

WE CAN DO BETTER…WE MUST DO BETTER!

It’s time to get to work, yes good old fashioned “WORK”, Getting the music right.
Enough with the meetings, enough with all the complaining… “We promoters can’t get a crowd”… “Our radio station is losing money”… “We can’t find dates”… “My customers won’t buy Southern Gospel”…yadda, yadda,yadda!

There is nothing wrong with the art form of Southern Gospel Music. It is still the greatest music on the face of the earth; if you don’t believe that, just ask me…I’ll tell you.

There is, however, something wrong with many of the performers, promoters, marketers, bookers, recorders, players, and advertisers of Southern Gospel Music…

You have lost the “PASSION FOR EXCELLENCE”.

In Revelation 2:4, Christ addresses the Church at Ephesus and says, “You have lost your first love”. They were doing things right but had lost their passion. His answer to their lack of passion… “DO THE DEEDS YOU DID AT FIRST”.

In other words, get back to the basics. Our heroes worked hour after hour trying to perfect their singing. They were passionate about getting the music right. The newcomers in the industry had examples to follow…that is why our art form was on a par with any other form of music.

We have lost that passion and it’s time we got back to basics and got the music right.

I make you this guarantee: GET THE MUSIC RIGHT…THE REST WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF.

Good Better Best, Never Ever Rest, Until Your Good Is Better And Your Better Is Best.

As always, I welcome your comments

God Bless You,

Nick Bruno
http://www.nickbruno.com

Reader Comments

Great article. Nothing else to say but you hit the nail on the head!


Commented by Ben Scroggs On 12/01/2006
ransomed's avatar Nick,
You are so on target with this. While reading this to my husband, he said the only thing he would add would be that the "passion for excellence" comes from a passion for Christ and a passion for music.
There are several groups in our area who have gone into SG because it is "easier" to get into than country music. Not because they have a passion to sing SG. They are the ones pursuing the recording contracts and promotors and all that. They say all the right words, do all the right things but they lack the passion for Christ that makes the difference to the pastors and music ministers. Countless times we have heard from pastors that they are looking for musical excellence with the passion for Christ that matches the musical excellence.
Keep pricking our conscious, Nick, we need it.

Ransomed

Go therefore, and teach all nations,…



Commented by ransomed On 12/03/2006
Great article Nick. Having traveled full time, and filled in with several groups, it is very frustrating to see many groups settle for just getting by. If todays groups, both full, and part time would just concentrate on making sure they know their music, they would not have to worry about the rest of the stuff. Keep on writing, and I hope you found a place for that autographed baseball. Randy Lewis. Tenor for the Calvarymen Qt.


Commented by Randy Lewis On 12/05/2006
Another GREAT article, Nick. Is there some way you could tell the groups that singing ON PITCH may not be a big deal to them, but it would sure be a nice thing to do for their audience? Can someone be taught to sing on pitch? Seriously. Just because someone can hit a really high (or really LOW) note is not an example of talent. It would be nice if they could hit that high note somewhere close to the KEY that the song is being sung in.
So, I think that if someone cannot sing on pitch, they will NEVER learn to sing on PITCH and therefore they should learn how to drive a bus, or set up sound systems, or work at the record table if they want to be involved in SGM.
What do you think?


Commented by On 12/07/2006
We are the salt of the earth.....smile


Commented by On 12/07/2006
And if the salt has lost it's savor...it is useless.. according to the Scripture.

The MAIN reason that salt exists is to BE SALTY. Jesus was not being mean spirited when He said that if the salt has lost it's savor it is thrown away.
It is not a personal, nor mean-spirited thing to say that if a person CHOOSES to be a singer....then the one a singer must be able to do is SING.

Why do people who CANNOT sing insist on doing so? It's as ridiculous to sit and listen to people who cannot stay on pitch, and sing correctly......as it is to continue to use unsalty salt.....just because we don't want to hurt the salt's feelings.


Commented by On 12/07/2006
ransomed's avatar Which is kinder-telling someone who can't sing that they can or telling them with compassionately the truth so that they aren't hurt by some mean-spirited person later?

Ransomed

Go therefore, and teach all nations,…



Commented by ransomed On 12/07/2006
I think that we all need to have a humble spirit... which means that we are WILLING to ALLOW a brother or sister in the Lord to tell us something that is truthful.. although it may be painful.

The truth never hurts a person who is already embracing it.
If you can't sing.....then don't. It doesn't mean you aren't useful in the Body of Christ.

Every person has a GIFT from God that HE wants them to use to BENEFIT the Body of Christ. If a person who is NOT GIFTED as a singer spends his or her WHOLE LIFE singing...then they will have wasted the actual gift that God actually gave them.

I wholeheartedly agree with Nick when he says that it takes more than a desire to sing to be an actual singer. It takes more than showing up at a concert to be a SGM.

Keep telling the truth, Nick!


Commented by On 12/07/2006
Nick,
You said, "we look good and smell good." I have to disagree in some areas. I feel that one of the important missing ingredients that you did not mention is LOOKS.

I am talking shop for the industry here...to all those that might bash me and possibly say...it is all about the ministry.
I am shocked at how many people in southern gospel are obese. How can people outside our industry(possible new fans) take us seriously if we exhibit the proof of the inability to push away from the table? We harp on drinking, pre-marital sex, missing church, drug addiction, bad movies, etc... but nobody discusses the very sinful problem of gluttony. Or could you say not maintaining the temple of the Holy Spirit..your body? I know this is probably a sore spot because NOBODY wants to admit they are FAT, but c'mon famous southern gospel groups and others, this is an area we need to improve on. It is like paying tithes. If you are not doing it, then start. If you are not taking care of your body, then start. This is absolutely a must in other genres of music...HMMM? Makes you wander why southern gospels pond is so small. My comments are just one of my opinions of why we are in the area of M.I.S. The fact that this article was even written is sad for our industry.
E


Commented by On 12/13/2006
Nick,
I do agree with the majority of your article though...I failed to mention that.
I have a few more thoughts though as well.
This is to the Singing News...GET RID OF THE TOP 80 AND MAKE IT THE TOP FORTY. INDUSTRY VETERANS KNOW THAT 41 AND UP MEANS JACK DIDDLY. SOMEONE THAT BREAKS INTO 41-80 IS PROBABLY GETTING FALSE HOPE AND THEREFORE SPENDING MORE MONEY TO RADIO PROMOTERS WITHOUT REASON.
This is to the Radio promoters...BE VERY SELECTIVE OF WHO YOU PUT ON YOUR COMPILATIONS, DON'T JUST PUT PEOPLE ON A COMPILATION BECAUSE THEY CAN PAY YOU THE MONEY. THERE ARE PERSISTENT, WEALTHY PEOPLE THAT PAID THEIR WAY INTO SOUTHERN GOSPEL RADIO AND THEY CAN'T EVEN SING PITCH.

I love what you said about the music being better. However, in Southern Gospel you usually can't hear the music because traditional S.G. mixes are too voice heavy and that consequently makes the music sound small. Too reach out to new listeners, we are gonna have to quick trying to swim against the current of good quality mixes, and bring the volume up.
So, to the DJ's...STOP PLAYING #### JUST BECAUSE YOUR BUDDY PROMOTER SENT IT TO YA. BE PICKY AND THE GOOD STUFF WILL SURFACE in the charts and to the masses. Then watch more new areas accept southern gospel radio stations.
Back to the basics...yes, to some extent...but also be willing to accept change or eventually our pond will be dried up...sorry about the metaphor
E


Commented by On 12/13/2006
Page 1 of 2 Comment Pages  1 2 >

Add Comments

If you are seeing this form you are not a Member or have not logged in. Why not consider becoming a Member?

Membership allows you to have a prepared signature of your choice applied to every comment you make, as well as the ability to choose an avatar to display next to your name to help identify your posts. Members are also given opportunity to vote weekly in our Weekly Chart as well as special Members Only contests, polls and giveaways during the year. If you are already a member, login here, otherwise please register here.

**Note: Forums membership is a seperate membership.

By posting you agree to our Comments Policy

Name:
Email:
Location:
URL:
Comment:
Remember my personal information
Notify me of follow-up comments?
Please enter the word you see in the image below: