Where Do You Fit?

While on vacation, I have had the awesome chance to spend time with my siblings who are all vocalists and musicians. While hanging with them I think back to a time when I used to wonder what my musical abilities were. As a youth I gravitated towards things of a technical nature. Sometime around my sophomore year in high school, I auditioned for Show Choir, a song and dance troop. Singing with the choir helped refine my voice. We performed pieces like “I got the music in me”, “Sing a song”, “It’s too late”, “Footloose”, and my many others. As I matured and took stock in my other abilities, I began to see that I was singing less and less in public. I began to use what I learned in choir class to listen and observe that which I was hearing, offering advice where I could to young and aspiring singers. While singing with a church group one Wednesday night I had a heart to heart talk with an audio engineer. That night, he was frustrated at all that was required from him in the booth. I think they were understaffed. Not long after that conversation, he had moved on and I was asked to take his place.

The first year I led the sound department was an eye-opening experience. I had to trace and confirm wiring under the stage and in the booth. What a time that was! I continued to sing to myself much of the time to stay motivated. Long story made short, the more I learned and problem-solved, the more I felt led to offer solutions to the problems that other sound techs had. As my siblings took positions as band leaders they would call me with some of the problems I had solved previously. In addition, my boss started recruiting people to assist me in the sound booth. Then, I progressed to the training of an entire team. Eventually, I got tired of repeating myself. I saw the need to teach with a focus in mind. One day, a mentor of mine suggested that I put together a training program so that my teaching would be more efficient. Since 2011, I’ve been writing and creating training modules with the purpose of breaking down aspects of audio engineering to those who are hobbyists and those aspiring to know more. Occasionally I dabble in stage crew from time to time. With great confidence I can truly say, “I know my role” as well as “where I fit in.” Whenever possible, I offer my knowledgeable advice to their musical ventures and musical groups. One thing I’ve learned is that our gifts are to fit together like puzzle pieces, not like carbon copies of each other.

So appreciate the shape of your puzzle piece knowing that you’ll fit somewhere perfectly.