The Importance of Storytelling for Musicians

Do you think of yourself as a good storyteller? Or maybe you know someone who you consider a good storyteller. What makes them (or you) good at it?

I think sometimes we don’t even realize how often we are engaged in storytelling. For example: Pre-concert talks? Teaching? Writing an article about music? Program notes? Being interviewed by radio/tv/blogs? Talking to a donor about the importance of your organization’s/your project’s work? In all of these scenarios (and more) we are likely using our storytelling skills. But how well are we doing?

Storytelling is a great skill, because people are moved and captivated by a good story. We all know how powerful a great storyteller can be – you’ve surely experienced this in a teacher, a speaker, a film, or somewhere else. We don’t all need to be amazing storytellers, but all musicians can practice including story as part of our work, which will only enhance our connections with our audiences, fans, communities, and students.

There are numerous courses, articles and guides out there on this topic that you might explore if you want to dig deep into this topic. One short article we really like is this article from Fast Company that explains 5 bad habits that we should break if we want to be a better storyteller.