Over the past five years I’ve done thousands of music searches. Yes, thousands. Whether looking for music for a television promo, commercial, or film trailer there are some very consistent ideas that come across from my clients. One of those is build.

Music that builds is key in advertising of any kind (for a product, film, or show) because the goal is to tell a story, hopefully an interesting one, and do it in limited time.

Granted like any other rule there are exceptions to this one, generally speaking though it holds true. Take a listen to some of your most recent songs and ask yourself – is this going anywhere? Watch a few trailers, commercials, and TV promos and ask yourself “if I put my music under this, would it help drive the story along?”

Perhaps the best question you can ask yourself is: Does my music tell a story on it’s own? Where’s the beginning, middle, where’s the end? Even better try asking your friends to identify it for you and see what they say.

If your songs do build you’ll have a much greater chance of getting licensed than if they’re fairly static or even-keeled, which means you’ll have a better chance at making some money and getting great exposure with your music.

If you’re a musician you’re use to living in patterns. iii-vi-ii-V-I, circle of fifths (or cycle of fourths if you prefer), and so on. Patterns literally surround and encompass everything musically and help give loose structure to the art form. This structure can be manipulated, modulated, changed, transformed and broken altogether for the sake of making a great new sound.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about what advice musicians should take to heart; how to get the most bang for their buck when it comes to all the questions that entail getting a song licensed or expanding their audience.

In the end, it comes down to recognizing patterns in everything you do and improving them. Music practice applies to everything in life – business, health, success and failure in general. So what can you learn from yourself? What lessons might you already know?

Approach every problem or obstacle in your life like practicing your craft. Identify the goal of practicing (is it notes in a particular phrase? a complex rhythm? or do you just want to improve your fluency in a given key signature?), set out the tasks to help you improve at it (slowly go over notes, break down complex rhythms, identify scales/chords/passages in the key), and most importantly get started.

Even if what you decide to work on or how you start to solve a problem doesn’t turn out to be the most efficient, you’ll still learn a ton – both about yourself, and the problem at hand. Set a goal, make a plan, and get started.

Just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know that I’ll be at the Billboard Music in Advertising conference for the next two days. Keep your eyes here for thoughts on the keynotes!