We were lucky to catch up with Shaun Moore recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Shaun , thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
For me, learning the craft of music started when I was around 8 years old! I was in elementary school, and in the music program, my teacher asked me what were my instrument choices. From the advice of my father, I ended up playing the bassoon as my very first instrument. I would come home every day from school, sit and practice for hours. To my surprise and my parents, I began excelling extremely fast. At that point, they knew I had a natural gift for music. So did I. No one had to tell me that I needed to study or practice to get better at playing music, I was doing it on my own. As I moved through middle and high school, I was participating in everything that was offered through the music programs, on more than one instrument. Literally everything. From taking auditions to make the top performing ensembles in the state in which I was getting first chair, to playing in the community performing ensembles such as the youth symphony orchestra. Anything that was available, my parents made sure that I was participating in it. Throughout this exposure, I was able to refine my craft of music and continue to develop my skill sets which have been with me throughout my entire career thus far. Really there isn’t anything that I could have done to speed up this process because I started so young. Some of the skills that I think were most essential for me would be discipline, resilience, and patience. Discipline in the learning process. Resilience in the applications of what I learned. Patience to allow myself to develop. Even though I was blessed with this talent, all of those things helped me take my abilities to the next level, fast. One obstacle that I think that may have stood in the way of learning more was the fact that I was not able to find a private teacher starting out. My parents tried but I didn’t end up getting one. However, that did not stop me from excelling in all my endeavors. Believe it or not, I earned 11 full music-scholarships to colleges across the country by the time I got into eleventh grade of high school and at that point, I knew for sure that I wanted to go to college and study music with the intentions of entering the professional music business. Once I got into college, I actually had my first “official” private instructor. It all worked out in the end. I graduate college Summa Cum Laude with my degree, and did in fact enter the professional music business which was my goal!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I started my journey to becoming a professional Music Producer and getting into the Music Industry while I was still in college. I’m from Stone Mountain Ga but I went to college in Jackson, Mississippi at Jackson State University. While I was there at Jackson State studying music, I was producing music in my dorm room with equipment that my parents helped me get. On a regular schedule, I would send my music productions to a contact that I knew in Atlanta who I met while I was in high school. Throughout that process, my music was being recorded on local Atlanta talent and artist who were also looking to get into the Music Industry. When college was not in session, I would always come back to Atlanta and get in the studio with these local artist and help produce songs. I did this same routine all my years of college and by the time I became a senior, some of my songs that I produced were introduced to very successful Atlanta Music Industry Executives at that time. When it was time for me to graduate Jackson State, I had built so much rapport and so many relationships with my Atlanta contacts, I created an opportunity to get in the door of the Atlanta music scene. After I graduated Jackson State, I came back home and began to take advantage of the opportunities that I had created for myself. Not too long after I graduated, while moving around in the Atlanta music scene, I met a very well-known and extremely successful Music Industry Executive who presented an opportunity for me to work with him inside a very successful music studio. Of course I jumped at the opportunity. My beginnings working in this studio is what gave me my official start as a professional Music Producer. I learned so much from the experience and I was able to contribute creatively as a producer to the continued success of that studio. In doing so, I built even more relationships with working artists, engineers, executives, managers, and other great people who work in different areas of the Music Industry. I still to this day have some of those same relationships that I built when I was first starting out.
As a Music Producer, one of my main primary roles is to provide high quality music or productions for those who are looking. Whether it be an artist or a record label, or a brief for film/tv or an open project that needs music. I provide that solution. One of my biggest assets that has helped me grow my career and sustain longevity as a Music Producer is that I am a team player. I’ve always been like this. I always try and create a win-win situation for me and whoever I am working with. In a way I think that sets me apart from others because I am able to provide value first and that is what helps me build and nurture all my relationships. It’s a skillset that I have always had since I was a child and because of that I have been able to build more personable relationships that last for a very long time. I think I am most proud of the fact that a career path that I thought about as a child, and started working towards as a chid, has actually come to fruition. Sacrifice, dedication, perseverance, discipline, hard work, and resilience are all a part of the equation to success. The journey hasn’t always been easy but I am very grateful for the successes that I have had along the way. Even with that, I still feel like I’m just getting started. I would like everyone to know that if you have a natural gift in something and dream big while believing in yourself, you can turn that gift and dream into a reality and become blessed in so many ways. I’m living proof and a testament!
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
What drives my creative journey, is my “Why”. Today, I usually go back once or twice a week to reflect on why I am doing this in the first place. The reason that is, is because there was a time in my life that I got off track. I’ve been in my craft since around the age of 8 years old and throughout my childhood, I was very clear on why I was working so hard and having so much success in music. The biggest reason was that it is a natural, God-given talent for me that I was blessed with. I took tremendous responsibility very young and understood that I wanted to pursue this endeavor at the professional level. That thought process allowed me to strategically make decisions that supported that mission. Once I graduated college, I was blessed to get the opportunity to start immediately in the music business. Along the way, as an adult, I did experience a small amount of time where I got off track. Life can unfortunately do that sometimes. Once I recalibrated and went back to my why, I was able to align again with what I truly wanted to do for myself. Call it a life audit. Now, I am very intentional with everything that I can control because I don’t want to let my 17 year old self down and I don’t want to have that older moment of regret. I consider myself blessed that my gift made room for me and I want to continue to honor that.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is two fold. One, I am living in my gift that made room for me. A childhood dream turned into my reality! I am always excited every time I get to experience some form of success in my career. At any level. It makes the hard work worthwhile as being in the music business is not easy. Regardless of how talented you are, in my opinion. Two, the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded peers, colleagues, and other creatives who may share the same level of excitement that I have in creating and working on projects. In this process, I am able to work as a team member and share in the camaraderie of others to see projects through and build lasting relationships. My story can be inspiring to someone else just as their story can inspire me to achieve more. I would consider that positive reinforcement for any creative!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://eleventhgrademusic.com
- Instagram: @11thgrademusic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-m-moore/
- Twitter: @11thgrademusic
- Other: Email: [email protected]
