We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Paul Buyer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Paul below.
Paul, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I get my resilience from believing in myself and knowing I have successfully done hard things and overcome adversity many times before. One experience in particular stays with me to this day. After graduating high school, I felt I was a good percussionist. I was active in the band and had competed in solo and ensemble festivals each year, winning blue ribbons and medals symbolizing outstanding achievement. I was enthusiastic about music, playing the drums, and being part of something bigger than myself. Pursuing my passion in college and majoring in music was my goal.
When I arrived at Ball State University as a freshman, I auditioned for the marching band and quickly discovered I was in the bottom tier of players. After not making snare drum, tenors, or bass drum, I ended up trying out for cymbals. Unfortunately, many percussionists tend to look down on playing cymbals in marching band and consider it a “dumping ground” for weak players and not nearly as “cool” or challenging as playing one of the drums. When I was offered a spot on the cymbal line, I was demoralized and ready to quit, until Dr. Joseph Scagnoli, Director of Bands at Ball State, asked me to give it a chance. Doc said he needed team players who would contribute and asked that I put the interests of the band ahead of my own. It was a life lesson I have never forgotten as I proudly played cymbals for the Ball State University “Pride of Mid-America” Marching Band that season. I became a better musician, made lifelong friends, and experienced one of the biggest turning points in my life in terms of learning what hard work was all about.
As a Music Education major at Ball State, my first percussion lesson was with the late Richard Paul, formerly of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. I remember sitting in his office talking about my musical experience in high school. After telling him about my background, I pointed to the marimba and said, “But I don’t play <i>that</i>” — as if I didn’t have to, as if it were optional. He made it very clear to me that if I wanted to pursue a degree in percussion, I would have to learn how to play the marimba (The marimba is a keyboard percussion instrument similar in appearance to a xylophone, but with wider bars, a larger range, and a warmer sound).
It was apparent that I was significantly behind my peers. I had little talent and a weak musical foundation, and I had never studied with a private teacher on a regular basis. What I did have, however, was a strong work ethic. I practiced an average of six hours a day my freshman year and even gave a summer recital that included a marimba concerto. I played snare drum in marching band my sophomore, junior, and senior years and <i>taught</i> the Ball State Drumline my last year as an undergraduate. Part of teaching the drumline included building a culture where equality was valued and the cymbal line was respected. Years later, I wrote an article titled, “Motivating the Marching Cymbal Line,” which helped many marching bands and drumlines across the country become more cohesive as a team. If you would have told me then that I would one day become a tenured full professor at a major university and publish five books, I would have thought you were crazy. Looking back, it was all due to hard work and resilience.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I serve as Director of Percussion and Professor of Music at Clemson University where I teach percussion ensemble, steel band, private lessons, World Music, and oversee the marching band drumline. I have also served as Director of Music in the Department of Performing Arts and Acting Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Research in the College of Arts and Humanities.
What is most exciting and special about my job is the challenge of inspiring, motivating, and preparing my students to work toward excellence and reach their potential. To do that, I care about them, help them develop their skills, and give them the time and space they need to grow. It’s about CANI – constant and never-ending improvement. I always say my job is not teaching percussion, it’s teaching people!
My passion for teaching has blossomed into a writing and speaking career I am very proud of. I have written over 30 articles and five books, all published by traditional publishers. My writing focuses on what is bothering me in percussion education, leadership, and academia. My newest book, <i>Working Toward Excellence: 10 Nonnegotiables for Achieving Uncommon Success in Work and Life – 2nd edition,</i> will be released in 2025.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three skills that have been most impactful in my career are leadership, writing, and speaking.
First, I am on a constant search to discover authors and content that help me become a better leader. One of my favorite books on leadership, and one I feel successfully captures the characteristics that are most important, is <i>Trusted Leader,</i> by David Horsager, who says, “Trust is the single greatest metric for success…my [research] led me to discover the eight specific traits the most trusted leaders, brands, and organizations have in common: Clarity, Compassion, Character, Competency, Commitment, Connection, Contribution, and Consistency.
In addition to becoming a great leader, becoming a great writer is incredibly important to career success. Being a published author has allowed me to communicate effectively, share ideas, express myself, apply for grants, and create valuable content through my books, articles, blogs, and interviews, positively impacting people’s lives and taking my career to another level. As playwright, critic, and Nobel Prize winner George Bernard Shaw said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
The third skill that has been critical to my journey is speaking. Learning how to prepare for a presentation and be comfortable and confident standing in front of an audience – whether on stage, in the classroom, or in a meeting – has allowed me to build trust, credibility, and influence with others. Ironically, the strategies I use as a musician – practice, repetition, visualization, and simulation – are the same for professional speakers.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
There are three things I do when I feel overwhelmed.
First, I write down everything I have to do. I use the <i>Work Clean</i> app developed by chef Dan Charnas and based on the French term “mise en place,” meaning “everything has its place.” Mise en place is used in the culinary world to organize the ingredients, kitchen, and workspace, leading to greater efficiency and execution. The app allows me to create a to-do list, move priorities around, and remind myself of what is coming up next.
Second, I take breaks. When I hit a wall and get stuck, I drink a glass of water to clear my head and recharge. If that doesn’t work, I stop, close my laptop, and come back to my work later. There’s no benefit to plowing through when I’m tired or distracted, so I might as well do something else. Once my brain if refreshed, ideas start to come easier since I’m in a better space mentally.
Third, I walk 30 minutes a day. Walking outside gets me moving, helps me focus, and gives me the physical and mental energy I need to teach, rehearse, or write for long periods of time. I listen to podcasts when I walk and try to use that time to learn something and get better, as well as taking in and appreciating the nature around me.
A new strategy I am working on is to schedule more time for quiet in my life. In Japan there is a term called “Ma” which means silence, space, and emptiness and can be found in Japanese music, theatre, conversation, art, and nature. Speaker, writer, and artist Azumi Uchitani said, “Ma is the time and space life needs to breathe, to feel and connect. If we have no time, if our space is restricted, we cannot grow…It speaks of silence as opposed to sound, of stillness as opposed to motion…There is a need for Ma in every aspect and every day of our lives.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.paulbuyer.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buyerpaul/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paul.buyer.1/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-buyer-b995a0316/
- Twitter: https://x.com/PaulBuyer
