051023 — Blog — Rulerless

In all of the years I wanted to write or practice music consistently but didn’t, I don’t think it was a lack of self-discipline.

After all, I wanted to do these things. And I did many other difficult things that I hadn’t wanted to do.

So what was the problem?

Prioritization. I spent all my time doing those other things.

Casey von NeumannDecember 20, 2022122222, 010423, 011623, 022423, 030523, 051023Comment

Just for the fun of it

I watched a bunch of episodes of Fraggle Rock as a kid, but there's only one that I remember with any clarity.

Among the Fraggles, there lived creatures called Doozers. They were continually building and rebuilding structures in and among the rock formations of their habitat. The Fraggles ate these structures, which is why the Doozers were constantly rebuilding.

Well, in one episode, the Fraggles feel guilty and decide to stop eating the Doozers' structures.

Casey von NeumannOctober 26, 2021111821, 122021, 122321, 092222, 102422, 051023 Comments

Just play

I’ve played so much guitar in the last 24 hours that I have blisters on the fingertips of my left hand.

Playing feels totally different than it used to, and not just because I’ve lost all my calluses. What’s changed is that I no longer have the weight of my ego to contend with.

Back when I was trying to make a career out of music, it was important to me to be good. What’s more, I needed to have a distinct identity as a performing musician—a brand. I got so distracted by trying to figure out who I wanted to be as a musician that I stopped playing for the joy of it.

Casey von NeumannSeptember 2, 2021102521, 123121, 051023Comment

On the playground together

This isn't school. You're a grownup now. Give yourself an A if you really want one.

You get out of it what you put into it — and you get to decide what that is going to look like.

There is no "I didn't finish last time," or "I can't keep up with everyone else." It's not a race. It's not a contest. There is no scorekeeper, and there's no score.

Casey von NeumannOctober 23, 2020110220, 011421, 012121, 020521, 060721, 011022, 051023Comment

Letting yourself be who you want to be

At her first piano lesson, Sophie asked me how many instruments I play.

I thought a moment. “Hmmm…piano, guitar…ukulele…a little bit of drums…so…four?”

“I play seven instruments,” she proclaimed. She breezily counted them off on her chubby six-year-old fingers. “Drums, harmonica, shaker, tambourine, recorder, guitar, and, well, now I play the piano.”

Casey von NeumannJuly 23, 2019073119, 072320, 120320, 071221, 071421, 051023Comment