Aspiring (or failed) guitarists often tell me of their troubles with strumming.
“I never could get the hang of it,” they’ll say, no matter how long they’ve been trying.
They think the problem is strumming. And they’ve probably sought help from a guitar teacher with the intent of resolving this strumming problem. However, I know the reason it didn’t work. It’s because their problem is actually their chord changes.
Read MoreTeaching music lessons is the perfect side gig!
You can spend a few hours on a Saturday morning or Tuesday afternoon, make some music, hang out with some adorable kids, and walk away with a hundred bucks or so. It’s a delightful hobby that you can get paid for.
On the other hand…teaching music lessons full time is a nightmare.
Read MoreIt used to be very difficult for me to send out a mass email to my clients. Whether I was sharing information about my policies, giving them details about an event, or offering a new service, I was deeply concerned about what they would think.
Not just they — They.
Read MoreI’ve heard a few different versions of the same story now:
“You get written up at my daughter’s school if you’re not wearing a belt! You get in trouble if you walk too close to the wall in the hallway. We’re frustrated with these rules and we’ve talked to them about finding ways that she can have more creative expression at school, but nothing seems to change.”
No, nothing will change. This is exactly what happens when there’s a mismatch of values between you and the private school you’ve chosen for your child.
Read MoreYears ago, I accompanied my grandmother’s choir on a trip to Italy. It was one of those regional tours that involve early wake-up times, many hours trapped on a charter bus, and surprise trips to Tuscan wineries for which your tour leader gets a kickback.
I have a number of grim stories to tell from the experience, but one mundane one always stands out: As I was tearing my way through Audrey Niffenegger’s inspired novel, The Time Traveler’s Wife, my grandmother was poking her way through a thriller by a second-rate author. She would read half a page, grumble about how boring the book was, and read a little more.
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