Years ago, I moved to a new city with only the slimmest of job prospects (that was crazy decision number one).
I managed to find a part-time, temporary gig as an assistant teacher of music classes for older adults. We were teaching them how to play keyboard instruments, but the goal was really to sell them fancy home organs so complex that their array of buttons and dials resembled the cockpit of a 747 (the price was similar to that of an aircraft, too).
Read MoreCertain ideas can trick us into thinking that they are truths of the universe, even though they were invented by some dude somewhere.
For example, some brief research on Wikipedia suggests that the idea of a soulmate goes back to Plato — and maybe the word itself can be credited to Coleridge? (Citation needed.) And yet how many people have agonized over their missing soulmate, even to the point of dissatisfaction with a perfectly good partner, because they believe that soulmates exist and they haven’t found theirs yet?
There’s nothing wrong with you if you haven’t found your soulmate. That’s because soulmates aren’t a real thing.
Read MoreBecause I began my career as a music teacher, I’m sensitive to pressure from parents to make learning “fun.”
Learning an instrument (or anything) can be enjoyable, satisfying, and invigorating. It can also be frustrating, overwhelming, and exhausting, even when it’s going well and you love what you’re doing.
Yes, learning can be fun, too. But it isn’t inherently fun, and fun is not the goal.
To try to make things fun for kids all the time is sort of like feeding them sweet snacks constantly. It doesn’t allow them to develop a taste for anything else. And yet, even young children have a surprising capacity to appreciate other flavors.
Read MoreHaving spent over a decade teaching music lessons, I can say for certain:
Music lessons aren’t where you learn to play an instrument.
Sure, they help. But the real work is done without your teacher, by yourself, playing and evaluating.
If you are unable or unwilling to spend this time “in the woodshed,” you will not achieve your goal of playing an instrument, no matter how much time and money you spend on the lessons themselves.
Read MoreWhen I look back at my college career at the University of Maine, many of my fondest memories revolved around being a member of the University Singers under the direction of Dr. Dennis K. Cox.
I have learned many things from DC, including the beauty of choral literature and the magic that can be created by a joyful group of people unified in their sound and their intent. However, one lesson I’ve never forgotten was one applicable not to choir, but to life in general. He told us, “When faced with a decision, it doesn’t matter what you choose, as long as you commit to it one hundred percent.”
Read MoreThis was a sentiment I had heard many times from adult students. Coming from a fifty-year-old with a demanding job and family obligations, it had a veneer of validity. I had often had a similar thought myself, as I compared my career to those of the people I aspired to be like.
However, hearing the same exact words from a small child caused me to question my beliefs. His words confirmed for me that the concern about running out of time and falling behind is driven by fear, not reality.
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