Out on the water, our small rowing team is waiting for a command from the coxswain.
“Gimme a minute to think,” she says. We patiently sit at oars. “Okay, port side, hold water, starboard side, give way together.” The boat begins to move.
Dealing with a large group of children is a little more challenging than a handful of adults, but an experienced teacher can quickly bring a raucous group to order using teacher vibes.
Read MoreWhen people call my music school inquiring about lessons for adults, they often wonder in all sincerity if it’s even possible for them to learn. “I’m thirty-two. Is it too late for me to learn how to play the piano?”
Whenever I’m asked a question like this, I jokingly tell respond that they should’ve called a week earlier, and now it’s too late.
People get the “too late” idea from a misinterpretation of the research that shows that from the birth to age six, human beings have a much higher capacity for absorbing language and music. It’s during this time that children actually develop not only skill and knowledge in these areas, but the aptitude itself. In other words, they it’s not so much their ability but their potential ability that’s increasing. A child who has a lot of exposure to music during their formative years, then, will have increased potential in music as an adult.
Read MoreThere is a thought that is incredibly destructive anything you may be trying to do, whether you are standing with a parachute on your back about to jump out of a plane, putting pencil to paper to take an important exam, or holding your newborn baby for the first time.
The thought is: ¨Maybe I just can’t do this.¨
This thought holds us back from lots of things that we could be great at. It delays our progress for years or even decades in an activity or skill that might really benefit us. It destroys our confidence and prevents as for moving forward, resulting in a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Read MoreMaybe it’s from mom. Or dad. Or grandpa or grandma…or their grandma and grandpa.
It probably goes back farther than that, because it’s so ingrained in most of us that we don’t even see it. To paraphrase David Foster Wallace, it’s like water to a fish — so ubiquitous we’re unaware of it.
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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