Just Because Something is Easy
Just because something is easy doesn’t mean you’re not learning.
Growth
Learning Sounds Messy
Zip your lips and let ’em go.
You Can’t Wait Till You’re Ready
You’ll never start. I’ve had a lot of students over the years who knew they were going to accomplish something specific – as soon as they were ready. “I’m going to be a composer, once I’ve taken all the classes to have the skills.” “I’m going to write a book, […]
Lower The Stakes
What are you trying to get better at? What are the stakes you’ll have when you’re good and how can you lower those stakes now? I got good at writing by lowering the stakes. If I had sat down at my computer and said, “I’m going to write an essay […]
It’s An Assignment
I tend not to think about the projects I work on as jobs. I think of them as educational assignments. The projects are there to help me learn a lesson, develop a skill, or chart a path towards whatever I’m going to do in the future. My writing here? Helping […]
When the Group Locks
Pity it happens at the end. One of the great tragedies of school ensembles is that they end just when the group locks. My ensemble learned new notes and basic choreography in mere minutes today – things that would have taken much more time in September. They lock because they […]
Strong Emotions
Strong emotions are valuable messages, if we take the time to listen. I’m just home from our choirs’ farewell concert, complete with all the tears that traditionally accompany its end. Those sorts of strong emotions help to tell us what we value. Even when we can’t necessarily verbalize our values, […]
Lack Of Motivation
It’s easy to think that lack of motivation connotes lack of interest: if I’m not motivated to work on something, it must mean I’m not interested in it. The truth is more complicated. I might lack motivation because I’m tired. I might lack motivation because the goal is so distant […]
Anticipate Sooner
The trick to successfully avoiding last-minute scrambling is to anticipate the problem sooner. If you see a challenge a week out instead of the day of, you’re going to have so much more time to prepare for, adjust to, and solve a problem. The day it arrives, you’ll be in […]
Discrete Mastery
The more discrete and actionable you can make the steps of an educational goal, the better. After graduate school, I had to decide to call myself a musician. It took getting used to, and I think the reason is that I was used to calling myself a music major or […]