Method
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What makes a Most Valuable Performer?
Congratulations! Really. You help make our world a brighter place because you share live music with your circles of influence. Bravo, and well done! In fact… Thank you. Have you ever taken a moment to consider what it takes for orchestras, bands, choirs, and other ensembles to be truly effective in their music-making? A Most Valuable Performer, is what. You, or someone you love, is either an MVP already or they might be a really good MVP. An MVP is someone who leads by example, who takes the time to learn, grow, share, and encourage. They are interested in more than just playing or singing well; they are the people…
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How musicians are being held hostage by their limiting beliefs
Attention-grabbing headlines turn heads and sensationalize what might otherwise be just a strong, solid response to a problem, not an actual hostage situation. What’s the problem? Our motivation is being held at ransom How many musicians do you know struggle with thinking they are not good enough? Perhaps they want to come across as humble or self-deprecating, when in fact, it was an expectation of others that eventually became an internal, limiting belief. Our thoughts and beliefs are what drive us to accomplish anything, and many times performers let those thoughts and beliefs subdue our true potential, our desires, and our motivation to get better. I’ve seen it a hundred…
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Become an expert by focusing on one thing at a time
Of all the options available to musicians, how does anyone become an expert? Perhaps a better question would be… What should I become an expert in? We choose what we study Because musicians focus so much on the technical aspect of performing, many of them get labeled and boxed into believing they are only good at that one thing. One of the most obvious examples would be “early music” – formal music from the Middle Ages through the 16th-18th centuries. It’s so much fun exploring and trying all the extinct instruments and techniques and tools they used to share music hundreds of years ago! And some of the specialists of…
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Why understanding (not replication or competition) is the key to learning and winning
There was a time when we all learned by replicating someone else. Walking. Laughing. Writing. As we got older and our minds began to have conscious thoughts, we shifted our learning more towards understanding. Why is a letter shaped this way? Why does joined-up handwriting have serif marks? Why should we use joined-up writing? Why do I need to handwrite anymore, anyway? After we moved from replicating to understanding, we usually ended up going too far. Anything more than five “why’s” and you’re beginning to swim in mud. We end up focusing less on a good outcome than we do on how our efforts contribute to keeping the galaxy spinning…
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How labeling people creates a “box” that doesn’t actually exist
A pet peeve of mine is that awful cliché “think outside the box”, because we like assigning labels to almost everything these days. Ugh. A box implies there are limits – boundaries. When it comes to our thinking or attitudes, nothing could be more damaging to the self than confining our experiences and worldviews to specific labels. Don’t be fooled: There is no box! Labels expose judgment Humans like to classify things because it feels easier to process life this way. Believe me, our brains can cope without labels! We remember everything we see, hear and feel; recalling it is the problem. And in order to do that, when we…
