I must be nuts. Every day for the last 40 years, I’ve been thinking mainly about one thing: music. That’s not only a long time, but it’s crazy. Now, let’s tame that statement a bit, shall we? I’ve crossed different eras in my journey, some intense some not so intense. There were some times when I simply didn’t have the mental space to dedicate to music because I was going through a rough patch, yes, that’s true, but also when I was living something exciting, like discovering woodwork. Sometimes there are not enough hours in a day.
During my time as a musician I discovered a few things that I want to share with you today. First off: pace yourself, this is a Marathon, not a sprint. Once you know that you’ve been bitten by the music bug, you can relax into it. I get in my studio some brand new customers that think I want to make pros out of them and therefore that I will demand that they dedicate their whole free time to drums or piano. No. I am per force a hobbyist myself. Every professional musician is a hobbyist. Why? Because there is always something to discover, some unexplored territories, some concepts to unearth, there are always some old exercises to review, to perfect or to speed up and there is never enough time to do al that. Sting said that he’s an eternal student of music. Very well put, Mr. Sting! I agree.
Another little tit bit I want you to ruminate is this: be flexible. I’ll give you a simple example. If your piano playing become stale, switch to drums! Haha! Jokes aside, the advice is still valid. You don’t have to concentrate on just one thing. Yes, you can practice your instrument as you did before. But don’t forget to travel through new territories. Are you someone who doesn’t go to concerts very much? Well, it might be good for you to go see some musicians on stage. Are you someone who goes to concerts a bit too much? You could invest in a good sound system to be able to listen to music at home. Are you the kind who ‘s getting tired of Rock n’ Roll? Good! May I suggest you try another genre of music like Jazz or Classical and see where it takes you? Are you someone who doesn’t have an environment which understand your devotion to music? That’s all right, you can always take piano or drum lesson and find a teacher you can share your passion with.
One might remark that it is tricky to keep music alive and well in one’s life. I would beg to differ, especially in our digital world. Music is more diverse in both its form and its concepts than ever before. Do you have a phone, a computer, a tablet? (You must since you’re reading this blog.) These are the very tools that will open the floodgates. All the music of the world is available to you at all times. Can’t be more democratic than that: everyone has access to it. What is not readily available is new ways to look at music or how to navigate that Tsunami of information. Again, a good music teacher might be a precious guide.
