Tag: Chicago piano instructor

  • Breaks your heart

    I just watched an oldie 60 minutes report on a piano competition that happened in the 70’s. It showed 60 to 80 contestants vying for a first place that will give them fame and fortune. Every judge knows how high the stakes are. This is a make or break situation, really. If these people do…

  • Adding it up.

    I will confess I am someone who piles it up. I have an addictive personality. Don’t go just yet, I am not talking about anything bad or illegal. Let me try to explain. If you ever met me, you know I’ve been exploring different things in my life. At first, when I arrived in Chicago,…

  • Last man standing: the music teacher.

    In yesteryears schools had a budget and some buildings for extra curricular activities. There was a kitchen with a row of oven and sinks and some countertops, it mainly smelled of detergent. On the walls you’d see some pictures of cakes and roasted poultry (In reality, I do not know what you saw on the…

  • New delight

    I’ll give you a trick to find new music. Go to this website: https://www.louisianamusicfactory.com/ Usually I type in the search engine “New Orleans bands” and I’m off to the races. Let’s see. One to appear is Walter “Wolfman” Washington. Let’s check it out. The album is called “Feel so at home”. I hope I’m going…

  • Glimpses

    I remember when I started practicing the drums, I was very very bad. What I mean by that is that not only I didn’t know anything and was very bad at playing, I also discovered that I was not good at all at learning the craft. “Me Donkey” kind of thing. Any exercise I tried…

  • One man army.

    I do not have a boss. I do not have any employee or employees. I do not give checks every other week and I do not have to worry about anybody but myself. But it means that I need to combine many many different skills to be able to run my business. I could bore…

  • The long game.

    So, if you’ve been following my blogs, you know that I have no intention of retiring. You also know that I’m doing very good with my business, lots of enthusiastic people who practice, learn and have fun. If you’re wondering about my health, I’ve never felt better. Yes, better than when I was in my…

  • You know but you don’t

    This is for people who take lessons, practice regularly and might have experience the phenomenon. You go to your lesson and get a new assignment. You’re ecstatic. The teacher was great, the lesson was fun, and the material was a head scratcher but not impossible. You’re off to practice. Now you’re 2 days away from…

  • Fears

    I have been playing the drums since I was 16 years old. Just about 40 years ago. I’ve been teaching since my days in Paris in 1989. I started in Chicago in 91. I remember, at the time, in order to get a bit of advertisement going you had to put an ad in the…

  • Filling up 8 hours.

    I remember I was practicing a lot at Berklee College of Music. Like, really, a lot. 10, 12 hours a day. I Always had to rush in the late evening to make sure I wouldn’t miss the last train to get to my girlfriend. It was right then that I printed the drum set into…