Welcome to my blog! I’m making a commitment to posting once a month starting in August 2021. I admit I’m not sure what direction this will take or if there will be a theme to my posts. In the past, it’s just my musings, so maybe a theme is in order? Any suggestions? One announcement before my actual blog post--I’m venturing into the world of online videos! I’m hearing from a number of public school music teachers that fewer students are taking private lessons for various reasons. School music teachers are still trying to generate student interest in festivals, but in my neck of the woods admission (by audition) to the district, regional, and state festivals is very challenging for flutes, especially if you have never had any private lessons. So (drumroll please!): I’m creating a series of short videos that will guide students through this year's PA Music Educators Association (PMEA) District 7 flute audition solo! These videos will be available for a fee, which will be less than the cost of a few private lessons. I’m not trying to replace private lessons--no video can really do that. But this gives students a different opportunity to try. I hope they will be helpful! This is a completely new venture for me, so please be patient as I get all of the systems set up. I hope to have videos available by the beginning of September. On to this month’s post! I am an Olympics junkie. I will watch every single evening of primetime coverage for the full two weeks. I like seeing the lesser known sports get their day in the sun, and am always inspired by the athletes and their personal stories of perseverance and determination. I identified with them this year especially (thanks, COVID). I felt a kinship watching videos of the Filipino powerlifter Hidilyn Diaz practicing with a bamboo pole with water jugs strapped to it (check out her Instagram @hildilyndiaz) and seeing the sport climbers literally climbing their kitchen cabinets and walls. Musicians too were still getting work done in isolation without much attention and fanfare. We are all just continuing to hack away at our sport or craft. I saw that these athletes also had to create ways to stay motivated and to practice without knowing what the future would hold. Italian rock climber Stefano Ghisolfi climbs his kitchen table during lockdown. These stories of perseverance made me think about the habits of successful people. I also recently read Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin, which covers this topic. In this case, I am defining success as ‘high achievement in an activity’ (but I think we individually determine what success means and looks like to us). Successful people:
These made an impression on me. I think I’m good at daily work but not always at clearly defining goals. That’s something I’m going to try to refine for myself and encourage my students too! All of this talk of success, perseverance, goals, and visualization sounded great and I was ready to spout all kinds of wisdom to you and to my students on this topic...and then Simone Biles withdrew from the gymnastics team and all-around competition. At the time of this writing, I don’t know if she will compete in the individual events yet (Update: it looks like she will compete in the balance beam individual event). First, I want to say what Biles did was huge for this sport and for mental health awareness. Bravo to her. I’m happy so many folks are supporting her and that mental health is getting well-deserved attention. This turn of events caused me question: what’s the price of success? How much pressure do we put on ourselves and our students with these goals? When does it all go too far? When do we know when a student is being pushed too far (or have pushed themselves too far)? I have not always done a great job of recognizing this in my own students, so what can I do better? I think it starts with listening and talking to them regularly. Are they happy to be playing the flute? Are they learning something or do they feel stagnant? What would help them move forward--taking on more challenges or stepping back? After stepping back, when is it time to move forward again, and at what pace? I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I hope to be more aware of creating balance. Simone Biles teaches all of us about balance.
Certainly there must be a way to have more balance in my own life and in my students’ lives. Listening to them and still holding them accountable is key. See also--well defined goals again (Ok, maybe I did have a theme to this blog post after all!) Do you have ideas about achieving goals, success, and balance? Please share them! I hope we can all look for more ways to find balance for ourselves and for our students. See you next month, and keep fluting! PS: speaking of pressure and mental health, I recommend “Sports & Mental Health: A Conversation with Michael Phelps” on Peacock TV. (I don’t get any money from them or anything for this recommendation). He says a lot of things that I related to as a musician. Also recommended: this story on the double gold medal in high jumping.
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I Write too!I write about flute, classical music, college auditions, positive mindset, and music advocacy. Archives
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