Connection Experiment: The Podcast: Recent Episodes
Connection Experiment
The process of making music and learning how to play the piano is about authentic Connection. Everything we do is based on our core belief that everyone is a creative artist: it’s just a matter of tapping into what you already have and embracing your creative voice. Join us as we dive deep to discuss impactful questions, listen to music, reflect on performances, and connect with other musicians and artists.
We are wrapping up our first season of the Podcast!
Thank you so much for joining us on this journey, it has been so much fun connecting with you, and our guests. Season 1 has been beautiful as it represents our imperfection and learning stage, but we are excited to bring you Season 2 in the new year.
We also have another EXCITING announcement:
Starting in October we are launching the Connection Experiment Method!
Starting in October, we are launching The Connection Experiment Method. And we are so stoked for this. The method is basically in October it's going to be a four-week program. And then starting in January 2023, it's going to be a much larger program.
It's basically a program that we designed around a lot of the philosophies of why we founded Connection Experiment, you know, there are so many toxic ideas thrown around about being a musician, like perfection is the standard and being a musician is such a struggle, and we should always like where that struggle is a badge of honor, or that creativity is exhausting. And we know and, you know, from listening to our podcasts that we don't believe that we know that none of that is true, but it's really hard to live our lives every single moment and remember that in practice, that can definitely be a struggle, especially when you're so immersed in an experience.
Like everybody is in their day-to-day lives. So we know that we don't need to be perfect. We know that our imperfections are the secret weapon to success. And being a musician doesn't have to be a struggle. You can make a living you can work the hours you want. You can be fulfilled by this career. Creativity doesn't have to be exhausting. We just have to learn how to operate from a place of fullness, and not let it get exhausting. Those are the reasons of why we created the method to really serve musicians that are struggling with these things that we have also struggled with and to help them get beyond all of that.
Yeah, it's something that I really wish I would have known about, like 10 years ago when I was in college and something that I continue to desperately need which is continual work in my “why” right? We created the method because we're like, Okay, why are we creating, why are we doing music? Why are we artists? Why are we doing this? And I think that when we get sucked into society's standards of what talent is, it's really it's almost immediate the way that we compare ourselves to other people's talent. Or ability or appearance. There's an old saying, “Don't compare your outsides to other people don't compare your insides to other people's outsides.” And I think that as artists, it's so easy to look at somebody else and think that they have talent that you don't, and etc.
So we created this because we want to get that out of the way because we all have something to say musically. We're all artistic, we all have creativity inside of us. And this method is about losing what's not us so that we can embrace what is. So we have all these different ways of doing it. We're gonna have journal prompts, we have classes weekly where we'll connect with other people in in the arena. So you'll have coaching sessions with Ashlee or I where you get to have one on one conversations and feel empowered and we're gonna practice taking risks and speaking positivity around why we do what we do, because being an artist takes so much bravery, so much bravery, and we are here to all support one another.
We're really excited about it and we really hope you'll join us yes, definitely. So, thank you so much for being here with us today. As we wrap up Season One. It feels like the end of an era but it’s not, we'll be back. We'll be back for season two in January 2023!!
If you are going to be missing our conversations, and if you want to stay tuned and stay connected with us, we recently opened our private Facebook group up to be for anyone. And so we would love it if you would join us in our Facebook group. You can connect with us on the Daily you can see you know, continue to be a part of these conversations that we will continue to have in the Facebook group between now and the next season of the podcast, and the link for that is in the show notes.
You can also follow us on Instagram where daily we have content coming out that continues these conversations as well. If you have liked season one and if you've been enjoying our message, we would love it if you would take a screenshot share this on social media, or go ahead and give us a rating or a review, that really bumps us up in the algorithm and we would love for as many people that need this message to be able to find this message.
And then lastly, if you are interested in The Method, and it sounds like a good fit for you, we're gonna go ahead and include a link to the method in the show notes so that you can read more about it and look at the schedule and figure out more details on all of that and of course, if you have any questions, please reach out to us you can DM us on Instagram and we are happy to answer any questions that you have.
Thanks so much for helping us out. This has been such a journey. And even as Ashlee was telling you how you can help us out there is a little bit of buzzing happening. So you can see that this was this is a learning experience for us. So thanks for your patience. So this is what we're doing right so for all your listeners out there, you get it. This is the learning process. Right. So just to reiterate what Ashlee was saying, like make sure that please take a screenshot, and rate us. Tell us what you think it makes such a huge difference and we really want you to join our social media so please find Connection Experiment on Instagram, Facebook, you name it.
And please join us for the method starting in October of 2022. It's going to be phenomenal and it'll be even better if you're there. Thank you so much for your support. We love you.
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Jay is a sound engineer for Low Bar Chorale and also has a really expansive musical history. In this episode, we talked about how he got involved in the music scene as a musician and a sound engineer. Jay also shares his story of a time that he was pulled away from music, and what brought him back.
"There was a big time where I wasn't didn't play music. I didn’t do sound, like anything but there was another time when I stopped being a musician for quite a while. The first part of my musical life started in high school when I just learned to have started guitar lessons when I was 11. I would just play in bands or just do whatever I could get anybody to do. I did a lot of singer-songwriter stuff. I was really into Neil Young. I had a 12-string Martin and I saved up all my pennies for back when that was enough to actually get it closer and learn. But, then I came to Portland. I grew up in San Diego, I came to Portland to go to Reed College, but then in the fall of my freshman year, a couple of friends of mine were going to college at the University of California Berkeley. Well, let's just say I decided to make a change in plans..."
To stay up to date with what's happening with Jay and The Low Bar Chorale, or to attend one of their events at the Show Bar (in person or virtually) visit:
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Let us know in the comments what you think and how you feel about these questions! What are your answers?!
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Welcome, Arietta. We're so excited to have you. I have played a couple of shows now with Arietta through the Low Bar Corral, which if you haven't heard of the Low Bar, it's pretty amazing. And you got to check them out. Ben, who leads the group was like, "Oh my gosh, this is such a cool podcast, and you have got to talk to Arietta because she is amazing and so in line with what you gals are doing." Arietta I can't wait to hear from you. But before we start, can I introduce you a little bit with your bio? Absolutely.
Okay. So Northwest vocal powerhouse, Arietta Ward's mission is to spread music, joy and happiness in the masses through song. Her diverse musical background and vocal versatility has allowed her to perform as a bandleader and in various configurations with artists such as Esperanza Spalding, the late West African master drummer Obo Addy, the late Linda Hornbuckle, Curtis Salgado, Lloyd Jones, Nigel Hall, Jared Lawson, Tony Rozier, final Newton and Tyrone Hank Hendrix while starting out with her mother, the famed Northwest legendary pianists delete Janice Scroggins so welcome Are ya know, right. It's funny to have people read back all the things that you've done.
It took a long time to get to where I am. And oh, I reflect all the time and I look around me I have like different things around my house. Oh, I did that or Oh, that was when… My first occupation my first career was a cosmetology instructor, I taught people how to do hair and cut hair and do nails, and facials for 20 something years and I'm not gonna say it's a byproduct, but it's the family business. For me. And I know what I'm supposed to do now I have to figure it out. You know, sometimes you have to go through things to understand your true calling. And this is I ran from it from a lot of for a long time and it's it's what I'm supposed to do. I'm supposed to make people happy.
I feel like there's a lot to unpack there. Do you mind sharing about your journey with music or cosmology and how you left that and found music again, just tell us whatever you're willing to share? Because it sounds like there's a story there.
Oh, if it is if there were layers, just like you know, Shrek, there’s layers and I know “Onion- there’s layers”. I love cartoons. Anyway. One of the one of the biggest things for me it was my stage fright. It was crippling. It pops up every now and again. And it's something that I actively have to work on. And that stopped me for a lot of lot of years and with cosmetology you know, you make people beautiful and stuff and you're in front of people. I am an introvert and I don't really like to be out in crowds, but you see me on stage. You're like how can it be? It’s a switch. And in 2008 I turned the switch on. It was just that somebody had made me very upset. And one of my mother's things, she always just used to say is if somebody makes you upset, then write it out, sing it out and do that. It won't stay in your body, it won't fester and turn into something awful.
At that point in time, Tony Ozier became one of my dear friends and we had a mutual acquaintance and we used to hang out all the time. And I told Tony look, I want to sing something. I didn't know what it was. But I sang on a recording and that just turned on things. And then the rest is history. But it was slow moving and the journey… When I was actively teaching and doing I would justhave dreams about being on stage because I was around my mom all the time and round all these wonderful players and like Curtis and Lloyd they're, they're considered family to me, and I didn't realize their placement in the music here in Portland and they were the way mixers for a lot of blues. And that I just recently found that out late last year.
I didn't realize how much royalty I was around. Me singing on stage and I was like how can that be? I don't sing,I teach people how to do hair. I said it for years and I got in a really really big argument about it. I said I'm the wrong sister. That's my sister because my sister and I'm sorry and she's a wonderful vocalist herself and when when I look back now, I can't imagine myself without music.
It's literally, you make choices in life and things turn on when it's supposed to have them and there were different there's different cliffs I jumped off to elevate and a lot of it is about self esteem and, and a lot of self talk negative self talk and all kinds of depression. There's a lot of different things that I had to work through to get to where I am and when you start to remember who you are, when you know that the gift that you're giving is not yours to sit on it for the greater good and you have to use it or you’re gonna lose it.
So that's where I am now and I'm working I'm working and things are moving and I've met so many beautiful people like yourself and all those different different circumstances and happenings has been serendipitous and all these different types of things. You know, nothing happens by coincidence and happens when it's supposed to.
I believe that I believe in coincidence anymore. I think that everything kind of opens up in this really serendipitous sort of way. It's too perfect, you know, and I I don't want to go so far as to say everything happens for a reason because I know a lot of people I don't know where I stand with that. But I do believe that when you look back, you can see this beautiful web of events that have created this opportunity for you to be exactly where you are.
Where did you see serendipity manifest, you know, with your whole like, coming back to music after leaving like what what was it that moment when somebody made you upset or was it was there another moment where you're like, Hmm, this is too perfect. Like it was kind of like a hit you over the head moment from you know, whatever source you follow? Was there a moment that was sort of like okay, this is not coincidence. I'm supposed to do music?
There have been a lot of one was when I did the beloved festival, I was asked to to bring a gospel ensemble out to the beloved festival that's in Tidewater, Oregon, and that was in 2017. It was crazy how we got there, and you know, I was singing with the Burlington Interfaith Gospel Choir and that is led by LaRhonda Steele. And if you're not familiar with it, it's intergenerational, inner faith, you know, it’s like is everything everybody under the sun come together to celebrate Black American music, Gospel.
It’s all inclusive and it doesn't matter who or if you believe, you honor the music and that's where it is, you know, because music is universal period. Anyway, we were singing up at the Grotto and I sang the song and the monitors weren’t working. And I was like, well fine. So I just moved the mic out of the way and sang, and it was during the holiday time and somebody that was contacted me to put something together for this festival and I think okay, well, that's fine. I wanted in a traditional way. Well, we're going to do it. How am I going to do it? Anyway, write it up. And when I came over the ridge, and at least 10 of us that went, you know, and I had a LaRhonda and her daughter had my sister, my niece and so many different generations, all women. And we sang and it wasn't until I saw the stage that I realized that I had seen it before. And it was the weirdest thing. And it's not weird. It's one of those come around mums, right? Yeah.
It was early, a few few years ago, is before my mom passed. And I had a dream that we after I started. We were all seeing, you know, the kids were singing together on a wonderful stage. It was big and everything so everybody was there, including my mom, as this happened in 2017. My mom passed in 2014. And so when I came over the stage and it was purple and gold, and purple and gold were my mom's favorite colors. So I was like oh, she is here. She's running it. So those types of things happen all the time. I see different things or different instances that I have glimpses or, you know when you get a special kind of thank you for you know singing a certain song or a song is on your heart and I don't know who it's for, but somebody comes up to you. specifically says something about those words. For me, it's vessel ship. I don't know where things come. You know, just, you just share messages that are brought to you and you lift people up. And it's what you supposed to what you're supposed to do. I have a lot of those moments. I look in the mirror, I see pictures of me in front of a mic. And I'm like, thats me singing… I said I would never do it. 15 years ago you couldnt tell me I would be making a living off of music. I didn't think I was strong enough.
Arietta, that is so that's an amazing story, the purple and the gold stage, just your mom being present there. And also Yeah, just like you said, you can't sit on it and hide it. You know, you need to search for it and share it and be a vessel of that message so other people can hear that song that they need to hear or whatever it might be. And I think just it's so easy to get caught up with, being fearful of being judged or being thought that you're not good enough to do that job. I think what we forget is we bring our unique personal experiences to the music that we play and sing and that makes that makes our message really important and unique and special. And something that only we can do as individuals.
I hear you It's interesting when you look back and you're like, I don't think I music would be the thing I did professionally but I think the more we talk about that the more we understand how similar we all really are, you know, and maybe some people are farther down the path than others but really it's it's we all have that something whatever it is, maybe it's singing maybe it's something else music or maybe it's art or whatever you do have that unique voice because of our life experiences that we owe it to ourselves but even more so to others to share you know and give.
I'm just so grateful and you are such a phenomenal and inspiring performer. In the few performances that I have gotten to be a part of, you really do warm the stage with your energy and your spirit.
I want to wrap up with a question. With everything that you're bringing with you, do you actively honor your authentic musical voice?
My own authentic voice. I don't know how to be anybody else. So I just remember, everybody has their own thing. As a collective, we shine as bright as we can. And it took me a long time to figure out how to shine and to remember that nobody can shine like me. So if I see somebody, you know, going across the water to London or I see somebody doing this world tour or playing this big stage or you know, I remind myself that it's not my time to be there, it will happen either on a different time and it's okay. But, you know, you just gotta, I just walk that's all I know how to do. And when I just walk I you know, Ijust flash a smile, be authentic in my walk and don't compromise. I can't say it like that I don't compromise. What I mean is don't allow people to try to shift your trajectory from where you are supposed to be. You know how some people just talk in your ear and they just like, oh, maybe… there'll be people try to shift your step.
But it's, it's important to just walk walk in your power. And so I walk in mine, at times it's harder than others but I have to walk because there's people that are looking at me and I know that but also walk because I want to do it not because people expect me to.
Keep your vision and your truth. This has been so rejuvenating!
If you have loved this conversation you can follow Ms.Arietta on social media and her website by following the links below:
Website: www.mzettasworld.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealMzArietta
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mzetta9, https://www.instagram.com/mz.ettasworld
Hello, everybody, welcome in are so excited to be here with you today. Thanks for spending your time with us. I am going to ask Stephanie a super deep amazing question.
So Stephanie, I am curious, is there ever a time that you thought you would quit playing the piano? And why did you persevere?
So let's see here. Is there ever a time? I started learning piano when I was very young, and, you know, was very consistent up to a certain point, around like 10 or 11. My parents got divorced and there wasn't a lot of consistency in my household. I was really grateful for those first five years of playing. But really, though, in my teenage years, I kind of dabbled with piano. I played sometimes, but it was sort of one of those things where I just wasn't really sure how it's gonna lead me or where it was going to lead me at all at that time. Obviously, you don't know anything when you're a teenager, but I feel like some, some kids and some teens seem to have a really clear vision and I don't think that I ever would have guessed that music would be what I ended up doing professionally.
I decided to go to college for piano because I was accompanying for a church at the time, and they needed an accompanist. I had this issue where I had to drop out because I would get lost in the music and I was just the sort of humiliating experience for a 17 year old 16 year old where it's like, you know, you forget where you are, and you stop playing while drunk station is singing and that continue to happen. So I decided I wanted to go to college to be good at accompanying this church.
I thought, well, I'm not going to be good enough to be a pianist, so I'm gonna have to probably be like a choir director or a band. Director, but I'm like, I don't really play a band instrument and I don't want to teach people how to sing in choir. I have minimal experience with that, especially at that time. So I thought, I think just like I'm gonna just go for it and see, so I practiced a bunch in my undergraduate degree, to the point where I was able to get my performance degree and then move to Portland State.
I've had this weird sort of imposter syndrome thing where it's like, like I was able to catch up. And I think it's attributed to the fact that I played for like, years really consistently as a very young child. And then I really pushed into hyperdrive when I hit college. But I always had this sort of impostor syndrome thing that really kicked in probably once I started getting my master's degree, so I strongly considered fully quitting music. When I had done a performance that was in preparation for my graduate recital. And I'd had a series of other experiences before where, you know, I was like, why are you doing this? You know, but it wasn't full on.
I think it's just sort of the imposter syndrome thing. It just kept coming up where it was just like…
Are you really good enough to be doing this?
If anybody knew that you didn't really practice when you were a teenager?
If anybody really knew that, you didn't get the music scholarships in college?
It’s funny how you tell yourself these weird kinds of stories and whether they're true or not, they're seriously unhelpful. When I was at my graduate recital, preparation, performance, and it was one of those things where it's just like, I was really busy. Long story short, I had a tough performance. I basically took a giant shit all over the piano, excuse my French and I couldn't remember how to play notes very well at all.
This is a very intimate performance and has been promoted. So there were probably 30 people but I didn’t know any of them. They're all classical music lovers and knew all the pieces I was performing and I just didn't do well. And I remember it was like one of those things where I was done and I left and I went into the back room. And I remember my professors, she was like, you just need to go back out there and acknowledge everybody and shake their hand and say thank you for coming. And I was like, I cannot do that. I'm sorry. This is not something that I can do. i This is way too much for me. I'm quitting.
Then she was like, these people showed up to hear you. You need to go out there and thank every single person for coming. And that's probably one of the hardest things I've ever done honestly, because you know, when you have some of those shameful experiences, all you want to do is run the other direction and never see anybody that you had the experience of in front of ever again. But it's one of the greatest lessons I ever learned.
And one of the people that I talked to I played the Chopin Polonaise and it was really literally it was it was maybe got like 20% of the notes, but this lady told me she was like that Chopin Polonaise made me cry. It was so emotional, and I'm like, I don't know if you were feeling my emotion. I'm sure you got some emotion, but I don't know if it's what Chopin intended.
But anyway, after hat I remember I was on the swing set with one of my best friends who was also preparing for a recital. It's just like, I can never do this again. And it was just kind of that facedown moment where you just feel humiliated and you feel like all this work has been for naught and you it's just the culmination of all the garbage.
But then I just remember, after a while, I was like, this, just, you know, like, this is just, this is just gonna be how it's gonna be. And it ultimately no one else gets to determine the trajectory of my life except for me. And I think what really made me decide to like, why would I continue if that's what's gonna happen? Because sometimes that just happens in matter what it is. It could be a relationship, it could be a goal, be really literally anything like you're gonna have some serious face down hard, knock me down moments where it feels like complete and utter crap. And I think that it would help me to remember that I had to go out and thank people for coming. So there was so much gratitude that I kind of was forced to feel that now and in retrospect, I'm like, Oh, I really feel so much gratitude that I had to do that and that those people came.
I think that we need those moments where we don't do well, and so many people quit, because they had a bad experience. Where they had a meltdown on stage. I've had several of those too. I didn't tell you that. So those stories, but those have been to me too. I have so many students, and other fellow musicians who quit because they just have that one moment where they're like, I have to quit. I cannot ever feel like this again.
But then you realize it 's just taking a risk in life, like life is full of risks. And if you don't fall in, you're never going to know what's going to happen and those risks will always teach you something profound. And I don't know exactly why I continue because it is painful at times. But, the thing is, is you could argue that for life, right? I mean, sometimes life is really hard and sometimes life is really painful. And it's worth it to persevere because those moments really you into a deeper and equally more enlightened human being I would argue. And so I guess it's like, you know, why do I perceive you what?
Because there's only one direction either forward or you don't know, and I think that every time I'd question quitting, I'm like, what if I quit I'm only letting me down. You know, and if it's not this, we'll take a risk with something else. And then we have a big failure with that and welcome to the frickin world.
It's just a reminder that failure does not equal termination. Failure can be beautiful. In fact, it always is, especially in retrospect. And I think that if we can just remember that if we are brave enough to take a risk, and if we have courage to put ourselves out there in front of other people, the result doesn't really even matter because that courage that you had to pull upon to do something that was scary is so character developing and just really beautiful.
I hope that wasn't too much of a tangent but I just think like for all of you listeners out there, who have quit or who are considering it or whatever. have had a face down moment. I just want to remind you all have had those and it's worth it to keep going if you want to because there's so much richness on the other side of the lunch.
I'm so curious actually to hear what you have to say. Is there ever a time you thought you would quit music or piano and why did you persevere?
Yes, definitely. I loved everything inside and I fully agree and it's funny because as you were kind of wrapping up I was thinking, you know, this is really just good advice for life in general. And then that's exactly where I went. And I fully agree. I think that yeah, so for me, I also started pretty young. There were definitely times along my journey where I wanted to, and, you know, my mom encouraged me to continue on and I'm so glad that she did. Because I wouldn't be where I am right now.
But in a more extreme way, I did quit for a bout. I guess, technically for a year.
So in 2015, I left the United States and went and taught English in Korea for a year and a large catalyst of doing that for me was that I was not happy doing what I was doing. I graduated from grad school in Los Angeles. And I was teaching a private studio when I was driving around to people's homes.
And I was so burnt out and so exhausted and what I was doing and how I was spending my time with music did not look at all how I intended it and I wasn’t doing the things that I went to school for. I wasn’t happy doing what I was doing. I mean I've always loved teaching, but the way in which I was doing it and the way I was running my business and the way that I didn't know why I'm doing what I was doing was really, really hard for me.
So much so that I was like wow, okay, well you know, I feel like I had this experience in school where I practiced four to eight hours a day and I went to school and I learned about music And I loved all of that. And how do I actually now make money, and make it sustainable and make this a career and do this day in and day out for the rest of my life? And so overwhelming and I didn't like what was happening and so I decided to go to Korea and teach English for a year.
Going into that, I knew that I was quitting for an amount of time, so I put time on it. I said I'm not going to do anything related to music for this year. And I'm gonna have this completely different experience.I always felt like studying abroad would be amazing, but I didn't ever do in college or grad school. And my test myself was really funny, because I tested myself: Let's see if I miss music. I never stopped since I was when I started. I'd never seen any length of time off other than maybe like, a couple of years. But most of my teachers growing up, taught through the summer, so I had really never had time off. And so my test was if I go to Korea and teach for a year, will I miss music? And if so, that will inform me on what my life will be when I get back.
So I went and about I want to say for 5 or 6 months, I did not miss music. I was having a great time doing other things. I was able to get rid of my guilt about not practicing. I enjoyed the experience and then I started to feel like something was missing. And I really felt like a deep way of expression was missing. But again, I did have things inside I didn't know how to express and I ended up after six months finding a piano school where I could go and they were so kind, the people that owned this piano school. I offered to pay a monthly fee to come use a practice room and they just let me do it. They're like here's a key you can come anytime you like just come in and mess and so I mean I wasn't like practicing intentionally but I did go maybe once or twice a week and for my own enjoyment out that to be what was.
And so then during that 6 months where I was kind of having this different experience. I realized that I didn't want to quit music and I didn't want to give up on everything that I had done. But when I came back to the states, if I was going to continue on doing music, it had to be totally different than how I was doing it before. And so I was thinking about, Why do I play music and I think that is really what helped me persevere. I had to get down to the why and I had to get more in alignment with not doing it the way it didnt work, but what was missing? What was it about music that I did miss? And how do I make sure that coming back to me that I had a goal in the forefront of my eyes? Always in any choice that I make regarding music.
Basically I came back, and met you Stephanie.
I did figure out that the reason that I do music is because of connection. I love connecting with music and that part of myself I love connecting with, with other musicians and audience members when I’m performing. Stephanie had a similar take and we founded Connection Experiment. A concert series is how it started really to highlight that connection through performance and that evolved into having classes together and having a membership and now here we are doing this podcast.
So, it was hard. Getting in touch with the “why” is a really important thing, always. And sometimes we won't have the answer and sometimes we're not ready to see the answer. But I tried to use that now when my life is out of alignment. I'm feeling a lot of resentment and resentment for not enjoying what I'm doing. Why am I doing it?
And it's such an important question and one that I think we forget to ask because we get wrapped up in the hustle or in some of the things we think we’re supposed to be doing. But I think it’s so important to ask why, always. And when we start to ask why. Then we get to some of those other really important questions about, you know, are these things I really want? Is this on my priority list? Is there a way that I could be doing it differently? Is there a way that I could spend my time that would change this? All those other questions are super important that not only impact music but our entire lives. So, that's my answer.
Yeah, everything you said really resonates. And I think that if we can just remember our why and why am I doing this, you know, and like realizing that you miss those qualities that music brings, that you can express yourself through music yeah, there's just so much beauty and connection through music.
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Today we're gonna be talking about rewriting musical stories. So Ashley, are there any musical stories that you'd like to rewrite?
So many. I'm gonna clarify that when we're talking about musical stories, what I'm thinking of is stories that I tell myself about myself or about music or about practice, or whatever it is. I think we all have stories and sometimes, we make up really helpful stories and oftentimes we make up not helpful stories or stories that can directly interfere with our goals and with what we really truly want.
One of my tendencies is to think of things as kind of the two extremes of things. So for example, when I have a practice goal, or when I have a performance coming up and I'm working towards something, if I make a mistake, and I skip a day then I have a tendency to think that, “oh my god, it's gonna be awful.” Like, I missed that one day and now I'm never practicing again, and I'm not gonna learn anything.Everything's going to be awful.
So I guess a little bit of some catastrophizing happening there. And I think that that is super harmful to my to everything, but especially to my musical journey, and I have to catch myself and I think sometimes I can, and sometimes I like get to a point where I've, like weaved some sort of psychological spiral and then I realized, and it's never fun when that happens. So I guess the long winded musical story that I would like to rewrite is that, if I don't practice, that means I will never be X, Y, and Z. Or if I don't reach a goal that means I will never reach the goal or whatever it is those stories that all have to do with catastrophizing or going to the extreme of any situation.
I have a couple of things that come into mind of specific situations or specific events that happened in college or in grad school or even after that where something didn't go the way that I wanted it to go. And there were really,really dark moments after that where it felt like because that thing didn't happen… everything would be bad after that.
And I think that one of the things that's helpful to remember in music and in life is that, and I think of it with running or with working out. If I don't do a workout on one day, that actually doesn't mean anything about any other day. And the same is true of piano practice. On the one hand, yes, it's a bummer if we miss a day of practice, or if we don't get the stuff done that we want to get done. And sure it might have the potential to alter little things maybe in the next few days and adjustments might need to be made to our routine to make up for that or to you know, deal with that. But it doesn't mean anything about you as a person. It doesn't mean anything about the end result. It doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of life.
Remembering that and kind of rewriting my catastrophizing tendencies to that has been helpful and can be helpful when I remember to do it, just to keep myself in a headspace where I can learn. Obviously, if I miss a day of practice and I'm catastrophizing it, the next day is going to be harder and the next day is going to be harder and that mindset, and that story that I'm telling myself 100% impacts what comes after that. So I know that's not like it's specific and General at the same time, but only because I think I have a lot of experiences to draw on from that one thing.
What about you, Stephanie? Are there any musical stories that you would like to rewrite?
The whole thing you were saying about catastrophizing that's such a big thing for me too. Like if one little thing is off, then it's really funny how and It’ll happen without me knowing it, like all of a sudden, like I'll be in this web of catastrophizing, I really think that's an appropriate word. This one event and then all of a sudden, if I don't keep my eye on it, it just has become this event, like this story. I think that it's good to think about these things, because our stories all come from somewhere. And I know like you were referencing a couple instances where, these stories were reinforced that maybe if you missed a day of practice, then you weren't gonna be able to catch up or whatever the stories were, you know, there are events that spark those stories.
I think that for all of us, it's helpful to understand where the story comes from, because if you know where it is, there's that thing where it's like, don't look where you fell, look where you tripped. And I think it's that whole concept of, if you fall somewhere like the falling in and of itself is not, it's not the thing that caused you to land on your face. It's that moment where you tripped and if you can find where you tripped and really stop that. So with my musical, I mean, I have a lot of musical stories or just stories in general that I'd like to rewrite and it's hard to choose which one honestly, because it's weird because I feel like I'm co conscious. I know I want to rewrite the story and yet I also feel like I have, I continue to relive them in different ways. And it's funny because I understand that I want to change and yet I'll send myself back in the same mental pattern. So that's the challenging part is, it's not like I can say “oh, I have these musical stories I want to change now”, and I decide to change them and now they're different. That's kind of my conundrum right now is like, how do I take the stories I know I want to change and actually create new neural pathways so that I don't have to keep reliving the same traumatic moments, or like catastrophizing, an event?
For instance, I think my musical story that I really would like to shift is that I am not a worthy musician, and that I'm not a worthy performer in whatever way and that came up for me at the last show I played and it was just one of those instances where, it was really hard to hear on the stage, so I couldn't hear myself play or sing very well. And it was one of those things where I just didn't get a chance to dial my sound in and basically I have a story that I'm not good enough in those areas like and that story has come from a lot of different events. That's fine, because you have to be bad before you can be good. It's not like these events that maybe told me I wasn't a totally polished pianist or vocalist. were untrue. It's just that that was a moment in time and it's time for me to grow up and not continue to relive those things right.
But I think that I found myself feeling that just because I couldn't hear myself and then therefore I couldn't make the sounds I wanted to create. I found myself in this web of the shame spiral, you know, which is really unfortunate when you're having that happen in front of other people. Luckily, it wasn't obvious to anybody else. And I was like, I'm far enough along the path to know what's happening and just stop it before I do a full on spiral. But it's still one of those things where if I sense that I am not completely on my A game I just start l self sabotaging.It's like I'm so afraid that I'm not worthy and then I'm not a good enough musician, and that like, all these fears that I had from five years ago, or 10 years ago, or 20 years ago, you know, it's like you kind of fall back into that same mental pattern.
So I think for me what I'm realizing is that I am not where I was when those stories were created. I'm not where I was when I first tripped and those stories were first made, you know, and every time I start feeling like I'm going back into that pattern, I can just remind myself that that was a moment in time and that I don’t have to keep revisiting that moment in time because it's already past go. I think you can look back but you don't need to stare at the past and I think that our musical stories are really important. The successes and the failures, the falling flat on your face and and the successes equally and I think they shape us and I think what is so interesting for me is rewriting the musical story into I am worthy because I have a voice, I deserve to use it in any musical sense, whether that's performing on the piano or singing or writing or whatever. It doesn't have to be my magnum opus, and it doesn't even have to be that good. It's still enough though for me to be okay. I think that my big thing right now is rewriting that story, basically, of worthiness and feeling. It's just kind of funny how we have these old things and it's just time to create newness, you know?
I love what you said about don't look where you fell, look where you tripped or what, what you tripped on. I think you're so right. And it can be a balance to like, look back but with compassion and with love and with understanding and not look back in a way where you're like living in the past or letting those stories like run your life or affect you, you know, in a negative way, currently, which of course is a practice and of course, it's what we're striving to do, and it's not like we're gonna achieve this point where we're like, okay, cool, done. I'm done with the work. I've got it. It's like every time we're in that situation, like you just described at your show, we get the chance to practice doing it the way that we hope we can do it as opposed to getting totally carried, carried away, you know, forever or for days or weeks because then I think I see people like quit music eventually.
I know I've had adult students that just you know, if they don't want to work through that, and then it just gets so negative that it's not sustainable. So anyway, I like to share a lot. Thanks Stephanie. It's just really interesting because I saw progress. You know, I mean, it's not like I, I didn't start spiraling and it's not like I didn't have those negative thoughts. And, you know, I kind of went there but I didn't totally go there. And to me, that's a huge success, you know, and a few days after the fact I'm like, It's okay. It was just like a drop in the bucket. I've had just as many positive comments about my performances as I've had negative and that's balance, you know, like, that's just balance you can't have a good day every day.
And it doesn't mean you should just pack up and quit. And I think that it's just a good reminder to just let experiences be what they are like them be a drop in the bucket of the massiveness of life. And don't put too much weight on the negative because it's just as important if not more, I would argue that it's more important. But if you can't believe that, at least believe that the negative is equal to the positive. So if you're going to focus on the negative, put as much effort as you can into focusing on the positive too, and at least you'll have an equal view of yourself rather than one in one direction.
I think in the sense of what you just described about learning. Like in your situation, maybe you spiraled a little bit, but maybe not as much as you did before, and that's a huge success. And like, maybe in the future, you'll do it even less, and maybe not, and it is a drop in the bucket. And I fully agree with you. And I would go so far as to say, do focus more on the positive, because it's healthier, and I think as humans we have a tendency to become whatever we tell ourselves. So if we do go down those paths of the shame spiral of like, I'm, I'm going to speak for myself, not for you. Like I'm awful. I'm not a good musician. Like the more that I let those thoughts take up space in my brain the more of a permanent resident they become in my brain and once they're a permanent resident in my brain, it's so much harder to go back and rewrite it or to replace it with something else.
Especially when we're talking about the process of learning, the more open we can remain erring on the side of positive the easier it is to learn. Because we all know that if we had a teacher that was telling us that we were awful, or telling us that we couldn't do it, or telling us that we'd never be able to succeed. We'd probably quit, because that would mean a lot and that teacher would suck. But why so then why don't we do that to ourselves, right? If we can be a part of that kind, loving voice that we would maybe want from a teacher, we can also provide that for ourselves, and it just makes the learning process so much more enjoyable and sustainable.
We would love to know your thoughts. If you want to share with us on social media we would love to hear from you. What are some of your musical stories that you'd like to rewrite?
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Hello, everybody. We are so excited to be here with you today. We're going to start with a question and I, Ashlee, am going to ask Stephanie the question today. So Stephanie, I'm curious for you, what is a song that you connect with? Very open ended!
It is but I love open ended because you can go a lot of directions with it. There are so many songs that I don't even know where to start, but I'll go with the one that first came to mind which is one I have loved for over 10 to 15 years. It's a classical and jazz piano piece. It's Rhapsody in Blue, the original solo piano version by George Gershwin. I loved Richmond because he combines classical and jazz elements, which is my absolute favorite.
As a small child, I watched Fantasia and there was this opening scene in New York where they created this amazing cartoon where Rhapsody in Blue is being played. As a 12 year old or something. I was like, I love this song. I want to learn it, someday. I actually forgot about that until just thinking about it right now. I just have always connected with the nature of that piece. It's playful, it's sad. It's nostalgic. And again, like I said before, my favorite part about all of that is that it combines genres, which was not common during that period. It was written in the early 1900s. And, you know, George Gershwin was doing something that most people weren't really doing at that time, which was combining those genres together.
I played it for my graduate recital, and I also played the concerto version in my undergraduate degree and it just is a piece that brings me to life when I play it and when I hear it, and I know everybody associates it with the the United Airlines song, but but it was a popular song long before that. It's just it's just so beautiful and so wonderful. That beginning part. It just makes my heart melt every time. So the first song that came to mind for me was Rhapsody in Blue solo piano version. There's so many so many songs. I love every genre of music. Literally, when I look at my Spotify, I have every possible genre imaginable, usually minus heavy metal or hard rock or anything like that. But actually, that's changed because I started playing in a group where we do covers and at the last show, we played a Nirvana song, and a Metallica song. I never thought in my wildest dreams I'd be playing Enter SandMan, but I did. It was crazy. So it was really fun.
I feel like every song represents something different to me, I have Nicki Minaj, I have country you know, Keith Urban, I am shameless when it comes to music, Chumbawamba, I don't give a shit. I listen to everything and I just think that that's what makes beautiful, beautiful music is combining our genres and not worrying about what's cool and what's not, you know, and really living into what I like and what I connect to in the moment, which literally changes all the time.
So, that was a little bit of a derailing, but I just wanted to say that, I listened to every possible genre of music, and I felt compelled to talk about a piano piece because that's something that I studied in school, but literally, I listen to everything and I connect a little bit differently with every tune I hear.
How about you, Ashlee? I think that's a great piece. I don't always think of United Airlines when I hear Rhapsody in Blue, but when I'm on a United flight, and it comes on, I'm like, “stop it, don't use it.” Because I agree. I love it. It's such a beautiful piece.The thing that popped into my mind well, I have Brandi Carlisle on my mind. I always have her on my mind because she's one of my favorite artists, but I was lucky enough a couple of weeks ago to go to her concert in Los Angeles. She played at the Greek. Shout out to Victoria, who got us tickets.
One of her songs I've been listening to on repeat, probably for about a year and it's a really great song and for me I am like you Stephanie. I like every single genre and there are great artists that exist across the board. It doesn't matter what genre it is. I think that great music breaks barriers, you know of genres. And so regardless of the genre, I can name a musician or a song at least that I like from that genre and to me, one of the coolest things is when someone has, the trifecta, where they have amazing music. So, the instrumentation and you know, the instruments are beautiful. When they have a really cool voice, when I connect with the sound of their voice. Also when the lyrics are really, deeply poetic. And so I think Brandi Carlisle has that. One of the songs that I'm really a fan of is called the Eye. And the chorus of the song is “you can dance in a hurricane, but only if you're standing in the eye.” And I love that, and every time I hear that it just makes me feel so many things because it's so true.
One of the great things about great songs is you can take the words and apply them to so many different situations. And you can connect to them in different ways. And I guess that's true of music in general regardless of if it has words it's going to mean something different to every person but just that idea that you know you can dance in a hurricane but only if you're standing in the eye to me that means that you can find joy in everything but only if you're really in it if you're really there. And if you're standing in the eye of a hurricane arguably, you're in the most and least dangerous parts at the same time.
I think that's just such an amazing poetic picture of some of those contrasts in life. We have to show up for the really difficult things in order to experience the really, really, really great joys. It’s kind of mandatory, right because if we try to dampen the darkness, we also dampen the light. It's kind of how I think of expressing ourselves with music too. It's like you know, everything can't be forte or loud all the time. Everything can’t be piano or quiet all the time. We have to really explore the full range of contrast in whatever we're doing. And that's often where we'll find all the humaneness.
Yeah, I love that, that balance, right. It's like you have to have both. That's a beautiful poetic lyric and I am gonna go listen to that song after this podcast. I love what you said about the trifecta too. It is like you said lyrics, music, and cool voice voice. I like that you said cool voice because there's so many different types of voices and I love that word in replacement of maybe some other descriptors you could have used. If you connect to the voice which is just your human essence, that makes a voice interesting to me. And it doesn't have to be anything like what we'd like we might expect. I love the more unique sounds and I think yeah, it's just a cool kind of Trifecta and I liked the words that you used around that too.
I try to avoid, with all things but especially with music, labels like good or bad. It's not even true of what I'm trying to say because I think really all that matters with those three things is that you connect to them, or I connect to them. I like musicians. And that can mean so many so many different things. You know, there are musicians that have never had a formal lesson in their lives that are doing things that I could never dream of doing. And vice versa.
I would be curious to know from you if you’re watching, what are some songs that you connect with, any genre, any kind but we would love to hear from you. What are songs you connect with? You could share with us on social media, or reach out to us via our website. We would love to hear from you. I'd love to get to know you.
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Today we're going to be talking about claiming the title of musician. So, I don't know about you, but I have wrestled with this question a lot of my life. And I'm excited to dig into it with you today.
I have talked to so many musicians who have been playing for their entire life, and they do not claim the title of musician. I find this to be very interesting and intriguing. So we're excited to have the conversation today and hear from all of you as well. Because that's the whole reason we're doing this, is to start conversations and stay connected.
Ashley, may I ask, Do you claim the title of musician? And how is that looked over the course of your career? I think this is a really great question, and my mind is immediately going in a lot of different directions. Because I am at a point right now, where I do claim the title of musician and I feel comfortable claiming that title at this point in my journey. I didn't always feel comfortable claiming that title though, and it depends on the circumstances. Like what variation of that title, I claim.
One of the things that I know you can commiserate on Stephanie, is when people ask you what you do for a living. It's such an interesting question to answer. I think, regardless of what you do, it's probably an interesting question to answer. But I think especially when it's when the answer is musician, I get a lot of different reactions. So depending on my mood, and depending on how I'm feeling, I will kind of alter that title to be musician or musician and content creator, or musician, and instructor or teacher or artist, or, you know, classical pianist, or whatever it is like, and I'll claim variations of that title. But I do think that now I am comfortable claiming that title, I didn't used to be.
I think the word musician definitely has some stereotypes that go along with it. And some assumptions, so I think that makes it a little bit complicated on both ends, like on whatever our own impression is, or whatever our own standards are of what it takes to be a musician. There's that journey that I think I had to get over in my earlier 20s of like, okay, I have a degree in music now. Okay, now I have two degrees in music. At what point am I a professional musician? And I think I just got old enough, that now I'm like, no, yeah, I'm a musician. It's my job, and it has been my entire adult life.
But when I say that to other people, I think because of the reactions I get, I always feel a little weird saying it to be honest. It brings up my own feelings of not being good enough, it brings up my own fear of people judging me and of people, you know, having their own idea about what that means. One of the common questions that I will get, maybe not as much anymore, this used to happen when I lived in a different city more often. But when I would say that I was a musician, and then people would say something like “oh, right, but like, how do you make money?”
Which is hilarious. And to me they’re one in the same. And the way that, when you say I'm a musician, in a professional capacity, I think sometimes it does, like break people's brain a little bit. So that response, and the myriad of responses I've gotten makes that a little bit complicated. So that's a long answer. But yes, I claim the title of musician.
I think titles are interesting. And I like Brene Brown's slash idea where she says, you're never just one thing. You know, you're not just one thing. To say that I'm a musician feels overly simplistic. And I think that's the only issue that I have with it is like when I I'll often say it, when I don't want to talk to someone more about it, you know, I'll kind of use it like, I'm a musician, because unless they are one of the rare people that has like a ton of follow up questions. It's an easy way to not have to go into further what that means.
Because I like the slashes of, musician - instructor - performer - content creator - podcaster. You know, I like that. And that feels more holistic and more true to who I am and authentic, because I don't feel like it's the one thing that defines me. It's a big part of who I am. And it's a part of who I am. But it's not, you know, the only thing that I identify with.
So how about you, Stephanie? Exactly! Oh, yeah. Well, so many of the things that you said, I also feel titles are weird. And I started using the title musician, because I felt like it encapsulated more of what I do than what I used to say I was, which was, at first, I would say, Well, I'm a pianist. And then I would say, I'm a piano instructor. And I just didn't like how any of those landed because they felt like every time you label yourself as something then people have this onslaught of assumptions about you that don't necessarily translate to what you actually do. And so I felt like a musician was like, Okay, well, a musician is somebody who makes music and shares music, and it just feels a little bit more broad, which I liked.
For a long time, though, I felt like I had to claim a title of something that I directly was at that moment. And so like you said earlier, it's like, yeah, trying to answer the question based off of the day, basically. So I really do appreciate the slashes, right, because I think that that's really what artists are, I feel like maybe, you know, the big overarching theme is creativity and artistry. And then underneath that umbrella is musician. And then underneath musician is pianist, vocalist, instructor, songwriter, guitarist, whatever it might be. And then underneath that segment, it's instructor, you know, coach, all these different things, different variations.
I think that, if we can understand, we're all belonging to the same, overarching theme of creativity and artistry, and then kind of watching how you can trickle down in different ways. And maybe some days you're more of a pianist, and other days, you're more of a vocalist and other days, you're more of a content creator. I think that letting it be a little bit more fluid. It has been really helpful.
I also find it interesting. Yeah, I get a lot of follow up questions. When I say I'm a musician, like, oh, what does that mean? And I just always try to cram everything into one. What I found that I kind of have a hard time with is that there are these expectations of what a musician is, right. And so I've gotten things like, well, like, you know, “wow you're really making ends meet” like, “you're such a”… I've gotten the word scrapper, which I think is probably good, but it's like a backwards compliment or a backhanded compliment.
But I had this really wealthy piano student, years ago, and I don't remember what he did. But he was taking lessons and he was like, “you know, you're like a scrapper you're making it work as a musician.” I was like, thank you? I think that being scrappy is good. And I do think being an artist, you do have to be scrappy, but maybe not in the sense that it landed at the time.
I think that there is a stereotype of the starving musician, or the musician who is always without or needs more barely getting by, the artist. Just in general, like the artists, right. And I get that kind of feedback a lot. Like, “how do you make it work?” I think that that's kind of a self perpetuating cycle in a way. What I found is, especially in the city that we live in, in many cities, there's this saturation, saturation of artists. And so many artists are just playing around town for free or very little money. I recently got offered a three hour gig for $100, which is like no money with a band, it wasn't just solo. The expectation was to put this whole band together and play for three hours for $100 total, and you would split that cost with the band.
So I just I think it's interesting, though, because there's all these self perpetuating cycles within the title of musician that I think that we could do some work around, as a community. Being a musician means that you can have abundance in your life and you can have money flowing and, and you can do the things that you're passionate about and, invite that financial stability into your life.
I just find it interesting, when you claim a title, then you claim all the stereotypes as well. I'd like to see a shift. We can start by not accepting low payment for our talents and our gifts, and start raising the bar a little bit.
Another thing that I've noticed is that, I've had people say that they teach but that they're not musicians. Like “Oh, I'm a piano teacher, but I'm not a musician”, or “I teach piano, but I'm not a pianist.” I've literally heard “I teach voice, but I'm not a vocalist.” I think that like claiming the title of what you do, it helps you step into the fullness of yourself.
I like this question because it makes us ask ourselves, do you claim the title of musician but you could really replace musician with anything. Do you claim the title of being a vocalist? If you sing you claim the title! I think that people are like, Well, no, I'm not doing it professionally. And I was just listening to a podcast with Jacob Collier where he said “I have a really hard time admitting that I'm a professional musician”, because it puts so many stereotypes on you, right? Being a professional musician, what does that even mean? You know? And I thought, Oh, wow, if Jacob Collier is saying that, it’s refreshing, because I think it assumes that you've stopped learning.
I think that that's like being an artist and a musician, you'll never stop learning, right? So it's like, yes, we are professional musicians. And obviously, so is he, and there are so many out there, but it's just interesting what titles do so, I'm excited that we had this conversation. Because it makes you second guess what you title yourself as.
On the point that you're kind of making now, I think everybody has their own journey of accepting the title or not accepting the title. But then I also encounter people that are learning how to play music, who won't claim it, because they don't think it's something that they're good enough at. And that's an interesting one, because I am totally guilty of that, like, people will ask me if I sing all the time, if they don't know me. And I'm like, “well, yeah, I sing all the time. It's kind of part of my job, and sometimes I do it for fun, but, I'm definitely not a vocalist.”
I totally do that. I do it with running too. I run many times a week, but I don't identify as a runner, because I'm not like running in a way that seems like I can claim that title. So I get it, and I'm working on it. And I think it's something that I've had to help students work through that. And it's a conversation that comes up. Stephanie, I know we've had it in people in our classes, and in our memberships, people that are playing the piano, people that are getting good at piano, people that have been putting in the time and putting in the energy, but don't want to call themselves musicians.
At the end of the day, in a simplistic way, if we can get rid of all of the baggage that comes with the word which each person is gonna bring their own idea of what it means.
If you play music, if you create music, if you make music, you're a musician, you know, if you use your voice, you're an artist. I think that's true. I think like everybody's an artist, anybody can be a musician, if you've ever sang, if you've ever played the piano. And really, that's, that's all it is. A musician is someone that makes music. And we all do that in our own way, shape, or form, even if we're consciously doing it or not.
Creativity is in all of us, and it can manifest in a lot of different ways. Maybe it's music, maybe it's art, like painting, maybe it's writing poetry, but I think that asking yourself the question, “how does my creativity want to manifest?” And then allowing yourself to try some different things out and being okay with the fact that maybe your sounds don't sound like what you're used to, but letting that be okay. The sounds you're creating are, unique to you. And maybe they're unpolished, or whatever. But that's beautiful. That’s a cool sound that you can capture.
I know a lot of people might disagree with that statement. But I think that there is something to offer at every stage of learning. And every type of artistry has something different to offer. So it's just it's cool to kind of try to like, blast those boxes of like, what isn't isn't acceptable as a musician and an artist, and just say, You know what, I think I think you can find artistry and musicianship and everything you do.
Yeah, totally. I love it. I encourage all the listeners to, to play around with claiming the title if you don't, and or at least ask yourself the questions like, why don't you? Why do you? What does it mean to you? And see if you can sift through some of that, because, as you can hear, when Stephanie and I talk about it, it's not simple.
It's not like one day, we just woke up, and we're like, Yeah, I'm a musician. It's a journey. You know, we have to sort through all this stuff. I think it's worth exploring for sure. Because it can lead us to question other titles and to question, you know, if we want to claim them, if we don't want to claim them, what else do we want to add to our slash? Because I think at this point, you know, it's, it's not a simple thing. I don't like to ask people what they do, I will usually ask them, how do you spend your time? And then that allows for a little more of that slash answer, which I think is more holistic for everyone.
Those of you listening, we also have a membership, that is pretty awesome, where you can learn how to play the piano and join our Facebook group and get in touch with us and kind of get help with your musical journey.
Wwe just made the first class of intro to piano 1, which starts at the very beginning level available for free on our website. You can find a link to that if you want to go download that class and get access to that, below. We're really excited about this membership and think that it's just everything that we talked about on this podcast is what the membership is foundationally about. We're all about helping you connect to what musicianship and artistry means to you. And we believe, like we said, that everybody has something to offer and we would love to be a part of your journey so if you're looking to keep that journey going please consider checking us out because we would love to get to know you a little absolutely thanks so much for sharing your time with us!
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Let us know in the comments what you think and how you feel about these questions! What are your answers?!
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Let us know in the comments what you think and how you feel about these questions! What are your answers?!
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Learn Piano With Us:
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Connect with us on Socials: Insta: connectionexperimentclasses
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Let us know in the comments what you think and how you feel about these questions! What are your answers?!
FREE Practice Journal:
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Learn Piano With Us:
https://www.connectionexperiment.com/monthlymembership
Connect with us on Socials: Insta: connectionexperimentclasses
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connectionexperimentclasses
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRdsVPjDTLxKKyRK0DDyxUQ
Let us know in the comments what you think and how you feel about these questions! What are your answers?!
FREE Practice Journal:
https://www.connectionexperiment.com/freebies1
Learn Piano With Us:
https://www.connectionexperiment.com/monthlymembership
Connect with us on Socials: Insta: connectionexperimentclasses
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connectionexperimentclasses
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRdsVPjDTLxKKyRK0DDyxUQ
Let us know in the comments what you think and how you feel about these questions! What are your answers?!
FREE Practice Journal:
https://www.connectionexperiment.com/freebies1
Learn Piano With Us:
https://www.connectionexperiment.com/monthlymembership
Connect with us on Socials: Insta: connectionexperimentclasses
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connectionexperimentclasses
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRdsVPjDTLxKKyRK0DDyxUQ
Let us know in the comments what you think and how you feel about these questions! What are your answers?!
FREE Practice Journal:
https://www.connectionexperiment.com/freebies1
Learn Piano With Us:
https://www.connectionexperiment.com/monthlymembership
Connect with us on Socials: Insta: connectionexperimentclasses
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connectionexperimentclasses
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRdsVPjDTLxKKyRK0DDyxUQ
Join us with a special guest, Kristen! Kristen has been taking piano lessons with Stephanie for several years and she recently had a performance worth talking about. Join us in the discussion!
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Learn Piano With Us:
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Let us know in the comments what you think and how you feel about these questions! What are your answers?!
FREE Practice Journal:
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Learn Piano With Us:
https://www.connectionexperiment.com/monthlymembership
Connect with us on Socials: Insta: connectionexperimentclasses
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connectionexperimentclasses
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRdsVPjDTLxKKyRK0DDyxUQ
Let us know in the comments what you think and how you feel about these questions! What are your answers?!
FREE Practice Journal:
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Learn Piano With Us:
https://www.connectionexperiment.com/monthlymembership
Find us on Social Insta: connectionexperimentclasses
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connectionexperimentclasses
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Let us know in the comments what you think and how you feel about these questions! What are your answers?!
FREE Practice Journal:
https://www.connectionexperiment.com/freebies1
Learn Piano With Us:
https://www.connectionexperiment.com/monthlymembership
Find us on Social Insta: connectionexperimentclasses
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connectionexperimentclasses
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRdsVPjDTLxKKyRK0DDyxUQ
Awareness skills can be incredibly useful in piano practice. What are you aware of when you are practicing? Is there anything that you’d like to be more aware of? Make a list of the things you excel at being aware of and a list of the things you’d like to be more aware of. The list of the things you’d like to be more aware of can serve as a guide for this week’s practice.
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What expectations do you have about the learning process that don’t serve you? What would happen if you changed or completely disregarded these expectations? How would it feel to be free of them?
What inspired you to start learn how to play the piano? What music speaks to you? When do you feel like your best self with music? Reflect on the positive side of your relationship with music. How does it feel to you? Why are you grateful for music?
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Letting go is a powerful choice. What can you let go in your piano practice and playing and what do you struggle to let go? What would happen if you let more go? What would happen if you let less go?
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Comparison can really kill creativity. Do you compare yourself to others when you are learning something new? What about learning piano or sharing music with others? What are you doing in your life at times when you feel the most creative and free? Do you feel this way when you play the piano? Is it possible for you to feel this way when you play the piano?
Self-compassion can be a hugely useful tool when learning how to play the piano, or really, when learning anything. Do you have a large or small capacity for self-compassion?
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What does mindfulness mean to you? Do you think mindfulness and music are related? How so or how not? Is it possible to practice mindfulness during practice, sharing music, and listening to music?
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We have journal prompts that go along with each week of study in our monthly membership. From the VERY FIRST WEEK of Intro to Piano 1, which is designed for total beginners, we ask:
Do you care what other people think of you in piano and in general? Do you think it’s possible to have the courage to accept your imperfection when it comes to music and to express yourself regardless of what others think? What are some of your ideas on how to accomplish this? Let’s chat.