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Humility Comes for All of Us (One Thought Thursday 042)
Published about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 5 min read
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βHumility is the first step towards learning. You canβt learn until you are humble enough to realize there is something for you to learn.β β Robert Kiyosaki
βThis week on the podcast, I made note of the fact that I count humility as a core value in the work I do (and my approach to life). β Apparently, the universe decided it was a good week to put that to the test. π
Allow me to give you an overview of my week in three acts:
Act I: Festival Success
My students had their local festival last Saturday. Janna Williamson and I did a fun recap of our 2024 Festival Experiences over on Instagram this week. You can watch that here - particularly if you want a few good laughs.
Long story short, it was a great event. My students performed well - despite a few of them driving me to the brink of insanity (there's always a few, right?).
I started the week off on a real high, feeling GREAT and fully satisfied with what I'm bringing to the world around me.
Act II: Middle School Humbling
My oldest daughter is a die-hard choir kid, and she's wrapping up eighth grade here in a few weeks. (Don't get me startedπ₯Ί)
With the exception of one 6th grade concert, scheduling conflicts have made it impossible for me to play for any of her choral events the last few years.
The stars finally aligned this month, and I contracted to play for a few events this spring. Our first rehearsal was this week.
Here's where I *should* have known better, friend:
I'm an excellent sightreader. I don't claim to be great at a lot of things, but this I know: I can generally walk into any rehearsal and find my way through the music without too much trouble, then go home and hash out whatever needs work.
In the wake of the craziness of the past few weeks, I hadn't looked at the music. I thought, "It's middle school choir music. How bad can it be?"
I can hear you laughing. I know; famous last words, right?
While it's far from the most difficult music out there, there are a few songs in the mix that... ahem... I really should have practiced in advance.
I think we can all agree, feeling off-your-game in front of a bunch of middle schoolers is a pretty rotten way to spend a morning.π
Whoops. Lesson (re)learned: Always examine your music ahead of time.
Can I also note that I was sightreading this music on a Casio-something-or-other (not a Privia or anything decent), and that I was offered my choice of a swivel chair or a folding chair? Sigh. Collaborative piano life at its finest.
In good news: I can play all the music now and tomorrow's rehearsals should leave me significantly less sweaty. π
Act III: Balancing "Done" and "Perfect"
I feel like it's pretty safe to say you and I have this in common: we have high standards for ourselves.
I tried something new this week (perhaps you were there!) by offering a live session of my most popular conference presentation, The Varsity Musician's Playbook.
The live event was nice. I had a GREAT audience (thanks to those who attended live!), but when I began reviewing the recording to upload, I was unhappy with some of the technical aspects of the video. I also knew *I* could do better (live presenting on Zoom is just TOUGH on the ole' nervous system, friends).
I looked at my schedule on Tuesday and realized I had just enough free time to re-record the 60 minute session, with better settings and (hopefully) better delivery.
I'm well-aware of my perfectionist struggles and wondered if re-recording was an unnecessary extension of my obsession with "it can always be better".
BUT - I decided to give myself a single take to try again. After finishing the second recording, I immediately felt SO MUCH HAPPIER with the end-result.
This is one of those difficult balances in life. People like me (us) often need the reminder, "Done is better than perfect" and "Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good" - but the other truth is that, sometimes our success is a result of our personal standards and we need to stay true to that vision.
Sigh. That's probably a thought that deserves its own Thursday. π€
REGARDLESS: I wanted to say (1) if you attended the live session on Tuesday this week, you have access to the new-and-improved recording. Personally, I think it's worth a review.
(2) If you didn't get registered in time for Tuesday's webinar, you can still sign up for the replay and corresponding resources.
...and THAT, my friends, is my humbling journey through this week. All pretty humorous as I released an episode on taking better note of our EGO this week, right? π
Help a girl out and hit REPLY with the last time YOU felt humbled in this MusicTeacherWorld we live in. I would love to know I'm not alone.
π₯Cheers to continually recognizing the limits of our oh-so-human selves. π₯
That was a REALLY popular episode for a long time. Even though I cringe a bit because I *definitely* over-reacted to my situation at the time, this topic is relevant as ever - especially the aspects of dealing with students who are disappointed in their own performances.
I've been thinking a lot lately about ways to support the Content Creators I love.
Supporting artists, etc. on Patreon is a fun way to stay connected with those whose work I admire and take pleasure in knowing I am supporting their work in an affordable manner.
If you are interested in throwing some extra support and encouragement my way, consider checking out my Patreon Community.
I'm confident there is no place quite like it. π€
I normally share supplemental resources here, but I wanted to highlight Hal Leonard Book 1 today because I find teachers really don't know it well.
This is the book I suggest my beginning pedagogy students use, and is in my regular rotation as well. If you're not familiar with it, I'd recommend checking it out. Grab the Solos book as well; it's a goldmine of great beginner repertoire.
Personal opinion: Book 1 of this series EASILY wins against the Piano Adventures Primer for engaging repertoire and presentation of concepts.
Not "bad" complicated; I just don't believe there's ever going to be a one-size-fits-all solution.
...which is totally okay, as long as you understand the REAL purpose of a method series.
Check out this resource, which helps reframe the true role of a method series in your teaching. It also provides you with an essential exercise to make sure YOU are the true leader of your instruction.
*This email may contain affiliate links. That's just smart business, but please know all recommendations are purely my own, and are absent of any icky ulterior sales motives.
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