Hobbies

I think it is important as musicians to have something more in life after music and living. For me it is video games. Over the past few days I made a Minecraft server for my friends and nephews to use. Trying something new like this was fun, exciting, and a little difficult. I had to go into cmd and use java. It was interesting for sure but at the end of the day I accomplished something I had never done. What have you done besides music recently?

Why Play part 2

Yesterday I started a post about a question that everyone in the arts must ask themselves at some point. Why Play? Why do you wake up everyday and practice your craft? What is the point? Let's continue with some of the common answers.

3. For Immortality: Everyone human being longs to be remembered and respected after they die. Music can allow that but there are no guarantees if that is your only motivating goal there are better ways to achieve immortality. Having children or mentoring would accomplish this goal reliably.

4. I do it for myself: Self care and understanding that desires for yourself are not bad is I think one of the better things developing in our culture. Certainly it can go too far and become just plain selfish behavior but being motivated to play music because it gives you pleasure can be fulfilling but I think the reason for this is because...

5. I play to glorify God: The reason why it gives us and others pleasure to hear music is because God enjoys beauty. The reason I play is to use my gifts to accomplish my life purpose.

Let me know if you have other reasons that you play music.

RCM

Why Play? Part 1

Why Play?

I hear this question asked, no whispered, by professional musicians all the time. I ask it of my students constantly. It is sort of a small form version of one of the great philosophical questions. Why are we here? Let me break down some typical responses and at least think about this important inquiry.

1. I don't know. There are two levels to this answer. The first is really "I have never really thought about this." I've never understood this. We have precious little time on Earth to spend it not deciding if something we do is important.

The second level of "I don't know" is I have asked this question and still am deciding what I think the answer is and I might never come up with one. This is intellectually honest which I can respect but I don't think it is the only answer that can work.

2. I do it for others. Benefiting others is a noble cause. My follow up question then is why music? If your primary goal was to benefit others you could join a charity, help at a homeless shelter, volunteer in troubled communities, or be a mentor.

We will continue this train of thought tomorrow...

Children and Self Motivation

A common statement is kids change your life forever. After people say this they go into some cliché about how much work kids are. Now I am not saying that child rearing is a walk in the park but I think as a society we focus too much on the negative. Let's take a look at most of the common grievances in a new light.

Children Always...

1. Wake up too early: I hate waking up before 9:30-10AM. It just feels wrong. Instead of an alarm clock have a cute baby crying or just playing at 6 and I am out of bed with a smile on my face(not immediately but pretty quickly).

2. Feeding: Imagine an app that reminds you constantly of meal time and burdens your conscience with cooking healthy, fresh food. Oh wait, that is just a baby.

3. Diaper Changes: You can be face to face with your loved one helping them in a deeply personal way 6-18 times a day. I wouldn't trade that for anything...Except being potty trained.

4. Playing: Babies are a constant reminder that there is a world outside of screens. We train them to be obsessed with Ipads and phones but on their own a box has as much excitement and fun as tv does. If we let them change us more than we change them we become more in tune with reality.

5. Crying: Sometimes we need help expressing our emotions. Listen to a baby cry long enough and you might too. That is OK.

6. Fits: I'm human too. If I wasn't a grown up and knew I could get a lot more from passive aggressive behavior and hiding how selfish I was I would throw fits too.

Next time your kid inconveniences you try to think of it as a gift not a curse and next time you were going to make a joke about how awful having kids must be think of why everyone seems to have them anyway.

RCM

Consistency

Why is Consistency so hard? Exercise, Writing, Creating, and Practicing. It is sought after in every area of life but often not achieved. Maybe I set my goals to high and so I am bound to not hit them. Perhaps I fill my life with unimportant business. Well I am working on it. I guess that is the best you can strive for.

Starting out

So I am going to write a short blog post every chance I get. I just want to write more regularly. What is success in music?
Being famous? Artistic achievement? My goals have changed over the years. Now I just want to create all the time. What drives you?

RCM