I've put up a video lesson on youtube using John Dowland's little gem "Mrs. Winter's Jump".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6FOVF0CUKg
The pdf for the music is also available for those who might like to learn it.
www.guitar69.com/videos.html
I've been meaning to do more videos, but to be honest, I'm not quite comfortable talking to a camera without the interaction of a student, so I tend to find reasons not to do them. I keep telling everyone in my lessons to "keep stepping into the fire" in order to become comfortable with whatever is uncomfortable - knowing that with time the difficulty will get easier. Of course, it's harder for me to notice when I'm avoiding the fire - especially when the mind gives all kinds of "good" reasons not to step into it.
Showing posts with label fear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fear. Show all posts
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Risk
"You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety." Abraham Maslow
For many people the word "Risk" implies something negative. "I risk losing this - i risk losing that". We rarely see the word risk as a positive thing, but in reality we must all risk failure to grow. With all risk is potential reward.
We are genetically programmed to grow and experience new things - and this means risking pain. Is it not risky to learn how to walk, to ride a bike, to drive, to travel, to try new foods, to speak up, to meet new people, or to study music seriously? The risks in life are never ending. Why do we risk? For the expansion and growth of the experience.
In playing we want to risk often, because with risk comes confidence and freedom. In trying to play safe, we lose life in our playing. We may feel safety now, but we avoid our fear - so the fear keeps us playing safe. It becomes a never ending cycle.
It's important to notice your fear based boundaries, question them, and decide to push past them. That means playing faster than you may be comfortable with, learning something that is more challenging than usual, learning music theory, performing for others, working with other instrumentalists, deciding to record yourself, etc. Study one aspect of your playing that you shy away from and go towards it in some way - step by step. You'll see that as you go towards that which you fear, it will get easier.
You don't have to book a concert at a concert hall tomorrow, or decide to suddenly perform only challenging pieces. Take some small steps towards that which you want. With time, the small steps will accumulate. Will it always work out the way you want it to? Maybe yes, maybe no - but that isn't the point. The point is to become comfortable with the uncomfortable. This is where true growth lies.
For many people the word "Risk" implies something negative. "I risk losing this - i risk losing that". We rarely see the word risk as a positive thing, but in reality we must all risk failure to grow. With all risk is potential reward.
We are genetically programmed to grow and experience new things - and this means risking pain. Is it not risky to learn how to walk, to ride a bike, to drive, to travel, to try new foods, to speak up, to meet new people, or to study music seriously? The risks in life are never ending. Why do we risk? For the expansion and growth of the experience.
In playing we want to risk often, because with risk comes confidence and freedom. In trying to play safe, we lose life in our playing. We may feel safety now, but we avoid our fear - so the fear keeps us playing safe. It becomes a never ending cycle.
It's important to notice your fear based boundaries, question them, and decide to push past them. That means playing faster than you may be comfortable with, learning something that is more challenging than usual, learning music theory, performing for others, working with other instrumentalists, deciding to record yourself, etc. Study one aspect of your playing that you shy away from and go towards it in some way - step by step. You'll see that as you go towards that which you fear, it will get easier.
You don't have to book a concert at a concert hall tomorrow, or decide to suddenly perform only challenging pieces. Take some small steps towards that which you want. With time, the small steps will accumulate. Will it always work out the way you want it to? Maybe yes, maybe no - but that isn't the point. The point is to become comfortable with the uncomfortable. This is where true growth lies.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Defending Your Life
I saw the movie Defending Your Life
recently after a student recommended it to me. It's fantastic - funny and extremely moving. It illustrates quite well how we keep ourselves from what we want without even realizing it. Highly recommended.
recently after a student recommended it to me. It's fantastic - funny and extremely moving. It illustrates quite well how we keep ourselves from what we want without even realizing it. Highly recommended.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Bringing the "Yes" into the "No"
This concept is so close to my heart that it may be difficult to write about it. It's completely revolutionary for those who get it. If you don't get it, don't worry - you will with time. For those interested in reading more, I would suggest Eckhart Tolle's classic "The Power of Now" - particularly the last chapter called "Surrender".
I'm learning as I get older to welcome my difficulties, my fears, my struggles - whether it be with the guitar or with life. It's completely natural to want to avoid fear, but eventually it keeps coming back until we learn how to deal with it. Fear and limitations are great teachers.
In the practice of an instrument, we can fear fast tempos, difficult repertoire, high positions, certain fingering combinations, understanding harmony, what people think of our playing, etc. etc. Try to notice whatever it is you avoid or hide from. What do you fear? Awareness is key - most people don't know what they fear. Be curious about what you avoid in your playing and for that matter, your life. It's a fascinating study.
When you avoid something, you bring a psychological "NO" to it. It is basically the avoidance of pain. For example, if someone fears playing at fast tempos, they will avoid fast pieces and passages, they will slow down unconsciously when a fast passage appears, they might even look through a collection of music and avoid pieces with too much "black" in them. Ultimately, they are reacting to the fear of playing fast by avoiding the situation in some way. By not dealing with the fear, it is allowed to grow until "I can't play fast" is believed. Once you believe the fear, it becomes part of you.
So how do we deal with the fears and weaknesses we have? As I've learned, we must accept the fear - make friends with it. Say "YES" to what you fear - embrace it completely.
Fear can only stay strong if we keep reacting or fighting against it. If we embrace our fear, it will dissipate. This is bringing the YES into the NO.
For example, if a person fears playing fast, he or she can say "OK, I fear playing fast - that's fine. Let me play fast and I will welcome the fear. I won't complain about missing notes, tensing up, not feeling comfortable, etc. Instead, I'm going to welcome all of that and keep my mind calm. I will allow the fear to come and I will play fast anyway".
So then the person plays fast and gets tense, misses tons of notes, has a bad tone etc. However - unlike before, there is no reaction to any of this. The person keeps the mind calm and allows it all to be as it is. He or she welcomes the fear. As the fear is welcomed, it lessens because it is not strengthened through a negative reaction (the NO). This is the state of mind we want to cultivate for our difficulties. That doesn't mean you don't go back and work on the difficult passages. It doesn't mean that you ignore them. You just work on them without a negative reaction to them. You want to always say YES to your difficulties, to your fears.
With time, the fear lessens and you'll find that you can do what you used to fear. Why? Because only what you resist persists. Keep putting yourself into the situation you fear and say YES to the discomfort. As we do this again and again, the fear and discomfort will go away.
The great Eckhart Tolle talking about this concept.
I'm learning as I get older to welcome my difficulties, my fears, my struggles - whether it be with the guitar or with life. It's completely natural to want to avoid fear, but eventually it keeps coming back until we learn how to deal with it. Fear and limitations are great teachers.
In the practice of an instrument, we can fear fast tempos, difficult repertoire, high positions, certain fingering combinations, understanding harmony, what people think of our playing, etc. etc. Try to notice whatever it is you avoid or hide from. What do you fear? Awareness is key - most people don't know what they fear. Be curious about what you avoid in your playing and for that matter, your life. It's a fascinating study.
When you avoid something, you bring a psychological "NO" to it. It is basically the avoidance of pain. For example, if someone fears playing at fast tempos, they will avoid fast pieces and passages, they will slow down unconsciously when a fast passage appears, they might even look through a collection of music and avoid pieces with too much "black" in them. Ultimately, they are reacting to the fear of playing fast by avoiding the situation in some way. By not dealing with the fear, it is allowed to grow until "I can't play fast" is believed. Once you believe the fear, it becomes part of you.
So how do we deal with the fears and weaknesses we have? As I've learned, we must accept the fear - make friends with it. Say "YES" to what you fear - embrace it completely.
Fear can only stay strong if we keep reacting or fighting against it. If we embrace our fear, it will dissipate. This is bringing the YES into the NO.
For example, if a person fears playing fast, he or she can say "OK, I fear playing fast - that's fine. Let me play fast and I will welcome the fear. I won't complain about missing notes, tensing up, not feeling comfortable, etc. Instead, I'm going to welcome all of that and keep my mind calm. I will allow the fear to come and I will play fast anyway".
So then the person plays fast and gets tense, misses tons of notes, has a bad tone etc. However - unlike before, there is no reaction to any of this. The person keeps the mind calm and allows it all to be as it is. He or she welcomes the fear. As the fear is welcomed, it lessens because it is not strengthened through a negative reaction (the NO). This is the state of mind we want to cultivate for our difficulties. That doesn't mean you don't go back and work on the difficult passages. It doesn't mean that you ignore them. You just work on them without a negative reaction to them. You want to always say YES to your difficulties, to your fears.
With time, the fear lessens and you'll find that you can do what you used to fear. Why? Because only what you resist persists. Keep putting yourself into the situation you fear and say YES to the discomfort. As we do this again and again, the fear and discomfort will go away.
The great Eckhart Tolle talking about this concept.
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