I know that many of my readers are fans of the pianist Anton Nel. Two recent videos of him from his childhood in South Africa were just added to youtube. Enjoy!
Sites I like
- My Piano Lessons Site
Matt McLaughlin piano lessons - Your Piano Lessons
Info for piano students and those interested in lessons - Anton Nel - Pianist
The website of pianist Anton Nel - Bion Tsang - Cellist
The website of cellist Bion Tsang - Austin Piano Festival
The Austin Piano Festival classical music concerts - Carla McElhaney's Blog
Carla's Blog about Music and Life - The Miro Quartet
One of my Favorite String Quartets
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June 2011
June 15, 2011
June 12, 2011
Mastery - A Prerequisite
I promised a post on mastery tonight, but I probably shouldn't write it. Instead here is my best try at getting out of said promise. (Don't worry I'm still writing one!) George Leonard's master is someone almost serene; focused on the flow of ritual and practice. Tonight, this is not me.
Rather than explain [read: make excuses for] my crankiness, I'd rather divert your attention to a helpful tip for when you're feeling overwhelmed. I first read this technique in the books of David Allen (of GTD fame), but have since seen it elsewhere. This is a great way to clear your mind, so think of this as a "prerequisite" to the Mastery post. You'll be surprised by this exercise if you haven't tried it.
Here it is: Write everything down.
Literally, take a piece of paper, and write everything down that you can think of. Things to do, worries, chores, future project ideas, whatever comes into your mind. When I first did this, I got around 100 things, which I hear is pretty standard. It's amazing how much stuff is just sitting around up there; tasks and issues that are left as question marks. As David Allen teaches, all this "stuff" bogs us down because our mind doesn't know how to deal with it. It sits at the periphery of awareness, causing stress and anxiety. Once you write it down you can make lists, figure out how to take action, or decide its not important, etc. But first, get it OUT of your head.
This exercise is simply but amazingly effective. The first time I did it, I felt a sense of control I hadn't had in months or even years.
I'm off to write everything down.
June 10, 2011
Mastery - Part I
I'm currently re-reading an excellent little book by George Leonard called Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment. I've read it several times now and have a few short posts coming up on it. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning any craft, skill,art -- or learning anything at all.
In his book, Leonard talks about 3 personality types or learning habits: The Dabbler, The Obsessive, and The Hacker.
The Dabbler starts each pursuit with extreme energy, but soon dwindles out. The process of getting started is addictive, until the new quickly becomes the old.
The Obsessive lives for constant results. Like the dabbler, the obsessive starts out strong, but does not give up so easily. In fact, the obsessive is unable to accept anything but constant progress at all costs, often at the expensive of long-term results. The dabbler quits out of boredom, the obsessive quits out of burnout.
The Hacker gets the hang out things but thats about it. For him, there isn't much use in doing more than good enough. The goal for the hacker isn't to master an art, it's to get by and maybe be part of the clique.
I see these personality types all the time in both my teaching and my personal life. (Of course you can have different approaches to different areas of your life.) However, as far as Mastery is concerned, each of these types falls short. In contrast to these three types, Leonard discusses "The Master's Journey", which will be the subject of Sunday's post!
