Emotional Challenges to learning

Fiddling with life and learning with the occasional dad joke thrown in...  

 

Fiddle Goals For 2024

Are you someone who benefits from having a goal? Or do goals make you anxious? I suggest three goals that I think you and all my students can achieve. No matter what your skill level is. Three Goals For 2024 Play Every Day Practice Well Good Mindset If you think about it, these are just … Continued

Things I’m Grateful For – November 2023

‘Tis the week before Thanksgiving, maybe my favorite holiday. So much so that I try to celebrate it every day in a small way. I make a short list of things I’m grateful for. So today I’m going to share a typical daily gratitude list with you. I invite you to leave a comment below … Continued

Wandering Mind

Last night, I was practicing and hit a rough patch. I kept stumbling over a section of a song called “Climbing and Falling.” Then it hit me: my mind wasn’t in the game. I was distracted, stewing over something annoying my mother-in-law had said. 🤯 So, I switched gears and practiced a different song that … Continued

Optimism

I’ve been talking to a lot of students recently. The ones who make it have one thing in common… My mission is to teach you good practice strategies to help you succeed. I hope that if you practice well, you’ll start to see improvement which will fuel your optimism. Here’s what I’m wondering: Can you … Continued

10 Common Beginner Violin Mistakes

Do you want to successfully learn the violin? You’re bound to struggle and make mistakes along the way. That’s part of the learning process. And in a way this is what makes learning fun. But by being aware of common pitfalls, you’ll waste less time and energy. Let me help you continue the violin journey … Continued

Six Secrets To Violin Success

Overview In order to succeed at learning violin or any instrument, you need to establish a good mindset. There are some simple things you can do to establish a good mindset and avoid feeling overwhelmed. These mindset hacks are not just for beginners, but for musicians working at any level. After 40+ years of learning … Continued

Find The Fun In Fiddling

  I’ve been meeting with two coaches to help me develop the Play Every Day game and course. I mentioned that I was anxious about a lot of the logistics. How to print cards? How to promote the product? When to do what? Coach Dave advised me to “Find the fun in it.” The Fun … Continued

Fiddling With A Growth Mindset

What connections can you make between fiddling and the rest of your daily activity? Asking a question like this is the activity of a growth mindset. A fixed mindset is a belief that your abilities are permanently fixed. A fixed mindset says, “I am what I am, and I’ll never change”. A growth mindset is a … Continued

Music is a fun way to upgrade your mind

Why do we play music? For most of the answer is, “I do it for fun and enjoyment.” Here’s another reason people start playing an instrument: they want to upgrade their thinking. How does learning music upgrade your thinking? Here are some cognitive processes that improve as you learn and practice an instrument. Focus Memory … Continued

The Jenny Lynn demo

Here’s a bluegrass tune by Bill Monroe called “Jenny Lynn.” I just made a lesson for this along with the Round Peak variation.