Our Role as Teachers
Teachers are an essential part of anyone’s musical life. Many of us begin our musical journeys by taking lessons with various...
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Michelle Monette
- Nov 21
- 2 min
Regain Your Rhythm
“When jarred, unavoidably, by circumstances, revert at once to yourself, and don’t lose the rhythm more than you can help. You’ll have a...
Michelle Monette
- Nov 13
- 2 min
Larks and Owls
Since we are all limited in how much time we have to spend on music, it becomes vital to optimize our musical lives so we are as...
Michelle Monette
- Nov 6
- 2 min
Persist and Persevere
As musicians, we are required to constantly overcome challenges. We face those related directly to our music, like working through a...
Michelle Monette
- Oct 30
- 2 min
Closing the Knowing-Doing Gap
Information is more abundant and easier to access than at any other time in history. Invaluable resources like websites, books, videos,...
Michelle Monette
- Oct 24
- 2 min
Do As You Say
“[T]here are many occasions when words are useless, and only deeds will make a man’s meaning plain; often enough, too, it is easy to...
Michelle Monette
- Oct 17
- 2 min
Do You Know Your "Why"?
Throughout my years of teaching music, I often felt an expectation from some of my students: That I should convince them of why they...
Michelle Monette
- Oct 10
- 2 min
Failure is Nothing to Fear
Ask someone what they fear, and a likely answer will be “failure.” Humans fear failure because of the distress we feel when we fall short...
Michelle Monette
- Oct 2
- 2 min
The Joys of Discipline
Jeff Goldblum was the featured guest on an episode of Gregory Porter’s podcast a few years ago. Though best known for his acting,...
Michelle Monette
- Sep 25
- 2 min
Work Hard, Rest Hard
Seasoned musicians understand the value of hard work. We spend years in the practice room diligently refining our craft by drilling...
Michelle Monette
- Sep 14
- 2 min
There Is No "Key" to Unlocking Music
Advertisements targeted toward aspiring musicians often try to entice potential customers with an impossible promise: “This is the one...
Michelle Monette
- Jul 13
- 1 min
Dancing With Difficulty
Every musician knows how challenging the art and craft of music can be. Learning and practicing something new will stretch you, often...
Michelle Monette
- Jun 22
- 2 min
Tradeoffs
Tradeoffs are an essential part of building a musical life. Being a musician requires a lot of time, focus, and effort, which means...
Michelle Monette
- May 22
- 1 min
Mystery is Overrated
Over the years, I’ve often heard musicians explain their lack of desire to learn music in a deeper way as simply wanting to retain...
Michelle Monette
- May 11
- 2 min
Less But Better
I have long said my interest in pursuing so many musical endeavors has been both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, I derive great...
Michelle Monette
- May 2
- 1 min
What If?
If you’re anything like me, you may have found yourself bogged down with a variety of questions I call “the shoulds.” For a musician,...
Michelle Monette
- Apr 25
- 1 min
Hard Work Worth Doing
I recently finished rewatching the television series Parks and Recreation. In the final episode, Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler)...
Michelle Monette
- Sep 6, 2021
- 2 min
How to Build a Regular Practice Habit
If you want to get better at any musical endeavor, whether it's playing an instrument or singing, songwriting or music production, it is...
Michelle Monette
- Mar 2, 2021
- 2 min
RPM Challenge Complete!
Hello everyone! This year's RPM challenge is officially complete, and I was able to finish and submit on time. The result is a 7 song EP...
Michelle Monette
- Feb 19, 2021
- 1 min
RPM Day 19 (Final Daily Post)
Hello! As the title of this post says, this is going to be the last daily update. I'm finding that in this stage of the game I'm not...