Look For the Ingredients
When constructing our musical lives and identities, we often draw inspiration from our favourite musicians. Whether we resonate with the...
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Build a Musical Life - Blog
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Michelle Monette
- Dec 27, 2022
- 2 min
Reflect and Redirect
Deliberate planning is essential to building our ideal musical life. We want to be clear about what we’re aiming for, and have a concrete...
Michelle Monette
- Dec 19, 2022
- 2 min
Practice Self-Compassion
"What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself." - Hecato quoted in Seneca's Letters from a Stoic...
Michelle Monette
- Dec 11, 2022
- 2 min
We Are All Built to Make Music
Music is a widely appreciated artform, and an important feature in many of our daily lives. It can connect people to themselves and...
Michelle Monette
- Dec 5, 2022
- 2 min
Play the Long Game
"Nearly everything awesome takes longer than you think. Get started and don't worry about the clock." - James Clear Getting good at music...
Michelle Monette
- Nov 27, 2022
- 2 min
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...
Michelle Monette
- Nov 21, 2022
- 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, 2022
- 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, 2022
- 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, 2022
- 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, 2022
- 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, 2022
- 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, 2022
- 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, 2022
- 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, 2022
- 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, 2022
- 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, 2022
- 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, 2022
- 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, 2022
- 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, 2022
- 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...
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