Insightful article on Fear, Shame, and the Ukulele

Mivo

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Thanks for sharing. That is probably the best article I've read about some of the inner emotional and psychological workings of creating music, regardless of whether it's the ukulele or not.

I would highly recommend reading the musicians soul by James Jordan. It's a whole book that deals with some of the topics the article brings up. One interesting point is the chapter on mimetics, which is the study of envy. Musicians have a certain envy for the perfect sound, or for the talent or ability to achieve the perfect sound. We also are envious or jealous of those that have that power to create the music we want to create. When we don't, we turn negative inside ourself which reflects negativity outwards and further disrupts our music making. It really does come down to accepting failure and mistakes, focusing on growth and progress, and being accepting of wherever we may be in our musical journey.
 
Thanks for your article. It gives me hope that I can get better at this!
I too failed at an instrument before the ukulele.
 
I really enjoyed reading that. Partly for the message, and partly for the word-craft. Thank you for the link.
 
Thanks for the link. I've walked the same path. Then turned around and walked it again. It's a continual journey; even when you've been to hell and back and come to the point of 'knowing' the struggle continues to let go.
 
Excellent read. I always get nervous when I play my uke in front of others. I've played some bass but I was able to hide back with drummer. But a solo instrument puts me out there so I can identify with the article.

One thing struck me. It would be more difficult to perform in front of other players than the general public. The general public has no familiarity with the ukulele and would be blown away with any rendition of Blue Roses, but everyone here can compare it to the original.

John
 
Mivo, thank you for posting such a wonderful article. I could relate to much of it (having been through a good half-dozen musical wars myself!) but one idea that stood out in particular for me was "to play a beautiful piece of music, even as an amateur, is a great joy." That is reason enough, in and of itself, to do what we are doing - I get asked all the time why I do what I do, and no answer I've ever given to anyone has captured it as well as that sentence.
 
Thanks so much........that was awesome. Mivo you deserve another custom uke for that contribution.

I will be book marking this for reference during those times I need a little pick me up. Or at least some perspective and a reality check. I love the part about performance camp and all the desire to perform coupled with the anixety of potential failure. Good stuff buddy
 
Great stuff, thanks for sharing
 
Thanks from me too. A great article. As someone who suffers greatly with performance anxiety, it really resonated with me.
 
Glad the article was new to you folks, too. :) I found it an immensely motivating read that really resonated with me. It's curious how many of us had this devastating First Encounter with a piano teacher at a young age, which then, in one way or another, affected us in the decades that followed.

Mine was similar to the author's: I was just about 12 or 13 and had gotten a Hohner organ from my grandparents (always the best for the boy, unfortunately also always bundled with crushing expectations that were impossible to meet). I was sent off to a piano teacher who had the charisma of a broom. A very stiff broom. It was dislike at first sight, and the lack of progress reflected that.

She was fairly patronizing and sarcastic, which caused me to rebel, and certainly, I wasn't having fun -- and found the built-in rhythm machine of the organ more fascinating than anything she talked about. I stopped going after a few hours after she had made it clear she really didn't want to teach me, and dealt with the grandparental disapproval of the "You never follow through with anything, maybe we shouldn't have spent all this money on the organ." bitter flavor.

This was in the first half/middle of the 1980s, long before YouTube and such. While I believe that today's kids and teens are exposed to an unfortunate and completely overwhelming, often paralyzing, amount of information, I also feel that they (and we) have it so much easier now to not only find learning methods that are compatible with them, but also have all the material needed for self-study right in front of them.

I do think that a flesh-and-blood teacher has much to offer, and is probably invaluable, but actually finding a non-pixelated teacher who is not only competent and pedagogically impressive, but also fits with one's personality, is tremendously hard. (On the flip side, I'll say that I've had a couple school teachers who were strict as heck and who nevertheless, or because of it, taught me a lot, possibly because I yearned to be accepted by them. Then again, I actually respected them for who they were, and they didn't make me want to pee on their carpet just to annoy them).
 
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As a piano teacher myself, I just want to comment on how sad I feel that so many people seem to have had such poor experiences with teachers. I've always encouraged my students to strive for excellence (and I think excellence is different from virtuosity - being the very best that _you_ can be is more important IMHO than being better than everyone else) but what I really want most for them is to come to love music even more than they did when they started lessons, not just the making of it but also the hearing and experiencing. I've never had a student go on to be a professional, but I _have_ had students go on to explore and enjoy music in a variety of settings - and that, to me, is incredibly satisfying.

To the OP, thanks for the article - I struggle with performance anxiety and perfectionist tendencies and this was a helpful read.

Lesley
 
This was in the first half/middle of the 1980s, long before YouTube and such. While I believe that today's kids and teens are exposed to an unfortunate and completely overwhelming, often paralyzing, amount of information, I also feel that they (and we) have it so much easier now to not only find learning methods that are compatible with them, but also have all the material needed for self-study right in front of them.

The only problem I see with ALL of this information is that in getting it immediately, many assume it's that simple to learn/implement it into your playing. That's where I see a lot of frustration from players (of all instruments) as of late; they're frustrated that they didn't pick up some technique they saw on YouTube after a week. They forget that the person who made the video probably spent hours upon hours working on it.


I do think that a flesh-and-blood teacher has much to offer, and is probably invaluable, but actually finding a non-pixelated teacher who is not only competent and pedagogically impressive, but also fits with one's personality, is tremendously hard. (On the flip side, I'll say that I've had a couple school teachers who were strict as heck and who nevertheless, or because of it, taught me a lot, possibly because I yearned to be accepted by them. Then again, I actually respected them for who they were, and they didn't make me want to pee on their carpet just to annoy them).

A flesh-and-blood teacher - whether in person or online like Skype lessons - has the ability to immediately spot issues and bad habits, and help you adjust immediately.

As for finding one that you are compatible with, it shouldn't be that hard. If you have the ability to, I'd suggest going and talking with the teacher prior to scheduling any lessons, to make sure it'll work. I've seen a lot of my friends (who teach privately) are doing this first, because as much as you want to make sure you're getting the most out of your lessons, they also want to make sure you're not just wasting time.
 
As a piano teacher myself, I just want to comment on how sad I feel that so many people seem to have had such poor experiences with teachers.

I believe it's just hard in general, and in any field, to find a teacher that is a good fit. There's certainly the element of experience and ability to inspire (which, I think, is a trait rather than something that can easily be learned; people, somehow, pick up on whether someone is genuine or not), as well as competence on the subject that they teach, but a large part, I feel, is just a matter of individual chemistry.

Looking back at my school time (I went to quite a few due to moving and other reasons), there were only a handful of teachers who managed to kindle lasting enthusiasm in me. It was easier for those who taught subjects that interested me (the "talk-y" kind of subjects, like religion, history, sociology), and harder for those who were unfortunate enough to be tasked to teach me something about math, physics and other entirely too logical things.

I did have one physics teacher who made an impression, and I don't even know why. He was an older, rather disillusioned teacher, but, and I think that made all the difference, he listened. He was interested in my opinions, even though physics left me cold (in fact, we spent most of the time discussing the stock market, which I was super interested in when I was sixteen and broke; by the time I had income and could have applied my knowledge, I was naturally no longer interested!). In turn, that made me want to learn from him, and my grades improved.

It was, though, for the most part, solely a matter of compatible personalities and mutual respect. I also never felt criticized by that teacher, even when he did, which I think was of tremendous importance to me as a somewhat troubled teenager who didn't feel like he fit anywhere, which presumably many teenagers experience. Delivering criticism without making the recipient feel "defensive" is an art.

I have a lot of respect for teachers who care, and who continue to care even when they are not always, or only rarely, appreciated. I think the lack of appreciation is very pronounced especially in public schools. Perhaps caring goes hand in hand with having a "mission", wanting to make a difference, rather than just doing the job they get paid for. Then again, that probably applies to many professions.
 
The creative process is essential to our mental health. Art, music, poetry, and storytelling have always been ways for people to make meaning of their experience; such pursuits are entwined with our evolutionary history and growth into social organisms. It builds to a crescendo as we age. The ambiguities and mysteries of life accumulate as we get older. Creative pursuits are a way for us to give voice to the “unknown knowns” embedded in our life experiences.[1]
[1] Robert Haas and E. O Wilson, The Poetic Species, NY: Bellevue Literary Press, 2014.

Excellent!
 
Interesting and thought provoking article, but I don't know what to make of it. It just seemed to me that he had a lot of baggage that he had to shed. I always think that it is interesting what gets in people's way sometimes.
 
Interesting and thought provoking article, but I don't know what to make of it. It just seemed to me that he had a lot of baggage that he had to shed. I always think that it is interesting what gets in people's way sometimes.

I'm not so sure about that. Playing an instrument is not that much different than learning any activity that demands a motor skill and then executing that skill under pressure before other people.

There have been a number of "Inner" books that were written to help people execute a golf shot or return a tennis ball, especially in tournaments, without first convincing themselves that they are going to screw it up and miss the shot. The mind can trump all the skill and no one wants to be associated with an infamous fail.

John
 
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