"Uncertainty is the only certainty there is (and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security).”
This quote is from John Allen Paulos, Temple University professor of mathematics and author of A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper, I Think Therefore I Laugh, and Innumeracy, and is apt for the times we are living. But it also resonates with musicians because making music means working with a living art form. Ours is an art of the moment, and we've got to realize that things change from moment to moment, in an instant.
As author Ursula Le Guin says in The Lefthand of Darkness, "the unknown, the unforetold, the unproven, that is what life is based on."
So knowing this, what tools can you count on?
1 - Know that only through uncertainty can you find the magic! If you always had the answer to everything, or knew how things would go, or were comfortable, you wouldn't have imagination, spontaneity, or ability to uncover hidden potential.
2 - Live in this moment. No matter how many hours you've practiced, gone over the same passage or visualized it, you need to learn to live it in the moment. No two performances are the same: temperature, humidity, number of audience, the hall, the room, your strings, the reeds, your lips, fingers, the piano, what you ate for breakfast, how you slept... all affect your physical, mental, and emotional self.
3- Choose to live with ease. Practice and perform in the flow. You can practice becoming comfortable with uncertainty by sitting in the space between things. Be okay with being unsure, not knowing. Be like water: flow with it!
These are 'knowings' that you might easily conceptualize intellectually. But practicing them in the everyday is the hard part. If you're like me and worry about what you can't control, ruminate about what happened 5 days ago, or just numb out in 'the scroll', it's even more important that you (identify and) tap into the things you know for sure.
And that's what your reason for 'doing' music - for performing, for going to music school, for establishing that studio, for applying for that job, for starting the organization, for changing your career, for practicing - is.
So the fourth would be...
4 - Being grounded in what you value. What is your primary reason for performing, teaching, building, creating.
With that, here's a download for you today: Lesson 1, Pillar 1, Unit 1 of E-School, "Start with You". It's a foundational workbook, with question prompts and values exercises to help you get clear on what I call your 'coordinates'.
Pillar 1 HEART OF YOU
When you get to Exercise 3, you can share with me, right here in this email reply. I'm holding this space for YOU.
I look forward to what you've got to share!
In your corner,
Ixi
p.s. The lesson above is extracted from Music360's comprehensive professional development/ entrepreneurship program that we built with our whole hearts! It is actually the very first lesson in the Unit called "Core Work", which includes your compass, lessons on building your portfolio and developing a resilient and growth-oriented mindset.
Curious about whether E-School is right for you? Hit reply, and I'd be happy to answer your questions or talk with you on the phone or zoom.
Here are the 9 pillars of the program:
Core Work (Heart)
Pillar 1 Your compass: your direction and unique skills, and how they intersect with your values and interests.
Pillar 2 Your portfolio: the essentials - resume, cv, bio, teaching or artist statement, maybe an elevator pitch if you have or are building a business.
Pillar 3 Mindset: the tools to weather ups and downs, reframe unhelpful narratives, be resilient, build good habits, and manage your time and energy well.
Technical Skills (Heart to Instrument)
Pillar 4 Understanding entrepreneurship: all about your idea, your livelihood, and how you present your self. It's the business of you.
Pillar 5 Get your ideas out in the world: connect your passion to people, build, deliver, refine and redeliver, whether it's your application, project, grant, business, studio, or collab.
Pillar 6 Your wellness: the tools for balance and growth. What are your essentials for wellness, and how will you apply these to real life?
Career Skills (Instrument to World)
Pillar 7 Sharing your message and 'brand': the ability to communicate - write well, represent who you are in the digital world, and build relationships.
Pillar 8 Your application or audition: honing the art of both of these things if you're going out for interviews or prepping for the audition circuit.
Pillar 9 Presenting and performing: the live experience of being on the spot over and over again. And, strategies to get in the zone on stage.
The first 50 participants are invited to join at half tuition! Apply here.
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