Please read these quotes, and consider them for a moment

before you blast through them. I know your time is valuable, however, so is getting new ideas. Take one quote a day and carry it with you.

What Counts,

is not how hard you work,

but how much you grow.

.....Adam Grant

Practice as if you are not good enough,

Perform as if you are perfect.

.....Wes Feighner

I prefer the word train rather than practice.

The connotation of the word practice seems difficult to me.

There must be so many words that describe what we do

to prepare for a performance that make it easier.

.....Mike Vaccaro

Old things, like old people,

have many stories to tell.

.....Mike Vaccaro

What makes a difference in life

is not the activity we do,

but the lessons we learn.

.....Adam Grant

Kindness is not to be confused

with the lack of boundary,

or the lack of self care.

Exercising kindness is a skill

that requires a lifetime of thoughtful training.

Just pleasing others by doing what they

wish from you, is not kindness

but chaos.

.....Anna Ouspenskaya

Ambition is the outlook you want to attain.

Aspiration is the person you hope to become.

.....Agnes Callard

Writing exposes gaps in your knowledge

and logic.

......Adam Grant

Unclear writing is a sign

of unclear thinking.

.....Adam Grant

Shyness is the fear of negative evaluation

in social situations.

.....Adam Grant

It is not the intellectual

of the species that survives.

It is not the strongest

of the species that survives.

It is the one that is able to adapt.

.....Leon Meginson

The agile artist has the elegance of a Poet,

the precision of a Mathematician,

the vision of a Mystic,

and the drive of a Soldier.

....Hacking Music

......John Pisciotta

Once a word is uttered aloud,

their is a seismic shift,

you will feel it.

.....Joyce Carole Oates

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet,

only through experiences of trial and suffering

can a soul be strengthened,

vision cleared, ambition inspired

and success achieved.

.....Helen Keller

Sometimes the computer is right.

.....Mike Vaccaro

Character that is set in plaster,

likely will never soften again.

The best character retains its plasticity.

.....William James

It is important that we are taught as early as possible,

that there is death for everyone.

If we learn to accept the loss,

such knowledge allows us to live with less injury.

.....Mike Vaccaro

People don't fake depression.

They fake being okay.

Remember that.

Be kind.

.....Robin Williams

This is how I learned that

the world changes between heartbeats;

that life is never absolute,

but always a wager.

..... Jodi Picoult

Anything can be bought these days,

including governments and courts.

.....Mike Vaccaro

Never, never, stop trying.

.....Anon

Music when healthy

is the teacher of perfect order,

and when depraved

the teacher of perfect disorder.

.....John Ruskin

The sound and the music

are 50% of the entertainment in a movie.

.....George Lucas

If a composer could say what he

had to say in words,

He would not bother

to say it in music.

.....Gustav Mahler

You don't fall in love.

You walk into love.

.....Anon

Have you started your journal yet? You will be glad you did.

Click on the CDs above and that will take you to where you can preview both of these selections above and also many of my other CDs.

All selections are in the process of being posted for streaming at;



https://ciceronema.com/cma-streams-artists-mike-vaccaro/

Staying Loose

Has someone thrown you something and you catch it without thinking, it was just a reflex action. Have you ever thrown a piece of paper at a trash can? You know for sure that you have a better chance of getting the paper in the trash can if you don't think or wonder if it is going in. The importance of this is that our internal dialogue wasn't turned on.

Reflex actions are a non-thinking way to do things.

Why is it important to stay loose? In a few words, "to let our blood flow."

So, we can thus assume that internal dialogue can be a reason for us not to be loose, especially if the internal dialogue is negative, which is much more tiring and perplexing than thinking positive happy thoughts. The Guru's in India work for years to "be clear," or not talk to themselves. Even most of those masters can "be clear" only part of the time.

So, what to do? It is best to push your internal dialogue to the back of your mind and each time it comes to the forefront tell yourself to ignore it. Simply look at the notes you are playing and make sure you see the notes and all they imply. Lets pay attention to our tasks and not our incessant unwanted internal thoughts

Early in my career I got into a conversation with a concert violinist and he said we don't know our music until it is memorized. His point being that the memorization process overcomes the internal dialogue.

I see the violinist's point. When the music is in our fingers, and not in our mind, we have a better chance of playing perfect and beautifully. The dilemma is that though the music is in our fingers, it still gives us the possibility of using our internal dialogue. However, those who memorize music put talking to themselves in a performance way in the back of their mind, as they know if the internal dialogue is too loud, they will lose the advantage of the memorization.

I have never been a very good memorizer as I was busy learning four woodwind instruments from the beginning which improved my sight reading. The reason being, a good site reader was necessary for me was to stay in the music business, which led me to be a poor memorizer.

Do you tighten up and approach your practice like you are going to war? Do you approach your performances with fear, especially solo or chamber music concerts? Are you able to record yourself, whether in an ensemble or a solo situation without fear? In general do you tighten up or freeze up when the spotlight is on you or you are the center of attention?

Fear, or tightness, is something that not only musicians try to avoid. Anyone that must be at their best encounters the same dilemma. We need a good blood flow to utilize our bodies and especially our brains.

I was watching the Olympics and noticed how much time the athletes warmed up, and even continued to have various loosening techniques immediately before doing their events. Why? Was it the desire to win or the idea that millions of people were watching them? They knew either intrinsically or from coaching that a loose muscle performs better. Shaking their extremities, deep breathing, praying, and whatever else they could do to control their body became important. They only flex the muscles that are absolutely necessary while trying to keep all the other muscles loose. Blood flow to the body and mind is the goal.

From the time we are very young we need to learn language to get along in society, and many times we do this by practicing our words inside our brain, and sometimes as we age, our thoughts can be over rehearsed in our mind to check that we are speaking correctly. Our parents, in order to raise us "correctly", also put thoughts in our mind too. We sometimes end up practicing what we are going to say our whole life, and many of these repeated phrases may not be correct for the time we end up living in.

Take anything you do with your hands, whether it be music, art, sales, teaching, running a company, or anything else. Try doing it with a lot of tension, and then next try to do it with almost no tension.

The best way to learn is by practicing/trying extremes!

A ditch digger that works tight and fast will never last the whole day. A ditch digger that has an easy rhythmic tempo will last the day as their muscles can fill up with blood after every shovel full.

There is much to be learned by watching people doing their tasks. Thoughtful positive thinking about anything in the future makes any person looser than those of us who charge ahead trying to force an issue.

Most of my readers are musicians. If you want to play loud and fast you have to be loose. It lets the sound or breath come from your body freely without extra work or tightness. Many times I have asked a student to play faster. They immediately get softer so their body can still play faster. Then I ask them why they played softer to play faster. They don't understand why they can't play louder and faster. When they concentrate on playing slower and louder and understand that it is easy, they can start to increase the speed while still playing with a full unforced breath. Being loose works!

It is better for us to go on stage thinking about presenting our music rather than the internal fight of worrying about a wrong note. And by the way, most listeners don't hear the mistakes, even our colleagues.

Procrastination is an example of strong internal dialogue. One voice knows we need to prepare and the other is telling us to find things to do to put off our training until later (if at all).

I urge you (and me) to think critically and without fear or worry whenever we can, and when that "stinkin thinkin" and self talking gets loud, lets put it in the back of our mind.

Constantly work on being loose.

My book is available on Amazon and Kindle.

Click on the book above and read all about it along with a video interview.

Purchase it today.

Do it now before you forget.

You are going to like it !!!

I am selling two Buffet Bb clarinets and an Buffet A clarinet. I am also selling a Muramatsu flute with two winged headjoints. Plus I am selling a Lauben oboe that has just be gone through be a oboe repair specialist.

These are spare instruments of the highest quality and seldom played. Please contact me at mike@mikevaccaro.com if you are interested.

I also adjust mouthpieces for clarinets and saxes.

Before Christmas I will have finished my new County Western CD featuring the fabulous singer and songwriter Margie Gibson. Who would have guessed?

Remember: Be happy where you are, while you are trying to get where you want to be.

Happiness is a decision you make and despite troubles that appear in life you still can be intrinsically happy.

Practice at least one minute today please.

Company Name | MikeVaccaro.Com