Skateboarding and Tenacity: Part II

If you have not read Part I, please check it out! I promise, Part II is way less serious and deals more with music!

Christian Flores' attempt to nail the trick is similar to musicians in a practice room trying to work a difficult passage. The only thing though, was that Christian did not seem to think about how to improve the technique of landing the trick, but rather just wanted to plough through it in the hopes of landing it once. 

Now, I'm no skateboarding expert (although I used to skateboard when I was 12!) but doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting to land the trick, seems like a path towards failure. Everything was the same - the same setup, same run, same location, etc. Again, not a skateboarder, so I cannot comment on how these athletes practice nailing their tricks. But as musicians, if we did everything the same way, wouldn't that produce the same results? We will then, not be progressing as fast as we could or want to.

Having tenacity is important, but having the wisdom and knowledge of how to tackle problems is equally important! Efficient practice is key to maximising your time spent in the practice room. So next time you are in one, I would suggest not to just plough through it but rather, think about how the technique/piece/anything-you're-working-on can be achieved. Spend time in front of mirrors (they're a musician's best friend) as they are good "third-eyes" to really hone in on specific technical or passage difficulties. Record yourself with audio/video or both (another best friend!) and see how you can take things to the next level. Better still, be creative and come up with new ways/exercises to practice! Spice things up and be ever-changing. That way, you don't have to deal with burnout sooner! 

If you can't think of anything, check out my previous post or Noa's more recent newsletter and hopefully it'll provide some inspiration and stimulation! Also, do subscribe to his weekly newsletters as they can offer some fresh insights and ideas. Being creative is hard work, so don't give up!

As always, thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and do share this post too!

Stay safe, be well and I'll end it with this video.

Joachim

Linkin Park

I woke up on 21st July to some shocking news - Chester Bennington's death. In my formative teen years, Linkin Park was the band I listened to most of the time. In fact, the very first rock concert I ever watched was Linkin Park when they came to Singapore in 2004. I still remember it was held at Padang, and my friends and I were in the queue for what felt like the longest time. We would listen to Linkin Park all day long, and even formed a band in school because of them, writing music and recording them in GarageBand!

At that time (around 2002 or so), GarageBand was just released and we had lots of fun recording and writing our own somgs! My family had a MIDI keyboard (I have no idea why though - my parents aren't musicians and there was no reason to own one) and I managed to persuade my parents to buy me an electric guitar. So with those 2 in hand we would write our music, taking our inspiration from Linkin Park. I did most of the music and chords while my dear friend wrote lyrics and then we will patch them together to see if it works. We even used their (now) old school form of writing - singing, rapping, and having a mix of both! We would track the guitars, and then use the MIDI keyboard to add the bass lines and other parts, like an electric piano. No one owned a drumset so we resorted to using the drum patches from GarageBand. Although, we did use one of our friend's drumset to track the drums for one of our songs, but we couldn't possibly keep imposing ourselves there.

A funny story though - we were set to perform for a school event and I got myself injured the night before. Had about 5 or 6 stitches on the back of my head, got bandaged up, went back to school the following day and performed with the band! I think that was one of my highlights in secondary school. That and performing and competing in the SYF competition with the same bandage on, a week later. 

Although my musical tastes have changed over the years, I'm glad my close friend still listens to them and avidly follows them! He truly is a hardcore Linkin Park fan, despite them changing their sound and direction multiple times. And while I do appreciate their musical taste over the years, I wasn't especially drawn to it like I was with Hybrid Theory and Meteora. 

While I am not particularly devastated about his death (life still goes on), it does feel weird to hear about the death of one of your childhood musicians. Kind of makes me wonder about those who grew up listening to people like David Bowie and Prince. Reports say that he committed suicide from depression and mental illness. If you are reading this and you feel that your life is bleak, I implore you, speak to someone and open up! Things will not change overnight, but I guarantee it will help, bit by bit at the very least. The worst thing about mental illness is that outwardly and physically, we all look fine. And the ones that usually come out most hurt are the people around those afflicted.

Sorry for sounding morbid but mental illness really is concerning around the world. I can't say or speak from experience (about having depression of sorts), but we will always need someone to confide in. I can definitively say that my wife has helped me in so many ways that changed and shaped me to want to be a better human every day. The thing about it is that it only happened because I allowed myself to love and be loved in return, and to trust in this broad term of "humanity". 

This really is a personal post from my other more neutral and thought-provoking writings, but I hope that we learn from instances like these, that no matter how bleak it may seem, there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. Now I know there are articles and opinions out there about how people suffering from depression is not able to view the world as non-sufferers do, and with my statement about the light at the end, they see suicide as the only way out. I get that! I accept that thinking and that reasoning. I just pray that for sufferers, that light is something powerful and warm and involves the support and encouragement from family and friends. 

I hope each and everyone of you continue to be safe and well, both physically and mentally. Thank you for taking the time to read as well. I know I'll be putting some Linkin Park songs on repeat for the next few days.

Joachim

P.S. Part II from last week's post will come the following week!

Skateboarding and Tenacity: Part I

Check out this video before proceeding!

I watched it and thought to myself "that is some serious determination!" Now, put yourself in his shoes - do you think you will be strong enough to keep practicing a trick for years, never knowing when you are going to nail it?

I think it is a serious question we need to ask ourselves, no matter what field we are in. This guy took 2 years of broken bones, hospital trips, bruises, cuts, blood, sweat, tears and who knows what else, to finally land the trick he was doing! Just ONCE! Makes me wonder if he attempted it again after that.. And this brings me to attitudes. Christian Flores had the perseverance and dedication to land the trick, no matter how long it took him. But he had more than perseverance. He had a tenacious attitude.

Perseverance vs. Tenacity - what's the difference? When you compare both side-by-side, to me, it just feels like perseverance is lacklustre, and an item you buy off the shelf in DOTA. Of course this comparison is when you put both words together just for its value, but I do feel that Tenacity has more bite, more edge, and has this raw energy and hunger of wanting something. The attitude and ability to be tenacious is fundamental in one's craft - whether you're a musician, a baker, a scientist, a chef, an athlete and so on. Having this energy and hunger to want to improve on one's self is key to making strides and breakthroughs in any field. I truly believe that the earlier and longer you get your hands "dirty" and really just do all the hard stuff, the more you will reap the benefits in the future. 

All my musical heroes have in one way or another, had to go through hard times to get to where they are now. They've been through hard times in school, in social difficulties, family difficulties, financial difficulties, national/political difficulties and the list never ends. Let's not even talk about musicians. Famous people like Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Degeneres, J. K. Rowling and Jim Carrey (do a Google search and many will be women. Are women then, really the "weaker" gender?) all have had troubling and seriously rough times. They certainly weren't born into stardom and if their tenacious attitude failed them, we definitely will not know who these people are today. 

This is going to be a pretty bold statement, but I think the younger generation is seriously lacking in this attribute. Times are different no doubt, and the methods of both learning and teaching are different. But it is still undeniable that students are not as focused, and not even as interested as before. Many young students seek rewards without wanting to put in the effort, or they give up shortly after. Of course, sometimes people just need time to learn and mature - yours truly being the perfect case study. I only chose music as a career path in my early 20s because I thought it was easy (I was really ignorant back then) but I found that to be untrue. Even then, I really only started taking it seriously at about age 22. Imagine what more I could have accomplished if I was just a tad more matured earlier. But these are things that one cannot rush into and nature just has to take its course. I do hope the millennials (as they are now termed) reading this take time to reflect and that start working towards a future you want.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below and as always, thanks for reading! Feel free to share this post and I hope everyone challenges him/herself to have that tenacity to keep improving.

Part II will come soon so in the meantime, stay safe and be well!

Joachim

Is Success a "Thing"?

Everyone has dreams and goals they want to achieve. For the musician, it can also be a multitude of things (ie. technical proficiency) and careers. In my student and pre-student days, there were countless times where I wanted to be an orchestral musician, and then I didn't want to be it; I wanted to teach in government schools, and then I didn't want to; I wanted to continue studying, and then I didn't want to (and also couldn't really). 

Now begs the question - "then what do you want to be?"

Before we get there, I want to point out this article I read recently, about the demise of the "orchestral dream" . I cannot fully summarise it well enough (so please give it a read!) but the gist of it states that students cannot only rely on just winning auditions in orchestras to secure jobs, or for a big break to "be successful". I think success is relative and honestly, I'd rather use this word instead: achievement.  

To an amateur, the pros in the orchestras can be seen as successful; on a more personal scale, nailing down a difficult passage or being able to play a lick in 12 keys can be seen as a success. To me, those are achievements that are the results of endless practicing, honing of skills, determination and tenacity (we'll get to tenacity in a different post). 

Success has a connotation that you've reached the end, that you've done it and there's no need for follow-up, that begets complacency thereafter. I think complacency is the scariest of the lot, which is why I'm more compelled to use the word achievement. Achievements feel like they can progress, they feel like there is still more to be discovered, more to be nurtured, and have more room for growth. I relate it to Final Fantasy games, where you complete each objective required in order to progress through the storyline. And even after the story has been completed, your realise that completing the side quests actually might take up more time than completing the main storyline! 

In any case, I feel it is essential that students (or anyone for that matter) do not see success as obtaining something, like getting a job or playing with a certain group or orchestra. The constant search and hunger for improvement needs to be there not only on a personal level, but also on a social one. That energy needs to be translated into the work that we produce in the hopes of inspiring future generations to follow-suit and to strive for that same "never-ending-ness". I'm sure we all have musical heroes that we strive to emulate, and I think we can be those heroes for the future generations as well.

Going back to my question on what I want to be: I want to be a versatile (we'll also talk about this in the future) musician who is able to serve the music and its purpose, to support the conductor or band leader in any project that I am in, and to ultimately play and perform like it's my last show, every show. 

So now, what do you want to be? 

Joachim

P. S. Thanks for taking the time to read! I felt the urge to end the entry with a question but at the same time, did not want to leave without saying thanks! Please let me know what you think or feel in the comments below and do share this post. In the meantime, stay safe and be well!

The Bulletproof Musician

I've heard of The Bulletproof Musician before but never really took much notice of it. Then it changed when I got a chance to see Noa Kageyama in person. He came down to Peabody to conduct a talk about the psychology of musicians, and of course about his methods - I was intrigued by this "bulletproof musician". 

You can find everything you want to know about him or his work on his website, so I won't bore you with details. I am writing this because I sign up for his weekly newsletters (and you should too!) as they have been beneficial readings and methods to the way I practice and perform. In particular, this article sheds light on how we can actually practice better in the practice rooms. I'm not the world's best practicer or performer, but the insights in Noa's articles are extremely thought-provoking, and challenges us all to do things differently in the practice room in order for us to better more efficient with our time. 

I think his articles are special because he incorporates scientific research and studies (that he himself researches) to substantiate his viewpoints and arguments. He gives you more reason to think of how and why to practice in a certain way. Of course, every one of us is wired differently - we play differently and we learn differently. His ideas and concepts are just but one of the ways we can go about making music. 

Noa himself is an accomplished violinist, but his practice methods are not only applicable to that particular instrument family. I think everyone can benefit from learning from a different instrument family, how they practice, and take those concepts from there to develop and create your own ideas in your practice room.

As always, thanks for taking the time to read! Feel free to share this post or write a comment below telling me what you think.

Stay safe and be well!

Joachim