Category Archives: Observations on Our Human Nature and Self Improvement
Lessons in Life from Playing iPad’s FreeCell Solitaire
As I am spending more and more time caring for my elderly father, we have come upon a shared activity that we both really enjoy. FreeCell Solitaire is a twist on the classic solitaire card game. Most of the rules … Continue reading
Avoiding the Dark Side of Success
The world constantly presents us with challenges. Sometimes we find their solutions quite readily, or we may struggle with a problem for years. And other times we might just give up, or even ignore the dilemma altogether. Finding a successful … Continue reading
The Importance of Having a Mentor in Music
Today the internet has put an incredible amount of information at our fingertips (and also a vast amount of misinformation). If you want to know more about any subject, or just an answer to a single question, you Google it. … Continue reading
Problem Solving: Getting Your Eyes Adjusted to the Dark
What would you do if you knew the answer to your problem was in a particular room, and yet when you opened the door to that room you found it was completely dark? Of course you would reach for a … Continue reading
The Genius in All of Us
One of my students, Mark, who daylights as an architect, recently loaned me a copy of David Shenk’s wonderful book, The Genius in All of Us. It quickly dominated my reading time as it debunked the old theories that intelligence, … Continue reading
The Importance of a Clear Mental Image
We all remember our first attempts at drawing the human form…for most it was the timeless stick figure. That image is clearly not a dog or a house, but it is so crude that basic human attributes like age, gender … Continue reading
Using “Add-ons” to Learn a Challenging Passage of Music
Musicians are familiar with the technique of slowing down a difficult piece of music until it is mastered, and then gradually speeding up the phrase until it can be played flawlessly at the desired tempo. Here’s another approach I call … Continue reading
A Common Pitfall When Taking the “Next Step”
Although I’m very careful to make sure a student is ready before moving to the next level with their fundamentals, sometimes that “next step” is a misstep…where they not only fail with that new step but also lose the abilities … Continue reading
Wisdom from Vitamin Cottage
We all know how challenging music can be. When everything is working right, the musical experience can be one of life’s greatest pleasures, but it is not always a magical moment every time we perform, rehearse, practice or compose. As musicians, … Continue reading
Bob Gillis: Musician 