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On Freedom Overdose and Overwork

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After reading through How to Beat the Self-Employment Blues, I was able to put labels to what I've been doing: freedom overdose and overwork. My workdays and weeks have been stretched out, simply because I could. Just like the author of the article said, “Wow, I can go to Starbucks anytime I want”. I can log into Facebook anytime I want, because I can (well, except when I'm teaching).

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Reviewing My Student Incentives

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This year, I modified my incentive program slightly to incorporate "musician survival skills". These are the areas that we as teachers and performing musicians know are necessary: aural skills, sight-reading, chording, transposition, improvising, technical skills, and practice frequency. They are also the areas that most students either gloss over or ignore.

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Using Music Practice Plans

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The bottom line is that it’s not how much time you practise on your instrument for, but how you manage your practice time, and how often. You can save a lot of time in the long run if you have a practice plan and goals, and if you have ideas on how to reach them.

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Introducing the Maestro Mobile Dog Stroller

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After attending the Heritage Day festivities offered by the City of Calgary this past summer, I caved and ordered Maestro a dog stroller from Amazon. You try carrying an arthritic dog who can only walk a few feet before wanting a break. And when he wants a break, he’ll just park it wherever he stops. He doesn't care if he’s in the way.