The final lesson in Mr. Mike’s Remote Learning Experience is for the more advanced student. Before attempting to undertake this one, you should have mastered at least one of the preceding lessons, namely: Gratitude, Grace, Humility, Patience, Humor, or Passion. If you have not mastered any of these, you should think long and hard aboutContinue reading “Music 101: Observation”
Category Archives: essay
Music 101: Humility
There are four cardinal virtues, first recognized by Plato, and later by Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas (and probably by people further along in the alphabet): Prudence – the ability to let reason dictate action Justice – the ability to interact fairly with others Fortitude – the ability to persevere circumstance with dignity, and Temperance –Continue reading “Music 101: Humility”
Music 101: Grace
You might try to make music without grace but I can tell you from experience that whatever it is you are creating without grace, it is not music. Grace is a bit of a tricky concept. We have all watched someone move gracefully and felt the calmness of soul that accompanies such movement. That suddenContinue reading “Music 101: Grace”
Music 101: Gratitude
One of the most valuable lessons I learned as a musician came from Carlos Santana. He said that when you work on your instrument – learning scales and patterns, working repetitiously until your playing flows naturally – you should not think of it as ‘practice.’ Practice is a chore. Instead, you should think of it,Continue reading “Music 101: Gratitude”
Music 101: Origin Story
The music of our lives begins with the beating of our hearts. One day it will end with the final beat. Since everything has its beginning, I wondered: when did music start? Was it invented or discovered? Music has been around for so long that it cannot be traced back to a specific time. ItContinue reading “Music 101: Origin Story”
