Not everyone will like it.

Isn't it amazing how fast we can dismiss an original idea because we think, "Naaah, they won't like it"? We may spend hours, days, maybe even weeks or months, developing an idea, creating something new that, if you've spent that much effort and time on it, means something to you.

Or consider an idea that just formed. It may not be well-thought-out yet, but in your mind, something about this idea is worthwhile. "I know someone won't like it," you tell yourself.

Well guess what? You're right. Someone probably won't like your idea, your work, or your creation. But is that alone reason enough to dismiss it as a worthless idea? Does it mean that you shouldn't share the work you do that people might not like? Absolutely not.

How easy it is to place the entire value of a product or idea on the opinions of a few. If you have ever created anything, you know what I am talking about. You prepare to release your work and you immediately wonder, "How will Person One receive this? Is it good enough for Person Two? I so hope he thinks it's awesome." And what if he doesn't? Doesn't the work have any value to you? What about the hundreds or thousands of others who appreciate the work?

Author and speaker Jon Acuff puts it this way.

You don’t get to open yourself up to other people loving an idea unless you also open yourself up to people hating the idea too.

If I am vulnerable enough to share who I am and what I do with the world (thanks, Internet), should I expect 100% of the population who sees my work to like it? And consider it a failure if they don't? How ridiculous! Yet that is often the direction of my thinking. And all it does is confine me to my own little world of self-pity and lies.

Let's flip the situation for a moment. I take in a lot of content in a normal day, and some of it I don't care for, whether it's someone's blog post, a new percussion composition, or a website design. But it's awfully selfish of me to think that my opinion of someone else's work is all that matters. Just because I don't care for a piece of music doesn't mean that it has no value to its creator or many others who love the piece.

Some people like certain things, others hate those things. That's the way it is. But facing the risk that someone won't like your work is never a reason to stop being you.

Faith and Works

Don't worry, I do not intend to write a deep theological post on the long-standing tension between faith and works. (I'll let the smart people do that.) But I do want to share what is becoming a recurring theme in my own life.


"Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it?" James 2:14 (MSG)

How many of us have "all the right words but never do anything"? I'm raising my hand right now. Anyone else in that group? Heck, I feel like I started the group. You could just about name it after me. 


You see, I'm a calculated person. Calculated and safe. I like to know exactly what I'm getting into before I dive in. I need to know how much it will cost, how much I get in return, how long it will take. Is it the best option? The absolute best option? Or is there a better one? I better keep looking for a better way.


It goes on and on, and you know what I end up doing?


Nothing.


There comes a time to act. To make a move even if it feels scary. To take a risk. To have faith. 


Maybe it's time to raise funds to record that album. Maybe it's time to set a date for that performance. To send in the resume for that audition. Maybe it's time to reach out to that person who hurt you. To say yes to that gig you don't want to do but you know you should.


I am struggling to really learn what this means. And why is it a struggle? Because in order to understand faith, I have to HAVE faith. I have to experience what it means to have faith.


"Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?" James 2:19-20 (MSG)


I haven't spent much time around dead bodies, but I'm not real interested in having a corpse on my hands.


What faith step will you take today?

Some frustrations

It happens nearly every summer.

Someone comes out with an update or upgrade, and I decide I need it. They take turns. Sibelius, Apple (OS X), Virtual Drumline, Kontakt, others.

And every summer, during marching band writing season, I spend a day or two scouring forums and FAQs looking for answers. And rarely find them. Sometimes it's an easy fix for a problem that is quite common among other folks, but too often, it seems like I'm the only one with the problem I'm having.

You might think I'm talking about Apple's new operating system "Lion", but I've learned not to jump into a brand new operating system until the kinks have been worked out. My most recent issue stems from a Kontakt Player update, which I mostly use within Sibelius. It will work out soon, I suppose, but never soon enough. I'm not a big fan of reading forums all day.

Advice: make sure you know what you're doing when it's time to make an upgrade. Be sure your programs will all be compatible with the updates, and if you can wait and not miss anything, it might be a good bet to just wait. 


Sweetwater has this helpful post regarding Lion and its compatibility with several music-related programs.

Greg Patillo

Apparently I am intrigued and impressed by beatboxing. It is pretty darn cool when done well. I hope you'll check out the subject of today's post --- beatboxing flutist Greg Pattillo.

Classically trained at the Cleveland Institute of Music, this creative flutist discovered a new way to make music on his instrument. And it has launched him into a career probably far different than the one he envisioned when he stepped onto the campus of CIM. See for yourself what this guy can do. And maybe it just might inspire you to think outside the box.

Check out Greg with his trio, PROJECT. (And of course, you'll be able find many more videos on YouTube.) Enjoy!

How teaching can make you a better player

I have had the privilege of teaching music/percussion for 8 years in a variety of settings. And I can tell you with great certainty that my teaching experiences have absolutely helped me to become a better player and performer. I will share just a couple of examples of how this has happened.

I taught the snareline at the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps in the summer of 2007. And when I say summer, I mean all summer, every minute of every day. I lived and breathed snare drumming. Now, I had played the snare drum all summer for the previous 4 years, but teaching was very different. Daily, I would be presented with challenges of how to fix someone's hands, or how to create a better or different sound, or how to control the rebound better on certain types of strokes. And until I was on the teacher side of the equation, I had never given so much thought to the details of what my own hands were doing. As I evaluated my own technique in order to help students understand the technique, I became much more aware of how to make changes to improve certain aspects of snare drumming that I could even apply to myself. I learned not just how to teach better that summer, but I learned how to play the snare drum better that summer. And, of course, techniques from snare drumming can cover a wide range of percussion, so I ultimately became a better percussionist from teaching that summer.

A second, and more recent, example is my experience teaching the front ensemble at Center Grove High School this school year. Similar to the above example, I have dug deep into the technique of marimba and vibraphone playing, and improved my own playing as a result. But beyond the technical realm, I have enjoyed growing in another area of percussion, and that is musical communication and performance. (Wait, I thought they were just drummers....) When I watch a pit perform, whether indoor or outdoor, I don't want to see robots, or choreographed foot shifts, or manufactured cheesy smiles. I want to see (and hear) honest, genuine musical communication. So this is something I have tried to instill and foster in my group.

When you're discussing such abstract and vague concepts as performance and musical communication with high school students, you get a lot of questions!

How do I do that? 
What does that even mean?
What am I supposed to do with my body?
Should I make a sad face? Happy face?
What if people laugh at me?
What if it feels fake?


So we had to discuss these things (and more), and some beautifully insightful conversations ensued. Just in encouraging students to think about these things, and talking about them often, I have given more thought to the subject than I probably ever had before this year. And when I step up to an instrument to play, I am armed with a deeper understanding of how I can communicate effectively through music. As I spend so much time trying to get emotions out of students, I find more emotion flowing out of me.

These are just two of several examples that could be shared. Do you have examples to share? Have you experienced improvement in your performance as a result of teaching music?