I got a kick out the above meme (it’s been a long day!) and noticed the attribution to “Bass Players United”. I was curious about what that group was, so googled it and found them on Facebook.
I guess having been married to a bass player for seven years left me with a certain affinity for the bass and people who play it!
Anyways, there were some interesting things and then I found this!
The comments in response to this meme were priceless, and so right in line with my last few blog posts that I had to share a few.
One guy said the following:
I absolutely loved people’s responses!
Feeling kind of validated, but I do believe I’m completely done with this topic!
My last couple of posts got me thinking more about the whole idea of being “talented” and what a mixed bag that can be!
Looking back I realize I had a certain amount of natural ability and facility with music. Things came pretty easily at the start. Of course, then I felt insecure because I didn’t have a clue what I was doing!
That’s the thing, isn’t it? When it all just comes to you naturally, a part of you worries that it could leave just as easily!
The fact is, although I had natural musicality and a beautiful tone, there were lots of other things that I wasn’t doing well at ALL (fixing all my “flute flaws” is where persistence and determination had to make an appearance).
Years later, when I had my own private flute studio, I saw how correcting all those errors in my playing made me a much better teacher. Pretty much anything a student was doing wrong, I had done as well and knew how to go about correcting it.
The only aspect of flute playing that I never felt confident teaching was vibrato. Why? Because when I was in high school the girl who played 1st flute in band did this “thing” with her tone that made her sound better than me. I wasn’t okay with that and determined if she could do it, I could do it. So I did, with absolutely no idea of how. 😄
I received a deeper understanding of all this thanks to a particular flute student. She was in high school, a beautiful and very talented girl who ended up being one of the greatest challenges of my teaching career.
There was simply no way to get her to work. She was quick and bright and had so much natural ability that she could reach a relatively high level with very little effort. So she considered herself an excellent flutist, entitled to praise and adulation, and disregarded most of what I was attempting to teach her.
Finally a light bulb went off for me and I saw how she was a perfect example of the “talented” trap. The truth is that none of us can take credit for any God-given talent that we’ve been blessed with. But what we can take credit for is the energy and effort, the persistence and determination, that we put out to develop our talent.
I’ve seen enough auditions won by seemingly “mediocre” musicians who just kept plugging away to know that if I had to choose, I’d choose persistence, determination, and discipline. Because…nothing is more common than unsuccessful [people] with talent.
On the other hand, when someone has talent and the willingness to work at it, amazing things are possible.
I’ve loved the below quote forever. It taught me a lot when I was studying music in college. Especially the line: “nothing is more common than unsuccessful men (or women!) with talent.”
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” — Calvin Coolidge
I think most of us musically inclined folks have gone through this (hopefully brief) phase.
I remember having a HUGE insight one time shortly after I had graduated from conservatory: I wanted — nay, expected! — to be awesome, but I didn’t practice consistently.
What I realized is that I wanted something for nothing!
Talk about a sobering realization.
Of course, it doesn’t work that way. If it seems like it does, it’s simply because a person has done the work in (many) previous lifetimes, making it appear that they’re a “natural” now.
Look who I encountered as I set out for my walk this morning!
Of course, we didn’t actually walk together, but it was lovely starting my morning with a little deer communion.
I’m pretty sure these are the same fawns who were born next to our house a month or maybe six weeks ago; the photo below caught one of them resting by the house about a week later. They start out so vulnerable, so it’s nice to see them growing strong and healthy.
We’re in the midst of a salary and budget process, which has required us music ministry folks to quantify what we do in terms of how many hours we spend on various tasks.
It’s been a fairly exhausting process.
Partly because we’re a bunch of largely right-brained creatives who really don’t think this way.
Partly because this past year and a half has been so different from all that ever came before, to the point where it’s hard to even remember what came before (or how much time we spent doing it).
Partly because it’s hard to know how much of what we learned and developed during the lockdown period of the pandemic will stay with us into the future.
And partly because — even as life starts opening up — we continue to be flooded with more questions and constantly changing circumstances.
But we’re doing our best. And, actually, it’s been quite enlightening to see in writing all the different aspects of what we do!
The break between challenges was longer this time around; I think due to the founders of the program moving from LA to Hawaii.
That’s a darn good reason and I totally support them in allowing themselves that extra time, but I could definitely tell the difference in having almost a month instead of two weeks “off”.
There are many people who just keep plugging away during the breaks, but the way I’m wired it helps me to feel a little letdown of pressure, then gearing back up to be all the way “on” again.
The good news is that I mostly maintained my routines, with just a few little “break-out” moments spaced throughout the month. And I don’t feel bad about those, either!
But right at the end I could feel a part of me wanting to really cut loose, so I’m quite happy to get back into challenge mode for the next 28 days.
I love watching the birds fluttering around while they chow down on the star thistle plants, and was thrilled to finally manage to take a short video of them at play!
Of course, these are birds in the summer, but the accompanying music is “Birds in the Spring” by Swami Kriyananda, performed by the late harpist, Derek Bell, on the Mystic Harp 2 CD.
Oh, how I wish I had understood this back in the late 80’s/early 90’s!
One of our housemates also attended our church, where I was very active and outgoing in the music, taking classes, and volunteering.
When I got home, I tended to retreat into my room. But after a while, this roommate started complaining because I was so standoffish and unfriendly. He actually got pretty demanding about how I “should” be spending more time with my housemates, which just made me avoid him even more.
It was extremely uncomfortable.
Much later I realized that he saw me being so friendly and approachable at church and his feelings were hurt that I wasn’t that way at home. And I didn’t know how to explain, because I didn’t fully understand it myself!
I don’t even remember his name, but I hope that wherever he is and whatever he’s doing (and if he even remembers me!), he’ll see this little cartoon and understand that it wasn’t personal.
