There are many benefits to studying music, and among the top life-lessons is that of personal discipline. The overarching concept in life is that everything rises and falls on leadership. And the first rule of leadership is to lead one’s self well.
When we provide drum lessons in Midland, Texas we encourage students to not only learn the drums, but the life-skills of discipline that have far-reaching consequences in all aspects of their lives.
There are those who want to change the world and soon discover how difficult it is to change people, and as one person said, “People like to change, they just don’t like to be changed.” It becomes obvious how difficult it is to change the world when one looks within himself, his own life, and desires to make a positive change for the good. How many layers of habits unite to resist the process of doing something new?
Change happens on the inside. It’s a little like the merry-go-round I used to play on at recess when I was in grade-school. The outside of the merry-go-round was whirling around so fast, once it got going, that it was difficult (if not impossible) to grab ahold of and get on. But once (if) you managed to get up on it while it is spinning, you begin to make your way to the center of it, it seems to be spinning rather slowly by comparison. This inner inertia is, however, much harder to get started. It’s the inside, small adjustments, in our lives that make the largest impact to our outer, more visible, lives. And it is the inside that is hardest to change.
In our drumming instruction in Midland, Texas we help students get started with the best practices and habits that help them have the best habits initially.
Habits make up the majority of our waking hours. It is actually efficient to establish good life-habits that we don’t have to think about, so that we can think about other things, while we wash the dishes or brush our teeth.
The reality is, the habits we possess- or fail to possess- wield significant influence over us and go far deeper than just our daily routines. Our habits affect every aspect of our lives and have a ripple effect that impacts not just us but our friends and family. Ultimately, habits shape our destiny…the definition and Latin root of the word ‘habit’ is most fascinating: ‘condition or character.’ Your current condition and your character are the sum of your habits to this moment. (The Habit Factor, Martin Grunburg)
When a student begins to gain mastery of their instrument or their voice, it takes a number of things. First, it takes new knowledge from someone who has walked the path ahead of you and knows the pitfalls, the process and the sacrifice. A teacher or mentor is critical in order to help the student develop the framework within which the activity is pursued. A student left to their own devices without much knowledge is destined to try to ‘reinvent the wheel,’ which has taken generations of aggregated wisdom to be amassed. In other words, the student will simply run out of time (or motivation) before achieving the goal.
We provide the highest quality information in drumming techniques in our drumming instruction in Midland, Texas.
Once the student gains the knowledge, the next step is the willingness begin applying the knowledge. This is the beginning of personal accountability, because he will only make progress based upon the sacrifice given. The goal is clear and the knowledge is understandable, so the next ingredient is the effort, and only the student is in control of that part.
We believe in each of our students in our private drumming lessons in Midland, Texas and know that they will give their best effort to accomplish success.
When the student begins to exert the effort to make progress the inevitable hurdle or ‘wall’ comes in their ability too process the information given, to navigate what it means to apply it to their own experience. Many new awarenesses begin to happen: muscles begin to be used in new ways that feel awkward, new thought processes begin to be shaped (much like learning a new language), new terminology is learned, a new vocabulary begin to be established between the student and the teacher to frame the various aspects of technique that the student is experiencing.
In essence, a new world is being formed within the student’s mind and understanding in this new discipline.
With the study of music, these things (as discussed previously) encompass visual, aurel and kinesthetic learning simultaneously. In other words, the study of music is highly immersive, and generates a comprehensive use of the brain in establishing new habits.
When a student may have learned a specific technique improperly at the start, and allows the habit to go on for some time, they begin to become aware of the inside of ‘the merry-go-round’ and how difficult it is to change the inertia of how that habit got started, an dhow hard it is to change. This process can take a great deal of focus and strength of will to reestablish new successful habits.
In music and the arts there is constant improvement, and while it can take a few years for the student to gain 80% mastery of his instrument, the top 20% becomes increasingly difficult to refine and can take a lifetime of constant focus to achieve the highest level of advancement. It is this confrontation of the inner self, coming face to face with one’s own internal barriers and patiently, persistently overcoming them that carves the character of the artist.
In our drum lessons in Midland, Texas we help the student patiently make progress and encourage even the smallest positive change, cheerleading the process of growth through encouragement.
The patience required to daily and habitually face the micro-habits that change gradually over time on the road to great artistry could be compared to the cliffs that are worn away over time by the rain and the wind.
The mindset has to be ‘just a little progress each day.’ The smallest of gains each day create the long-range exponential results and the merry-go-round on the outside shows a high degree of excellence to the audience on the outside. It is all based on the internal, difficult work that has happened over the course of time through patience, determination, focus and consistency.
This life-lesson, of course, has more implications than only in music. The ability to complete a task, to stick through difficult circumstances, and ultimately the character to lead others, through the ability to lead one’s self.
In our drumming instruction in Midland, Texas our overarching goal is to see the student develop in their character as a person through learning how to face difficulties and overcome them.
One’s internal self-discipline leads to an internal confidence that cannot be faked, and people intuitively can tell those who hold themselves to the highest of personal standards. People want to follow someone who has won the battle over self, and societies are changed from the most inward part of person’s inertia.