In Moments Like These It's Good To Have Music
I've had, for lack of a better term, an interesting week. Won't go into too much detail now as the events of this week could be 
divvied up into a number of blog posts. The combination of incidents listed below has a point, bear with me.
1) It's been "group lesson week" which means more planning but less teaching hours. I always enjoy this fresh format, a reprieve from the normal private lesson/lab session routine and a chance for students to catch up with piano peers. Less teaching time allows me to brainstorm and plan for upcoming spring events. This means a great deal of time in front of the computer.
2) If you hang around my site at all, you may recall that I have recently joined forces with Bradley Sowash. As business partners and colleagues, we've discovered we both desire to spread the "good news" of creativity. As we get this project underway called 88Creative Keys, a good deal of brain power has been needed to carve out a path for this unique endeavor. We've been pounding out ideas and spent a productive week of shaping things to come. Again, this meant more time at the computer.
3) This week a situation sparked quite an upheaval in my studio. Perhaps a post will appear later when it doesn't feel so "raw" however, I learned that I can no longer be a marshmallow inside. I must be the strong, firm business woman who I'd really rather not be, but need to be, to protect myself from this circumstance happening again. This meant a good deal of reflection on my part with some sleepless nights.
4) A strong immune system is a gift for a teacher and I have prided myself in warding off most bugs. However, I acquired something that has stolen my voice, literally swiped it, for the past three days. The highlight of it all, when two bros showed up for a lesson the other day and I was whispering and showing and not telling instructions, they decided they would whisper as well. It's never been that quiet in here before! In addition when I asked to students to play the teacher role and read instructions, etc, they pulled out their best "teacher" voice, while others used some spot-on accents--British, Southern, even Bostonian! This resulted in a great deal of laughter at group lessons... but NO TALKING (for me) when at all possible, so plenty of quiet time.
So where am I going with this string of events? While planning, typing, blogging, reflecting, having more alone-and-no-talking time, I've been playing one of Bradley Sowash's CD's called In the Moment. I inherited a number of albums from his scratch and dent pile a while ago. What struck me was how much the 12 tracks kept me moving along, inspired me and even provided a bright outlook from day to day. His music has immediate appeal and just when it sounds like it might get predictable, Bradley turns the corner and keeps you on your listening toes. My favorite is number 12, "Ash Cave".
What's incredible to me is that he is not only a superb pianist/artist/composer, Bradley is an excellent teacher and has a heart for sharing his love of creativity with others. At 88creativekeys.com he's even been willing to video himself teaching his students and openly share his tricks of the trade. Not too many artists and teachers are so generous. So although this may sound like a pitch for promoting him because I happen to be a colleague and business partner, it is much more than that. This is a nudge, no, I'd say a push for you to enjoy his music, and take advantage of his teaching tips. Check out his latest blog Trading 4's with the Blues. I'll be describing how I used this idea for group lessons in an upcoming post.
In a nutshell, with the array of unknowns a week may bring there is always solace found in music. How nice to have found exceptional music to accompany me on this week's unusually interesting trek, thanks Bradley.
Ok, I'll put on my marketing hat again.
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