Little did I know when I was performing this song in my school musical as a junior in high school that I would still be singing it 11 years later. No wonder Schoolhouse Rock was such a popular cartoon back in its day!
It was before my time, but it’s fun to watch the YouTube videos. Some of my favorites include I’m Just a Bill, Three is a Magic Number, Mother Necessity, and Interjections. Did you ever watch this classic show?
If you are an entrepreneur, own a business of any kind, or plan to someday, stop reading my blog right now and go buy this book.
I have fallen way out of the internet loop, so I only found out that the amazing and inspiring Derek Sivers (founder of CD Baby) published a book because Kat Fulton posted it on Facebook.
Of course, I immediately dropped everything I was doing, downloaded the audio version and consumed the entire thing — it’s only 1.5 hours long — in one sitting.
What I love so much about this book is that, in the author’s true style, he teaches through storytelling. Anything You Want is centered around the development of CD Baby, but it is jam packed with lessons for success. It’s the kind of book I already want to read again, and take notes this time.
Thank you for the heads-up, Kat. And everyone else: go get the book! (It’s super cheap and comes with 200 mp3 downloads, not to mention my wholehearted endorsement.)
Self-employment can be scary at first. After making the decision to leave my full-time job in order to expand my private practice and teaching studio, I did what I thought was the most logical thing, and took on as many new students as I could. More students, more income, less worries…right?
But what I didn’t factor into that equation was “less time” and “more stress”. I’ve already written about my jam-packed schedule once this month, but thought the topic was worth revisiting after I received this tweet:
It was meant in good fun, of course, but Sarah makes a good point. Most sane people probably wouldn’t schedule 14+ half hour lessons and/or music therapy sessions in one day.
The good news is that I absolutely love my students and the work I do with them. Yes, the days are long, but I’m not sitting in an office, bored, watching the clock count down to quitting time.
But I will admit that maybe I’m a little close to crossing the line separating a healthy workload from too much. I haven’t done so yet, though, and intend to keep it that way. That’s what my waiting list is for!
Sarah’s tweet sparked my curiosity, and now I want to know: what is your definition of too much as far as the number of lessons/sessions per day or week? Have you crossed that line? And if so, how did you handle it?
I tried to keep my newest piece of equipment under wraps until today’s blog post, but I couldn’t help but give my Facebook friends a sneak peek over the weekend. I’m just wayyy too excited about my new microphone stand mount for the iPad 2!
I wish I was one of those people who has all of their gig music completely memorized, but alas, I am not…especially when I’m playing a two or three-hour gig with ever-changing repertoire.
Now, instead of bringing a music stand and big binder full of lead sheets along with all my other equipment, I just stick my iPad 2 and the mount in my bag. I don’t even have to bring my own mic stand, because the mount clamps on to any standard one. Not to mention that I never have to worry about my pages blowing in the wind while playing outside.
Admittedly, there is a little bit of a time commitment involved in getting your music onto the iPad before using this setup. The two apps I use, GigBook and MusicReader, require that sheet music, lead sheets, or just lyrics be in PDF form. So while I did already have electronic versions of much of my music, I had to do quite a bit of scanning to complete my digital collection. But it was totally worth it, considering that now all of my music is at my fingertips.
Aside from the convenience of my new iPad mount, it also ups my cool factor immensely :) I played a gig over the weekend, and everyone (audience members and other musicians) wanted to get the full scoop on my little gadget.
iPad 2: $500 +.
Microphone stand mount: $99.
Making my life easier AND cooler: priceless.
I love the cabasa because not only is it totally fun to play, but it is also multi-sensory. The unique sound it produces, coupled with the tactile input, makes this one of my most frequently used instruments during music therapy sessions.
Play the Cabasa serves as a great introduction to this instrument, but there is so much more you can do with it. I don’t have any other specific songs I’ve written for the cabasa — instead, I usually just make up a song based on how I’m using it in a session. For example, I might ask my student to roll it over different body parts (foot, leg, arm, etc.) or do that myself if he/she is not able.
How do you use and play the cabasa?
This is the book + course that will help you shape your music therapy career in order to make more money and live your ideal lifestyle. Details here.
