Any anti-Harry Potter comments today only illuminate how the speaker has never read pages 720-721 of The Deathly Hallows. Unbelievable power in these musing about life and death. The movie, while enjoyable, doesn’t even come close to doing the final chapters justice. I can’t stop read reading these pages over morning coffee.
My mom is really good at finding lost stuff in the house. She’s got St. Anthony on speed dial.
Now, she might be an expert because she misplaces her sunglasses and keys multiple times a day. (Ha, ha! sorry Mom!) However, I don’t think that’s the only reason. We all lose stuff, but how come my mom can always find often do we find it when we really need it?
No, my mom is really good at finding lost items because she’s just so damn persistent. She won’t give up! She looks everywhere. Tears up the drawers. Looks through ten purses. Checks every table in every room.
I’ve heard the stereotype, “Men never find lost things because they only look in the places it should be.” I laugh at this, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. We must also add, “–and then give up.” If it’s not where it’s supposed to be, I give up.
Not just men, but musicians and songwriters too. Musicians often lose dreams. Songwriters often lose inspiration to write new songs. Sure, finding your lost dreams and inspiration might seem different than finding your lost keys, but I don’t think so. It takes the same thing: Persistent. You need to look everywhere for them. Tear up the house. Tear up your life. Tear up your heart.
Yep, right next to those lost keys are those dreams and future songs. You’ll find them. They are simply somewhere else than where they should be.
To Be a Great Musician, Quit Every Instrument
I’m reading Seth Godin’s The Dip, a book about quitting, and I think one of the secrets of a great musician is that they quit playing so many instruments.
When’s the last time you talked to a guitar player and asked them how they got started playing? “Piano lessons.” Countless guitar players were dragged to piano lessons as children and forced to read shape notes and little classically based exercises until they finally said, “No mas!”
I’m one of them. From third grade to sixth grade I was attending piano lessons with Mrs. Guthrie. She was 88-years-old, one year for every key of her baby grand in her basement, and the best piano player I’ve ever met. She was a patient teacher, too. However after year two and a half, my mom realized I wasn’t practicing enough. She asked me, “Mike, would you like to take a break from piano lessons?”
Low and behold, this allowed me to find something new: By middle school I had moved to guitar and there was no going back. The best thing that happened was being allowed to “take a break.” To quit.
Here’s the secret though: Those three years of piano lessons made learning the music theory of guitar less foreign, more approachable. Plus, now when I talk to keyboard players about mixing our parts together, I understand a little of what they are doing. We are speaking the same language.
I’ve tinkered with harmonica, trumpet, mandolin, bass, piano, organ and some percussion. I suck at them all. They sit around my music studio like little neglected children impatiently waiting to wail.
Honestly, I’d love to be great at all of these instruments, but if it takes 10,000 hours to get great, I’m not sure I can practice them all enough to ever get there. I hope to become competitent at a few in time, but I know what I am. I’m a guitar-player first.
My real purpose of tinkering on many instruments is so I can understand these instruments better, so I can hear them better on records, so I can talk to professionals that I hire more clearly. Plus, it’s fun.
So don’t hesitate to gather those musical instruments around the house; don’t hestitate to drive your fiance or girlfriend crazy by walking around with a harmonica in your mouth for 20 minutes a week; but don’t forget to know your principle instruments and really hone in on one, two, or three instruments very well, depending on how ambitious you are. We don’t all need to be multi-instrumental gods, but it’s sure good to be able to speak to those gods when they are playing to our songs.
Hi everyone,
It’s hard to believe we are a third of the way through July and nearing the halfway point of summer.
Gunshy loves watching Downtown Howell!
I haven’t been blogging much, partly because I’m still getting used to balancing rehearsal time with gig performances, but also because Natalie and I have been nursing our sick, beautiful boxer Gunshy, who is sadly in level three heart failure.
Gunshy’s health was noticeably off when he stopped eating one day in May. Nat’s father and step-sister at the Tawas Animal Hospital discovered that our dog had a kidney infection. With their help we cleared that up, but unfortunately we later discovered this was only the tip of the iceberg of ailments, from a heart infection, a worsening heart murmur, and scar tissue on his right ventricle.
In June and July we spent two eight hour days at Michigan Vetenary Specialists. We’ve given Gunshy some intense burritos of medication, which has helped stop the heart infection, but the impact on Gunshy’s heart is irreparable.
And it’s so hard to write this.Gunshy’s heart is simply giving out. Everyone who has met Gunshy will admit he has one of the most loving doggie hearts ever!
Suzy's baby Lilija has painted the best get well card!
It’s been a rough couple of days. I’ve been having a hard time enjoying the musical side of life as our dog continues to show worsening signs, but there is quite a bit of exciting musical news to share. Here are some things I have coming up soon:
- I’ll be appearing on the Pam Rossi show Tuesday, July 19th! More info here.
- I wrote a new song that I’ll be recording with Hannah Fralick on piano and vocals this month. The new song is called “I Know I’ve Made a Mess This Time,” and it sounds like a mixture of Dylan meeting the Civil Wars.
- I turn 30 on July 30! I will be celebrating with a special show at Stout Irish Pub in Brighton that day! Special guests will join me on stage and new songs will be shared. More info here.
- I am currently working on a goal of learning an additional 100 cover songs this summer! Feel free to make requests at the Facebook Event Page or by sending me an email: mikemvial@gmail.com.
Natalie and I appreciate all your support and prayers as we focus on spending as much time with Gunshy as we can this summer. I also wish you a belated Happy Fourth of July!
~Mike
Nap time on Gunshy's favorite Sesame Street blanket
The new Bon Iver record–I like it. It’s resonating deeply for me. Maybe because I’m leaving the familiar, embracing a new horizon soon and it’s apparent Justin Vernon has done the same musically with this collection of ten songs. There are quite a few new musical horizons to explore upon on a few first few listeners.
Stephen Thompson’s review on NPR’s First Listen today was a nice critique of the record, and I love his observation that this record “beckons you to get lost.” What are your first opinions?
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/09/136855313/first-listen-bon-iver-bon-iver
