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Where The Magic Comes From

magic musicWhen you are anything like me you have a pile, a shelf or a living room full of music books at home. These books are a treasure!

They bring the music, the spark, the shiny world of art and inspiration into your life.
They bring all the magic.
Well… wait a minute! – Do they? Really??

Let’s take a closer look.

Nice books, maybe with some scratches here and there.
Beautiful cream coloured pages with black little dots and lines.
Lovely to look at.
And fancy!
Your not music making friends will see these books as a clear sign that you are a genius.>>

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Do YOU matter?

Yes, please! I want to be up to date. Let me know whenever a new article in the bassoony universe is coming up.
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imagesGoogle funded an interesting study about productivity and leadership called “Project Oxygen”. They wanted to know if management really matters or if a company would benefit most, if everybody was his own boss, basically managing themselves.

The answer was intriguing.
The best results in this study showed teams, not individuals.
Particularly teams that worked under the direction of a motivating manager.>>

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Two Keys for Optimum Performance

bassoon quote performanceRecently I read a study about hockey teams in Canada.
A study among the most successful high-school hockey teams stated that in order to have a high performing team two ingredients are needed:
1.) motivation and 2.) disciplined physical training.

 

There were highly motivated teams and teams that had a history of discipline and hard training units.
Guess, what teams were the most successful ones?
Yes, the teams where motivation and physical discipline were well balanced.>>

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Better Better Nerves….

imagesOne of the biggest challenges we do have as musicians is the live factor.
I remember situations on stage where I was literally shaking in my boots with a beautiful teeth tremolo ;o)

Of course there are “unicorns”, people who are born to perform in front of an audience. Who just love it being starred at.
But I have to admit, I am totally not one of them.

 

I was very fascinated by this book I read about circus artists. The tightrope walker risks her live every evening. It is a life-death situation, day after day.
The interviewer asked her, what gives her the guts to go up there and walk every day this dangerous line.>>

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When I was a kid, I hated music.

quote 33I liked to sing and to dance and move around – but this serious music stuff with music books and sitting straight and doing things properly and repeatedly, no, not for me.
This was boring.
I was just not interested in that.

I am sure you have kids in your class that are just like I was.
Nice kids – but not interested.
How can you make them getting hooked and spark interest in them?

As you can see, even for the most uninterested kid in the world (me!!) there is hope, for today I am a professional musician.

Every kid, every student, in fact every person you come in contact with has so much passion! And you can connect with this fire and help it grow.

So how does this work?

 

The answer may surprise you: show how much you care.>>

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How to make a child practice at home

images-geduldNo matter if a child should do homework or practice an instrument at home, this is many times and in many cases a problem.

Discipline is synonymous for boring.
And children don’t like to do boring stuff.
(I can understand that, I don’t like doing boring stuff either. Do you???)

So clearly I can relate to that and know from personal, first-hand experience that homework and having to do something consistently and consequently at home sucks.
Wasting time, hanging out, fooling around and dreaming is much more fun.
No matter what age I am in ;o)

With that said, what can we do to motivate our students or children to do some work at home (homework and practicing)?>>

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How to be patient

quote 8When we teach, we need one special skill:
We must be patient like an elephant :o)

Learning takes repetition. We humans learn by getting the same information over and over and over again. And over. Again.
And again.
And one more time.
Again.

Sometimes we get it at the first time.
But most times… err… what was that again? How did that go?
I forgot. Can you show me…? Again – and again and —

– you get the point, don’t you? :o)

So, how can we deal with impatience?
I have good news for you. I know one simple trick, that makes you even more patient than an elephant.

The Elephant Strategy is to stop comparing.>>

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The Art of Communicating

imagesDid you ever come across those people who talk without taking even a breath?
They talk and talk and never seem to stop.
The moment you want to add something, they are already at their next point.

The weird thing is that people tend to think, because they talk a lot, they are good communicators.
They are not.

Having no problem speaking does not make someone good at communicating.>>

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Socrates, The Best Bassoon Teacher

quote 6

How can we be the best teacher, we could possibly be? 

How can we give the best and most helpful support for other people?

 

As teachers, as educators, as parents, as partners and even as friends, we find ourselves in the situation to sometimes give advice.

Whether we are asked, or we feel the strong pull to say something uplifting, sometimes it can be hard to find the right words.

We want to say something that seems important, but we don’t want to be upfront, we don’t want to use too strong words or we just don’t know how to say things.

We also want to make sure that what we have to say is heard and understood and has a positive effect.>>

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Interview with Bernd Moosmann

Short & Sweet: Interview with world famous bassoon manufacturer Bernd Moosmann.

His instruments are played in every league, including small amateur groups as well as the top philharmonic orchestras. Moosmann bassoons are also preferred soloists’ instruments.
Moosmann fans are found in over 60 countries and 5 continents.

Mr. Moosmann, we first met in Phoenix, Arizona at the IDRS conference. There I found out, that you are not only a well traveled, very successfull bassoon manufacturer, but also a person with an eye for the essentials of human nature.

– Is there something that outstanding musicians all over the world have in common?

Bernd Moosmann: They are very hard working, informal, not stressed and strong personalities.>>