Tales From The Lane
Living Your Best Life as Creative Artist
Category: Practicing
An Open Letter to My Students
My Dear Students, You might be curious as to why I have decided to step away from playing the cello–after so many years of focusing my life around it. After all, this thing that you are striving towards–this ability to play well enough… Continue Reading “An Open Letter to My Students”
On Giving Up My Performance Life
Here’s a riddle for you: Q: What do you call a musician at the height of their career (whatever that means…) who decides to stop performing? A: I don’t know. Nobody does that. Except that’s exactly what I’ve done. A few… Continue Reading “On Giving Up My Performance Life”
How Gardening Made Me a Better Musician
Throughout my life, there are only two things that have remained constant fixtures: Playing the cello, and Gardening. In fact, my 2 earliest memories are of eating all of the raspberries in the allotment when I was about 3, and playing French Folk… Continue Reading “How Gardening Made Me a Better Musician”
Spotlight Series: The Happiest Musician: Oboist and Author, Jennet Ingle
I am so excited to be bringing back my Spotlight Series! This monthly series features amazing creatives that are doing things THEIR way, and on THEIR terms. Each one of them has contributed to the betterment of their industry by following their dreams as… Continue Reading “Spotlight Series: The Happiest Musician: Oboist and Author, Jennet Ingle”
Progress Stalled Out? Here’s How to Reach Your Goals Faster (Without Burning Out)
In all of my research into productivity, personal and professional growth, and coaching, I’ve found two general schools of thought when it comes to making progress on something: Slow and steady wins the race. Go Big or Go Home. But the… Continue Reading “Progress Stalled Out? Here’s How to Reach Your Goals Faster (Without Burning Out)”
Zoomed Out? Here’s What You Can Do
“I’m just SO Zoomed Out” How many times have you heard that phrase in the past few weeks? From your teenagers, your students, maybe you’ve even uttered those words yourself. People are saying that they never want to look at a computer again… Continue Reading “Zoomed Out? Here’s What You Can Do”
Finish Strong: Battling Our Collective Senioritis.
A few Sundays ago, I hopped into the morning group session for my Bridge Online Cello Studio. My students are a bunch of smart, hard-working, enthusiastic, and generally awesome people between the ages of 15 and 20. They are super talented, and they show… Continue Reading “Finish Strong: Battling Our Collective Senioritis.”
The Art of Showing Up.
I have spent more time on calls over the past 12 months than I have in the previous 10 years of my life. Between those calls with my current and potential clients and the group coaching sessions that I lead, I am at the… Continue Reading “The Art of Showing Up.”
How to Turn a Rejection Into a Win
As a high school musician growing up outside of Chicago, one of the coveted “wins” was to be a finalist in the Chicago Symphony Young Artists competition. After the prelims, you’d stay at home, waiting for the phone to ring with the news… Continue Reading “How to Turn a Rejection Into a Win”
The Practice of Practicing
Peter Wiley, professor of cello at the Curtis Institute and Bard College and Conservatory, and of Beaux Arts Trio and Guarneri String Quartet fame, came in to do a masterclass for my Bridge Online Cello Studio students yesterday. We were about 15 minutes in… Continue Reading “The Practice of Practicing”