Mindset – Kat Bula

A laboratory of s***s and giggles. Or, how you do anything is how you do everything.

April 12, 2017July 11, 2017 by katbula

katbula

“You may have noticed the postcard I keep on my bathroom mirror that reads, 'When you have no idea what's happening, play the notes you can get and try to get more on the next pass.' It's something I said a thousand times to musicians working on learning to play…

You and I are both musicians in progress. (Also, camps are the best.)

October 4, 2016July 11, 2017 by katbula

katbula

We’re all works in progress. Hello from Nashville, Tennessee! OK, whoa, it's been an eventful few months. One of my biggest goals for the next few months is to start sharing more of my musical journey with you—both its ups and its downs. In the past I've worried that I…

Ira Glass on the suckiness of being a beginner.

October 30, 2013July 11, 2017 by katbula

katbula

I love Ira Glass' straight talk here about how cruddy it can feel when we're learning an art or craft, and aren't yet making work that meets our own standards. As he points out, our high standards are a big part of what gets us interested in doing the…

Why being an adult learner is awesome.

October 2, 2012July 6, 2017 by katbula

katbula

I hear it all the time from my adult students (who constitute the vast majority of my studio): "I wish my parents had made me stick with it when I was six!" "I know I'll never be as good as my neighbor's twelve-year-old!" [insert any number of variations on the…

How to find your way back to practicing after a crazy summer

August 29, 2012July 6, 2017 by katbula

katbula

Here comes September. Are you getting ready to settle down after a busy summer? I know I am. I've had some great opportunities to travel, some of it for music, some of it for teaching, and some of it just for me. All in all it's meant frequent upheavals in…

How to practice when you don’t have time

November 10, 2011July 6, 2017 by katbula

katbula

Some weeks this is just how it is. One of my teenage students walked in the door today, obviously frazzled. I asked how she was doing. "Tired!" she said, with uncharacteristic force. "Are you tired from good things or bad things?" I asked. "Good things. But they're wearing me out."…

How to practice (without freaking out or getting bored)

April 13, 2011July 6, 2017 by katbula

katbula

Anxiety For many of us, but especially those of us who are adults, it is difficult to do things we don't already know how to do. Learning an instrument, especially if it is our first instrument, is humbling. We may feel like small children, knowing what needs to happen but…