(A class for my students who want to learn how to make great music with ease and live a happier life.)

My students play a range of instruments: violin, viola, cello, flute, harp, trumpet, oboe, piano, drums, etc.

I'm sharing this here because whatever instrument YOU play, I think you may enjoy exploring a few golden nuggets from today's session:

💫 Words don’t matter as much as the energy.

We played with English phrases that include “up” — show up, wake up, speak up. Same words, totally different impact depending on the intention underneath.

Language isn’t the point. Presence is.

🎭 Presence beats escape.

One student said something so simple and profound: “Even if I don’t want to be there, being present makes it easier than going somewhere else in my head.”

When curiosity enters, even difficulty softens.

🧭 Trusting your own knowing.

We talked about the courage it takes to trust intuition — even when it means saying no to authority, tradition, or the “right” answer. Baby risks build real confidence.

Often the body knows long before the mind catches up.

🎯 The attention paradox.

Attention is both whole and specific. There is big, spacious presence… and there’s your thumb on the instrument.

Freedom comes from choosing what has priority — and noticing when attention has quietly collapsed into control.

🌊 Letting go of the need to explain.

One student had a breakthrough moment when she realized: “I want to explain instead of accepting that it’s a wonder.”
She saw how years of trying to “nail it down” — perfect position, perfect technique — had turned her into a machine… until her body finally said no.

The shift? Accepting that music is alive and mysterious. Letting it be unexplainable…something you get to play with!

🧒 Returning to childlike wonder.

Like a baby or a kitten knocking something off a shelf just to see what happens this time! No assumptions. No judgement.

Just fresh discovery.

✨ Getting out of your own way.

We explored an Awareness Etude that practices that lightning-fast shift in awareness that changes everything. The trap is in wanting to label it, grab it, repeat it. The freedom lies in letting it be new every time.

One of my teacher students said near the end: “There’s a different quality of me showing up now.”

Earlier she was trying to see and understand what was happening. Later, she was simply there with the experience. Being. Present. Open.

That’s the shift.

Our classes aren’t so much about technique or performance (even though they improve dramatically as a result)… These classes are about how we show up — learning to fully be ourselves in music and in life. About trust, wonder, choice, and freedom.

And we have a lot of fun in the process! 🙂

So grateful for this community of courageous explorers. 🙏

✨ Curious about joining this kind of work? If this resonates, feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to connect!