Watercolors

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If I had to choose one color medium to work with, watercolors would be my first choice. It has it’s limitations (always protect behind glass/plexi) and may fade sooner that oils, pastels and acrylics if not placed correctly, but I do love their versatility.

There is a spontinaity of attitude and will that watercolors makes me exercise compared to the graphite drawings I like to do. “Winter Brook” is a good example of what I mean. I just kept playing with color and adding depth to pull in different hues that my client wanted.

Then there are times I want the tightness of graphite and also color to show the subject in all the detail wanted. A race horse officianato comissioned a color work of the racehorse Cigar. (Great racer horse but he proved sterile to his investor’s dismay!) So I usually do a two step process where I apply a base of watercolor as shown below with my reference photo.

After I am done with this process then it’s time to go over the entire picture with india ink. This part may take quite a while, depending on the amount of detail.

This is the same style I used for the “Study of a Wood Duck” and the post “Roots Part 1” where I explain the process in more detail.

Wood Duck Study -12″x 16″ watercolor & ink

If you like things in black and white check my new post on Busy Pencils.

Busy Pencils

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About 18 months ago a commission had me doing more research on Lakota Indians and churning designs and layouts in my head for a few weeks. He wanted someone still strong, old enough to be wise, similar in style to my earlier Dakota drawing with the ceremonial headdress. This is what came of it all.

Then shortly after my happy client left (I love those who give positive feedback), I moved on to a different project. The beautiful dignity of wrinkles always intrigues me, but it was time to do another composite drawing to go with my first drawing, now available as a lithogragh, “Medicine Man.” Both depict aspects of their culture. Here, I wanted a young warrior. He’s been out defending hunting areas and hunting for food, yet still yound enough to pridefully participate in the ceremonial dances of his tribe.

After entering this in the Professional Arts Competition at the 2022 Kansas State Fair, I was blessed to receive the Mace John Award (3rd Place). It is still available as an origian for purchase.

Right after this drawing I had started on a draft horse drawing that you can see here called “The Tractor Pull.”

Thanks for walking with me through my tour. Your feedback is always welcomed.

The Diminishing of Awards and the Meaning of Words

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Gifts versus Rewards

Have you ever gotten an award only to wonder later why you really got it? Decades ago, I attended a summer day camp in my hometown. Between games and the walk to the local swimming hole, there was quiet time where children colored. Now, I was very good at coloring and on that first day of five, I got the “Coloring Award.” I felt so proud of my accomplishments. The next day a girl scraped a knee and later she got the coloring award and my nine year old mind wondered, “How?” The following day, another hurt child got an award and I began to wonder if my coloring was that good after all.

Awards usually mean something. Gifts are unearned, but awards are suppose to recognize accomplishments. Whether one agrees with the outcome of the deed, awards such as The Nobel Prize usually recognized scientists and statesmen who excelled in a particular field or endeavor. Lately, some of the names awarded can make one wonder about the motivation. Foundations and scholarships can easily be influenced by public opinion, popularity, politics psychological fads and other nonfactual based criteria. The Prize oftentimes becomes The Gift.

When I taught piano, I usually gave a scholarship to at least one student at a time. It is interesting to note that with only a couple of exceptions over the 38 years I taught, most students valued the piano lessons less when it was given to them. I then had to adopt the practice of three strikes and then the scholarship was withdrawn. I’m a slow learner at times and it did take a while to accept the fact that people value more the things they earn. So, usually I tried to recognize as many students as possible in the piano recitals. Students loved earning my “Busy Fingers” awards, since most students who weren’t music major material could still excel in their technical studies.

Words versus Actions

There was a chorus we would sing in church that goes in part:

What you do speaks so loud,
that the world can’t hear what you say.
They’re looking at your walk,
Not listening to your talk;
They’re judging by your actions everyday. . . .

It was a catchy tune with a big, serious message. As we look around us and hear the use of words change to often mean the opposite of it’s intended use, it is more important than ever to remain clear in our communication, meaning and actions as to our intent. Rather than “preach” to you, you may ask yourself, “How many of these quotes from remarkable individuals in history reflect the times we are living in today?’ By the way, all the quotes can be found from a wonderful website: https://www.azquotes.com/

William Shakespeare

What a terrible era in which idiots govern the blind.
No legacy is so rich as honesty.
I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed!

Mark Twain

No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot.
I was educated once – it took me years to get over it.
Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.
If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re misinformed.
It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.
A little more kindness, A little less speed, A little more giving, A little less greed, A little more smile, A little less frown, A little less kicking, A man while he’s down, A little more “We”, A little less “I”, A little more laugh, A little less cry, A little more flowers, On the pathway of life, And fewer on graves, At the end of the strife. (An aside, I find this missing in the news today).
Every civilization carries the seeds of its own destruction, and the same cycle shows in them all. The Republic is born, flourishes, decays into plutocracy, and is captured by the shoemaker whom the mercenaries and millionaires make into a king. The people invent their oppressors, and the oppressors serve the function for which they are invented.

Albert Einstein

Weak people revenge. Strong people forgive. Intelligent People Ignore.
The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance.
There is no vaccine against stupidity.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.
Be a voice not an echo.
Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth.
Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart. It’s like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.
The more I study science, the more I believe in God.

And, I didn’t include so many others. Though, for those who may need it, here’s a few from Will Rogers:

When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.
There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.
After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him… The moral: When you’re full of bull, keep your mouth shut.
There are men running governments who shouldn’t be allowed to play with matches.
I would love to see Mr. (Henry) Ford in there, really. I don’t know who started the idea that a President must be a Politician instead of a Business man. A Politician can’t run any other kind of business. So there is no reason why he can run the U.S. That’s the biggest single business in the World.
The short memories of the American voters is what keeps our politicians in office.
The problem in America isn’t so much what people don’t know; the problem is what people think they know that just ain’t so.
The taxpayers are sending congressmen on expensive trips abroad. It might be worth it except they keep coming back
I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.

These quotes show the reasoning abilities and humor lost in so many of today’s generation. Here’s one from current times and I close with a final quote to think on:

Denzel Washington

Man gives you the award but God gives you the reward.

communication

life lessons, Memories, piano studio, responsibility, teaching, responsibility, teaching, Uncategorized, values

Can there be Easter Without a Song?

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This Easter seems so different. Some people think this day is about bunnies and eggs, a sign of spring, of life.

But it is more than that. It is about the Person Who is Life and gives it. It is about a loving God seeing a dire need, so while remaining God, He became a Jewish Teacher for His earthly walk, only to give up His earthly life to give us the opportunity to obtain eternal life through His Redemptive work at Calvary. But when we think that is all that’s needed, He rises from the grave on the third day, walks the earth for proof of this for forty days and promises us the Comforter and to return for us when He ascends into heaven. How can any earthly comparison top that?

With God there is no social distancing. Sure, He is presently in heaven, but He dwells within the hearts of His believers, His children. This pandemic did not take Him by surprise. He is is control. He knows of ours loses, financial challenges and ruin, feelings of isolation. He is grieved at our suffering because He cares. And He wants us to trust He knows best. When we sit alone we wonder about His wisdom. And He understands that, too.

There was a time I couldn’t sing for several months – only from my heart. It was the darkest time of my life. No matter what the circumstance, God knows music speaks to the heart heavy with sorrow. Like Christmas, Easter has such beautiful music to carry the heart through the celebration of God’s completed task needed for our redemption. So sing those old hymns like “Hallelujah! What A Savior (Man of Sorrows)” or “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” but remember to reflect on “He Arose” and “I Know that My Redeemer Liveth.”

For those pianists, I have added a couple more of my arrangements for your personal use to enjoy during this remarkable celebration. You can find them under the music tab above. Just look at the Sacred page under the MUSIC Tab. Songs are listed alphabetically. I’ve added “Easter Song” and “Wonderful Words of Life.”

The Gift of being Thankful

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A culture left behind?

It’s been ages since I’ve posted anything. One can construe I’ve nothing to share because in the areas of art and music I now lack common sense. But, in my defense, I share a new page on improvisation covering the use of the Alternate Bass and I am starting an new section of my own arrangements! You can look for them under Improvisation and Arrangement tabs.

4WH7044_large I’ve been teaching drawing to a lovely young adult. The subject about clouds came up and I was explaining to her that as clouds approach us they are higher and farther up from the horizon line and this is very evident when viewing mackerel clouds. She had no idea what mackerel clouds. I explained these clouds signified wet weather in 36 hrs. She had no concept of forecasting weather before the age when satellite/radar imaging is seen on smartphone.

The youth of our country are missing out on a great deal of life experiences. Fewer go to orchestral or traditional, acoustical concerts, they don’t wait weeks for their favorite book to arrive via media mail, they don’t learn social skills by working out differences on a pickup softball or football game in the backyard and they occupy themselves most often by playing or communicating with digital devices.

A better Gift

You see images of children frantically ripping off giftwrap to get to the present. They see it and maybe ooh and ah a bit and then immediately go on to the next gift. They don’t comprehend the time, expense and or thought that went into the gift. When there is so much offered to them, they can’t seem to value that there was a cost to the gift. There was an expectation that the gift is to advance the enjoyment and development of the child.

It comforts me to know that children still prefer printed books over e-readers. Parents still value the importance of music lessons, especially piano. Children still like to express themselves artistically with hands on material. With the frenzy of gift giving, you would hope parents revert to the tried and true giving of gifts. Christmas and birthdays were never complete unless we received a book. Some years there were a few more presents, often just one or two more (and one or both were often clothes). My parents did well trying to give us one thing we would really use. It’s hard to go wrong with books, music lessons, art classes or archery instruction. These expand the child’s world through words or improves their sense of accomplishments and helps eye, hand and mind coordination through the mastery of a skill. Yes, these are often solitary pursuits, but they are shared socially. By the way, if one of us children in my family struck out in the present department, we still better not make faces, pout or not be thankful because giving thanks is giving back a gift in return. After all, even God thinks it is wrong to be unthankful (2Timothy 3:2 “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy…”). Much of our news is generated by stories of unthankfulness. It seems as if everyone is focused on how they are offended or unappreciated instead of being thankful for a country where they can express themselves and have the option to choose how they will live their life.

So, think about your gift giving, may you have a good response. Here’s a link to a past post about thanksgiving. Be Thankful!!

It’s All in the Details !

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The children are back in school, my piano studio is in full swing and I’m gearing up to teach art classes in a couple of weeks. All this and in my moments of insomnia a childhood poem comes to mind.

An old poster of a farrier at work – artist is unknown

For want of a nail the shoe was lost,
For want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For want of a horse the rider was lost,
For want of a rider the battle was lost,
For want of a battle the Kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

I was horse crazy as a child (still am) and anything mentioning horses caught my attention! (It’s the same with Kipling’s “Smuggler’s Song” with it’s chorus of: “Five and twenty ponies, Trotting through the dark …”

But, I digress. The important point is – it’s all in those little, nasty details. I mean, it can make or break a painting or performance. So, I make lists and plow through life, training the brain to be bi-focal – focus on the big picture, focus on the details.

This same element applies to art. Even if the style is loose, there are details in the highlights, correct placement of contrasts. If you’re into art, check my classes or art out in the pages on the left.

APPLICATION: For those piano students, here’s a section from the assignment book I print out for my students about practicing :

Practice at least five (5) days each week, especially with 24 hours after the lesson. Most people settle into a weekday schedule so follow your schedule the best you can.

Practice just makes permanent – perfect practice makes perfect!
Good practice means:

Make sure there are no distractions. Shut the TV & radio off. Ask people using the telephone if they can use it in another room from the piano.
Take all books out from which you will be working. Have a pencil on hand to mark any trouble spots or reminders.
Warm-up with 1-2 old pieces like songs, drills or technique pieces (Finger Power for example).
Work on your new scales or other drills slowly. Be careful of any fingering and phrasing required. If you can play it correctly through the first time, play it again a bit faster. Increase tempo on each repeat. If you cannot play it correctly the first time through, you are playing too fast! This is most important, you must slow down.
After drills are done, work from the method book or the piece you are having the most trouble with or you like the least. Play through the whole song or a section at least one time slowly, then choose a line or phrase, play slowly as described under drills. Method pieces or recital pieces usually require between a third to a half your practice time.
Work on your goal for each piece. This is found either in the box labelled “area of concern” or directly on the music. Allow 2-10 minutes. This set is as important as playing slowly. Do at least one goal a day. Do two or more if they are easy to accomplish. Working on goals makes you learn a skill perfectly and you come away from the practice time knowing you have “conquered” an obstacle.

Move on to the next pieces. Remember, it is far better to learn two or three measures of a song each day perfectly than to play 1-2 times through the entire piece haphazardly.
Learning perfectly means:
CORRECT NOTES
CORRECT RHYTHM
CORRECT TEMPO
CORRECT EXPRESSION (pedaling, loud/soft, legato/staccato touches)
CORRECT HAND POSITION and
CORRECT FINGERING.

Ask yourself, “Did I learn the goal well enough to play it perfectly each day of practice? If not, continue to work on it every day until you can play it correctly the first time each practice time.
PLAY OLD FAVORITES. Spend at least 2 minutes (for beginner students) to 10 or more minutes for more advanced students. Check for memory, dynamics, smooth and flowing phrasing, clean pedaling. These are the songs you need to know when someone asks to hear you play.

War of the Worlds

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There’s more to teaching piano than a degree. Play with fingers, think on your feet, yes – but hear with your heart.

Deep Blues

Have you ever had the “other world” encroach on your lesson time with a student? I don’t mean the ringing of cell phones and the beeps of a new text. They shouldn’t be anywhere near the piano bench nor allowed on until after the lesson. This “world” is a more old fashioned disruption. It is daily life brought into the lesson time or rearing it’s devious head in the middle of an important musical point you’re trying to make.

A similar incident happened when a nine year old started crying upon turning to the song “The Circus is Coming to Town.” I must be the most obtuse teacher around. I saw no reason for the tears. The obvious connection to her tears – “The teacher said we are all going to die because of global warming.” Those were her exact words in 1991. I was flabbergasted. Firstly, global warning wasn’t going to be allowed during my lesson time! But, secondly, seeing her real distress (and my tissues piling up beside her) I was glad I didn’t mention this. I told her that we all needed to be responsible for taking care of the world (resources may have been too big a word) and God will take care of us. This satisfied her, but now I had the problem. I was angry. Angry that a teacher would scare children with such topics when they had no concept of time and how true, natural science truly works. I had to explain this to the mother when she picked up her daughter a few minutes later, wondering why there were tears.

To cap my experiences off, a couple years later a young student and I were trying to make up words using the musical alphabet. Eventually, I chanced on the word D-A-D. A look of terror sprung up on her face and the tears started down her face. Tissues leaped into my fingers and I told her she was safe here and we could play a happy song to chase the sad thoughts away. To be truthful, I’m not sure why I actually got through the lesson as well as I did and the mother explained to me that the two of them don’t mention that word at home. And I thought I was having a bad week because a couple students didn’t pay up. This was a new level of perspective.

Effective Resolutions

So, some schools do teach you how to handle the unruly students. They convince you that showing the unwilling out the door is better for you than a hard-earned paycheck. You develop a love for a beautiful medium of expression and nothing prepares you for the student and the tissue box event. That’s where you need to draw on your love, not just for music, but for the student. Pray for a caring response and guidance on how music can help the student cope with the disappointments and heartaches in life.

Music Therapy – ancient remedy

There were many students who had very hard lives and never showed it, but I could hear it through their fingers and see it on their faces as they lost themselves in the notes pouring from the antique Steinway. Sorrows as old as time, remedies just as tried through the ages. Just as the Psalms tell of men, overwhelmed by sorrows, find relief through music and faith their faith in a faithful God.

“But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning:
for thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble.
(17) Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing:
for God is my defense, and the God of my mercy. “ Ps 59:16

I teach improvisation to all my students so they can have a means of expressions and a skill to play new songs well past the years they were “made to take piano lessons.” But we must also give our students the skill to express their emotions through music as a form of therapy and expression. And, may the songs they require include many happy songs!

The Monotony of Politically Correct Art/Music

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Setting out to create politically correct art and music.

I’ve heard a bit more discussion about political correctness come up in the news lately. (Definitions are found at the end of this blog). The former Bruce Jenner and the “Black Lives Matter” group helped push it to the front. I will only say, I believe, since we are made in the image of God, all lives matter. All lives deserve our love and respect until their ungodly, inhumane acts demand otherwise. If you don’t believe in God, nothing else I believe will matter to you. I could go on but this blog is mainly about art and music. I think art is nothing but communication without words. So, what is my art saying? Am I politically correct?

The PC Composition

Music should be easy – it’s universal! So I start to compose.

If I use any half notes, would African Americans object? I better use an equal amount of “white” notes and “black” notes. In fact, they will have equal time value, because the black notes deserve equal time. This makes time signatures of no value now. This means there’s no need for bar lines. Forget the key signatures. Many can’t play them, so I better leave them out. In fact, all notes should be the same pitch because I know those who can’t carry a tune would be offended by those who can. There will be no words to worry about. Good. Also, include no instruments to remind some listeners of their inadequacy to learn an instrument. It’ll be like giving awards to every participant for their excellence (a word with no meaning – but don’t tell anyone!) ~~Boy!~~ ~~That’s~~ All done!

The PC Canvas Has to Be Easy

Art just has to be easier. After all, art critics swoon over exhibits containing a cross submerged in urine and embalmed baby parts. My art should be tame and safe. I started to draw a face – just any face. But then I thought, if I drew an Indian Native American maybe I’d offend a Black African American. But if I use only pencil, will I offend a Latino? I mean, how can I draw black lines on paper and not offend someone? Even if I chose paper the color of a Latino’s complexion, wouldn’t I offend an Asian? This is getting really complicated. No matter what I do, I am sure to offend someone. What do I do if I offend someone who has only one eye or has wrinkles?

I will settle on a safe rendering. I’m confident I have not offended anyone, but I am hardly pleased with what I see. It in no way exemplifies how I see the world.

The Not-So PC Conclusion

When Daniel (in the Bible) was taken into captivity, the first things Nebuchadnezzar’s reign did to subjugate them was change their diet, their names, their words (language) and their religion. Fortunately, even the barbaric (is it okay to say this?)Babylonians recognized excellence, and Daniel and his friends were rewarded for their achievements. Life is full of contrasts. Hot versus cold, spicy or sweet, these foods are all praised. We need all the variety in life. We need the planners and nurturers and teachers and doers. We need high and low energy people, those that encourage and also offer helpful criticism to meet the various needs of our lives.

Yes, I have been brutally hurt by words. I am offended almost daily, but I know this culture is not friendly to my values. But I refuse to let it control me. I will embrace the high notes I will never sing, I will play my piano with no guilt because I put in the effort to learn how to play it. I will draw and paint the dignity of each life and the pleasures of creation with wonderful contrasts and colors and not be ashamed because I know in my heart I am not malicious. I am not a racist. I am loving and caring and honest and full of life!

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/politically%20correct

Full Definition of POLITICALLY CORRECT: conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/american/politically-correct

Politically Correct: conforming or adhering to what is regarded as orthodox liberal opinion on matters of sexuality, race, etc.: usually used disparagingly to connote dogmatism, excessive sensitivity to minority causes, etc.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=politically+correct

#2 Politically Correct: 1. The laws of moral and ethical relativism; all systems of cultures and thought are equal in value, steming from a perceived guilt from white liberals who believe that the Western Civilization is the root of all evil to the exclusion of all else. 2. A powerful form of censorship. abbr: PC

Political correctness has a basic flaw. If all views are equal, why do some who embrace this view feel the need to push this agenda as the “correct” one at the same time demonizing other views as “incorrect”?

by tradesman March 31, 2003

Where do you get your inspiration?

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30″ x 24″ acrylic landscape

Just last week I had the privilege to deliver another painting. It was the traditional landscape – autumn in New England, you know, rippling brook, children playing in the brook, etc. It was nothing shockingly new, but it gave the recipients satisfaction (I hope). For me, there was a personal satisfaction because I drew inspiration from personal experience. Air dried at 55mph When I was a preteen, my mother, her sister and cousins joined me and my sisters at a park for a picnic in summer. We were to go to a small amusement park (Mt Park on Mt Tom) after lunch and were told, “Stay clean and no playing in the brook!” Wouldn’t you know it, just after lunch my cousin had to play in the brook – literally. He fell and got his shorts wet!. The 60’s were a wonderful time to be kids. Grass was real, lawns were meant to play in and leave marks where the base lines were run and dandelions were a minefield for “Make up to mommy” bouquets. Mothers also took events more in stride, too. So my Aunt Joyce told the kids to jump in the car and asked Jackie (probably about 7 yrs old) to take the wet shorts off and leave the undies on. She slapped those shorts over the car’s antenna, secured it with a coupe of pins and we rode proudly to the amusement park watching the shorts flap in the wind. It was a good memory. Years passed and I was saying to my children, “Now remember, don’t get wet!” The words never worked. Jumpers and pant legs always seemed to get wet. Nothing can give an artist inspiration like childhood memories! Kids do the funniest things and sometimes that humor translates perfectly onto the paper or canvas. YOUR HOMEWORK – Call up some of your pleasant and funny memories. Life’s too short to stew only in the present.

The High Cost of Ignorance

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What are five things you wish you had learned earlier in life?

Everyday I am learning new things. A couple posts ago I mentioned the shortcuts some artists take that’s pretty much akin to a vocalist lip-synching at a concert.
After saying goodbye to the refrigerator repair man (hopefully not the compressor) I took a walk among the genuine creatures on the farm – the ducks and my Border Collie, Kansa. I was hunting grasshoppers when one crept it’s way up my pant leg. I learned grasshoppers only travel UP and I was dancing a jig trying to turn him around fast! The neighbors just had confirmation that I lost it. This incident is not profound in its own right; however, I was reminded of one of the most important lessons I’ve learned.

#1 It’s okay to laugh at yourself (and not at others unless they are laughing at themselves, too). I was at a small tiny town in north central Kansas, practicing on the organ for a funeral the next day. The town was astir with talk that a musician from the east was going to be playing at the ceremony. This was big news to them. It was important to me to make that good impression (after all, I had a reputation to make and uphold in only an hour). I pulled out the different stops and played some nice sounding chords. As the journey down the tabs progressed, the chords became more creative, maybe more intense, too. Well, I’ll just admit it, I started playing good old diminished seventh chords just like they did in the old movies when the train was boring down on the lady, tied up and lying on the tracks.
This was getting really fun!
As I took a break to set the tabs to a new setting, someone called out to me, “Heh, there, just wanna let you know the tower speaker’s on and the whole town’s hearing you make that awful noise!”
I guess then that knowing when to laugh at yourself is more important than making a good impression.

#2 You only have one time to make a great first impression but you should give people more than one chance.

A piano student’s mother sat in a lesson with her daughter for the first time. Now, I am a very good piano teacher and am passionate about teaching; however, I had a massive sinus infection (from sanding drywall mud) and this was a very bad day but not the type to cancel piano lessons. Without asking for my feedback, she stopped her daughter’s lessons because she said I lacked enthusiasm. The sad part was her daughter was learning well and enjoyed lessons, but the mother felt her daughter didn’t need her help anymore to learn piano and probably felt threatened.
How many times we wished we weren’t judge by the impression we gave others that in no way truly represented our self? How many times did we lose out on a good opportunity because we were quick to judge someone based on one impression?

#3 Being yourself is more important than being important. And there is no one more important than one in need. So, try to be giving.

I don’t know how much of my life was used up trying to impress or please others instead of just being my self. I’m not saying it’s wrong to try to make a good impression – on the contrary. First and good impressions are very important. They allow those you interact with to have confidence in your word and work. But if you think making great first impressions is hard, try being someone you’re not!
It’s like the time our family had a couple over to share a meal and to see our new house we built. Everything was going to plan. The meal was great, I got to use a dishwasher for the first time leaving both hubby and myself free to take the couple on the grand tour.
The lady guest and I were following behind the men when the man ask,”Why is there so much foam spilling out from the dishwasher?”
I tried to stay calm as I rounded the turn into the kitchen – but there was no denying the gallons of containers of foam engulfing the kitchen floor. It looked like a 7′ x 12′ hot tub spewing out suds galore! It must have been quite hilarious to watch me try to mop up the mess as elegantly and inconspicuously as possible.

Now, if anyone has a “right” to be important, you would think it would be Jesus Christ! Yet Christ took up the towel and washed His disciples’ feet. He specifically said that this was done as an example of an attitude for us to follow. His actions backed up the words He spoke, “The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.” (John 13:16)

So-Amish or Mennonites? Which one answered God’s call in my life?
One Sunday our family was in route from Massachusetts to Kansas when our car motor’s belt broke in Berne, Indiana. My hubby quickly pulled to the shoulder. The Amish guided their buggies around us. The faces of the elders looked on in disapproval, maybe a little relish and youngsters looked at us with curiosity. Well, I sacrificed a pair of panty hose that actually got us a couple miles (literally) further down the road. Amazing invention – yet they still run when snagged, a pity. Again we were on the side of the road next to a large wheat field. More buggies and frowns came our way. The strong August sun had no competition from any shade and we were hot, discouraged and very thristy. Temps were near 100 degrees. Would you believe a Mennonite family came out of their house to help and we informed them of our predicament. Their neighbor, also a Mennonite, owned a garage and helped my husband replace the belt while the lady invited us into an air conditioned house and pumped us with iced tea and popcorn. Sure, the Amish thought they made the right impression, but –

you can’t beat the impact you’ll have on a life if you meet a need.

Voluntarily.

We weren’t important, but that caring, Mennonite family, just by being themselves, made us feel important to them and that makes me feel small just thinking about it.

Enough for now. Watch later for more lessons I wished I had learned. BUT – what do you wish you had learned earlier?