"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

With a constantly changing music industry, it seems to me that no one should be telling others—“You can’t do that.” When I am told I can’t do something, I usually get depressed for a few minutes, and then an uncontrollable fire rises inside me, and I do what I need to do to prove that person wrong. Case in point—as a kid I had a strong desire to play an instrument. I didn’t care what instrument. Just get an instrument in my hands. My young parents placed a clarinet in my hands in the sixth grade. My peers had two years on me. I had to catch up. I practiced like a fool. By eighth grade I had passed by them. Then came high school. I had a private teacher one summer from Oberlin College. She told me I would never be a great player because of my overbite. After being depressed for a few minutes, I drove myself to practice every day for 45 minutes. Each year my scores at All State and other festival auditions improved. My senior year I received the highest score at All State and next to the highest at the New England Festival auditions. There. Take that private teacher from Oberlin!! As a music educator in three different school systems spanning over 33 years I have had success despite the fact that the administrators in my interviews doubted that I had enough backbone to go up against teenagers. And now, as I immerse myself in a new career—in a different music world—I know there are doubters out there. In fact, there are some who say, “You can’t do that.” After my few minutes of self-doubt, that same old fire rises within and I say, “Watch me!” With this constantly changing music industry, one must try what their gut feels. If it works, it’s a bonus. If it doesn’t, try something else. No one can predict what the next trend will be. We keep on “keeping on” and hope we will cut through the noise triumphant!