Learning From Yourself

Learning is valuable. We all know that. But, just like any skill or talent, it can be practiced and refined to an art. Most of us have never spent much time thinking about the art of learning because when it's time to learn something new most of us look to be taught by someone else. Most of our teaching comes from an outer source. Rarely do we approach something new by going inside of ourselves. This may be a strange concept to some but actually may be the best and most thorough way to learn.

Please, don't misunderstand me. Having a teacher can be wonderful and necessary and it can definitely speed up the process of learning. I am not saying that learning from others is the wrong way, but even when an idea is brought to you from another person, it still has to be brought into the inner recesses of yourself to be refined, learned and personalized. It has to become your truth before it is actually learned completely.

People often ask me to show them how I do a particular pattern or lick. I don't mind showing them, but I enjoy, more, showing the people who have tried to figure it out for themselves. Just think, if you figure something out on your own, you will probably do it the way that suits you best. Then when you finally learn the way someone else does it, you'll have two ways of doing it, your way being just as valuable as theirs. I sometimes have people showing me easier ways of doing my own licks. These are the people who have taken "my way" and brought it deep within until it came out "their way."

Think of all the inventors throughout time. They came up with ideas that didn't exist before them. They would not have been able to accomplish this had they only listened to outside sources. There are "inside" sources just waiting for you to ask for their help.

The more you do this "inner" learning the better you will get at it. Your brain will get in the habit of producing instead of just waiting to receive. You can hear a passage of music and immediately know how to reproduce it and it will be personalized with your touch without even trying. This is the key to being original.

All of your favorite musicians, Marcus Miller, Geddy Lee, Jaco Pastorius, and all the rest have had to spend a tremendous amount of time sitting down with themselves in order to sound the way they do. That is the key to their sound and probably to their success also.

Many animals still possess this knowledge but among humans it has become almost a lost art. I remember many years ago being fascinated by my dog. She would get sick, go outside in the yard, eat some grass (that would usually make her throw up), and then she would be all better. Who taught her this? NO, not me: the same person that teaches each caterpillar to become a butterfly: that person that lies deep within us all. I am proposing that we all have this same ability and it can be practiced.

So, for those of us that are looking for a teacher, don't just sit there idling. Practice, practice, practice until we find one and then keep practicing. For those of us that have a teacher, listen close to what they have to say because they may point us in directions that we wouldn't have gone. But remember to always take what they teach deep inside of ourselves to see if it matches our individual truth, then, practice some more.

To all of you teachers out there, don't just think that I am trying to make your students stay home, but I offer you this challenge. Ponder what I have said here and if it makes any sense to you at all, teach it to your pupils. I think that it will actually bring you more students.

Music will take on a whole new meaning when you listen through your own ears. Go inside and see what there is to learn. Go inside, my friend. Go inside.

peace, vic