It all starts in the head

The problem started after 3 years of playing in a local underground band. I wanted more. The time has come to study, a new city, new opportunities – the time of development. A friend told me about the Wrocław School of Jazz and Popular Music. He himself, as far as I remember, was in this school for a while. I thought – I have to try, although I had nothing to do with jazz. But I felt that it would allow me to develop musically. But how to embrace studies at Wrocław University of Science and Technology, music school, rehearsals, concerts, and how to earn money for classes?

I belong to this group of people who are eternal optimists and see the impossible possible. I naively focused on improvisation, thinking: “it will work out somehow”.

Unfortunately, the improvisation was unsuccessful … It was impossible to pull a few magpies by the tail at the same time. There was no time, determination, discipline, energy. After all, I was in my freshman year, partying, a big city, my first years away from home – it couldn’t have happened. I left the University of Technology after the 1st semester, fortunately music was always in the foreground. Thanks to the understanding and help of my parents, I was able to continue my education at the Wrocław School of Jazz and Popular Music. I wanted to go back to college, but I knew I needed a concrete plan now. Managed to. After many years of practice, easier and more difficult moments in life, after a thousand conversations with friends and after reading a dozen or so books on the subject, I managed to find out what influences the effectiveness of my work. It is possible that some of my conclusions will also be useful to you.

The most important conclusion that I have come to after many years of fighting my weaknesses is that everything starts in our head. Albert Einstein’s words describe it well:

The essential problems of our lives cannot be solved on the same level of thinking as we were when they were created.

Stop. The past is no longer important, learn from it (it’s your experience), but don’t let it take over your life and occupy your thoughts. You are here and now. You can’t change the past anymore, but you can change the future. Let each day be the beginning of something new, even when yesterday was full of difficult moments and problems that severely cut your wings. Give yourself a new chance. Okay, but how does this relate to music?

Regardless of whether you deal with music professionally or as an amateur, playing presents you with challenges every day. Starting from the contact with the instrument itself (practice, rehearsals, concerts), through relationships with other people (family, other musicians, fans), then through financing our passion (equipment, lessons, workshops, rehearsal room), and ending with functioning on the market music (publishing houses, concert tours, contracts). Each of these aspects is either a problem (pessimistic approach) or a challenge (optimistic approach). Make every problem a challenge that brings you a lot of new experience every day, no matter if it’s successful or unsuccessful.

Do you want to play a lot, but you have to reconcile school with music? or maybe you work professionally, but you feel the need for musical development?

In the beginning, take it easy! Clear your mind of the word “must.” Music should be created out of passion, out of the need to express yourself. So try to pay attention to these aspects instead of thinking: I have to practice, I have to have all the knowledge about music, I have to be the best technically. These are only tools for creating, not goals in themselves. You want to play, you want to have a say, you want to express yourself – and that’s the goal.

Plan your day To get off to a good start, you need specific goals. The goal may be, for example, to finish school with a strip and record a demo with your band.

Ok, what then has to happen for this to succeed? After all, I have to spend a lot of time studying and practicing bass at home and in rehearsals. In addition, somehow you have to earn money for the studio, new strings, and a rehearsal room. 

It may seem overwhelming, but on the other hand, anything can be done. By planning your time well, you will find a moment to learn, exercise and go out with friends. Here’s my tip on how to get started:

Analyze what you are doing throughout the week by writing it down in the table – be diligent, list everything. (time on the net especially)

Mark those activities that are crucial for your development, and with a different color those that make you lose a lot of time and energy, and are trivial. (green – developmental; gray – waste of time; white – responsibilities)

Now create the same table as before, but without these unnecessary steps. A lot of free time is found, right?

In these places, plan a minimum of an hour to practice bass, but also time to rest, study, go out with friends or do sports.

In a healthy body, healthy mind.

As my father says, “everything is fine when health is good”. We are capable of doing a lot if we feel well. But when our health declines, the world changes 180 degrees and nothing else matters. In addition to activities that will allow you to grow musically or in any other field, take time to stay fit and live a healthy life. Most of my friends who are professionally involved in music, regularly play sports and take care of their diet. It is very difficult and, unfortunately, often unrealistic on the road, so it is worth finding time for it in your daily schedule.

Do you want to tell the world something through music – get organized and do it! Don’t talk or think that something is unreal. Everyone is a blacksmith of their own fate, it depends on you, your willingness, commitment and determination whether you will make your dreams come true. I do mine, so you can too. To work!