Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum The Secrets of Success and STARDOM revealed!

Hi all,

After spending some time last night answering Betty Patnude's questions about self teaching and practice, on other threads here, my thoughts wandered across to the idea of working out a mnemonic to show the steps needed for overall success - stardom even!

This is what I came up with. So this is another one for Betty to ponder.

• THE 10 STEP METHOD TO BECOMING A STAR
  
  
  S UCCESS.........Fulfil your dreams.
  T ALENT...........You don’t have to be born with talent. You can build it.
  A UTHORITY......Be known for your style and mastery.
  R ESPECT.........We’d all like it. Learn how to earn it.
  
  =
  
  D IRECTION..........Don’t dabble. Have a method, course or plan to follow.
  O BJECTIVES........Break the journey into steps and set goals.
  
  
  M OTIVATION.......Work out what motivates YOU to keep engaged.
  O RGANISATION....Set aside time to play purposefully every day
  R ESOLVE.............A dose of determination will carry you through
  E NTHUSIASM.......Enjoy yourself. Keep it fresh and fun.
  
  
  W ISDOM..............Seek out advice and tips from those who already succeeded.
  O BSERVATION..... Watch experienced players carefully and often
  R ESEARCH...........Read up on your chosen craft
  K NOWLEDGE........Theory is your friend. Don’t neglect it or think it’s dull.

So? Should I patent it??

Cheers,

Chris

M-otivated
E-nthusiastic
T-alented
H-opeful
O-rganized
D-isciplined
I-nspired
C-ommited
A-ccurate
L-ogical

M-usical
I-ntuitive
N- ________
D-etermined
S-killful

I'm still pondering, Chris.

Is this what keeps us all up late at night? Trying to think of the perfect word in the perfect post! It's elusive isn't it!

Betty

Nice one!

Who would have thought that N would be so hard to fill??

But I'm going to need one for my 'Alternative Method'...


W ILLINGNESS..... To take a chance and experiment
I MPROVISATION.... Give it a try.
N ERVE..... You'll need plenty of it.
G O FOR IT.... Who know what you'll find.


I NTUITION.... If it feels right, do it.

Maybe not the ideal method, but I expect many of us would admit to having done a bit of it.

Cheers,

Chris

Chris

Now, that's more like my method


Lee

Stardom implies playing in front of a public, and continuing to do so for a long period of time. It means that after you have mastered your craft you also have to know how to market yourself, find the audience, keep the audience. Is it a valid goal for everyone - or is being able to play well enough for many?

Playing well is enough for me. If I could built the skillset to become a star, that's enough.

It's like not wanting the rich to get ripped off by higher taxes. Someday, I might be rich, so keep it fair, just in case.

Betty, for the N - Nurtured.. or Never-ending.. or Nervy... or Nonchalant.. or Natural..

Enough, my brain hurts...

Mine too, if the truth be told. I'm trying much harder to be more disciplined than I was when I learned guitar. I'm succeeding to the degree that I put in some well focused sessions every day. But improvising and 'winging it' is where the heart is. I guess that I understand better now that the more quality tools you have in the kit the bigger the freedom it ultimately gives you. So I play it straight and do the stuff in the books too.

I'm mainly aiming to be a Legend in My Own Loungeroom. And after the first few weeks I couldn't be happier with how it's going. What a wonderful instrument we have....

Cheers,

Chris

"Legend in my own loungeroom"... I love it!

Lots of thought-provoking points here. My sense is that "success" and "stardom" are only moderately related, and the former is much easier to achieve than the latter. I would also say that genuine success is impossible without hard work, whereas it is eminently possible to achieve stardom without work (Paris Hilton, anyone?).

Chris has stimulated our thinking! Good going, gmm, for the with the N's.

N-ever say N-ever
N-o stone unturned
N-o mountain high enough
N-imble fingers thrive on nifty music
NOW! I want it all and I want it NOW!

Betty