Khalifa's Story

Recently, life is pretty weird.

I just released an album this month. Most people hearing about it we're like yeaaayy, 

"Oh, I hope you gonna make it big time..."

These are the words that I hear the most, and it is a fine example of how people with good hearts can break your heart while they try to cheer you up in their own way, with all the good intentions they have. 

I believe their intentions are true because that is what the society expects from the artist.

I have written about his before. Expecting an artist to be plain rich and famous,  seeing this as their only measure of success, is the notion I have been trying to fight for years.

What is actually 'making it'? 

I can not understand. 

I understand why people want it. I wish that the ones with the dreams of this kind, to reach their expectations so that they could understand if this is what they actually wanted or not.

Even though I can understand where they're coming from,

Why none of them had the slightest idea of asking me, if I am happy?

Will I be complete when my songs reach millions?

Will I be happy when I give dozens of interviews everyday? Will I be happy with the money i have ..

Will I be happy with the attention?

I started making music because I was never good with words. I was singing on my own and then one day, people discovered that and were like;

"oh woow, she could sing."

I was happy that I was recognized but the feeling I get when I sing or play with other people is something else.

I never thought that the path I'm taking would lead me to stuff that has nothing to do with music.

And this is why I am tired. 

Because dealing with people's expectations should not be my job.

I am an artist.

And I will make art.

There once was a teacher I had, she implied I wasn't working hard enough because it wasn't out there.

It wasn't out there for people to see.

Just because it's not out there, doesn't mean that I'm not doing what I'm supposed to do. 

Like, practicing the kind of work that actually inspires me.

Every one should work and develop themselves on their own time, and no one should have the right to say what you should be doing.

I don't want anyone to come and tell me 'you gotta this, you shoulda that..." 

If my art is only about me, that means I'm not doing it right.

If my art is not making any positive impact, than it means that I have failed. 

I'm not telling other people to be this way, but that's what makes me happy.

I recently came across the story of Khalifa when I was pretty banged up with all the thoughts and expectations people have over me. You can easily say "oh don't mind about them, just stay in your path"

My path is a human's path. Since I am one; I have every right to get overwhelmed with all the stuff around me. 

But I digress, 

As I told you before, I am not very good with words all the time; especially when I have to express myself. So, please take a minute to read what Khalifa has to say. She's a student from the Jane Goodall Institute and I find her story very encouraging.

- So, I don't think I'll be writing about this for a while. I believe that I'll be busy singing, on my own, also with other people. I shouldn't have to carry the burden of sharing it on social media every single time and don't have to explain it to everyone all the time, so that's what I'm going to do.  

Khalifa:

Her Roots & Shoots experiences “shaped the kind of person I am today,” she says,  “sometimes in unexpected ways”. The trip to Tanzania, in particular, had a profound impact on her life:

“It was almost like I was going home to a place where I’ve never been,” she says. There, she met people who “had pure hearts”— loving not only to their neighbors but also to animals and the environment. To this day, she says, she aims “to be as pure and loving as they were.”

.... Reflecting on the many projects she was involved in, Khalifa says a favorite was called Peace Through Art. During the Iraq War, she and her peers made and collected art from students in the United States and sent them to Iraqis. The project tapped into both her passion for expression through art and her commitment to helping others. 

“Art is very special,” she says, “in that art is kind of a universal language. You don’t have to really speak the same language as someone to get a message across.”

In 2017, Khalifa graduated from college with a degree in neuroscience. Today, she is at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York pursuing her masters and working toward a combined Ph.D. and MD to become a physician-scientist.

She hopes to be an inspiration to women, to people of color, and to others who “have that little seed”—who want to ask questions, seek answers, have an impact on their communities. “So people pull you up, right, but the idea is that you should pull someone up too,” she says.

“The mountain top, for me at least,” she says, “is making a positive impact in my community, knowing that I helped change not only my life but other people’s lives.” 

She hopes that her story will motivate others. Ultimately, she says, “I want to do the same for others that Jane has done for me. That’s the long-term goal.”

For the whole story : https://rootsandshoots.org/stories/khalifa-stafford/

Music Teaching of Today

Music teachers, this one's for you. 

Let me begin with asking you one question. Why do your students quit?  There can be so many reasons but let's bring it down to the main reason, or the main element of teaching in that sense now, ok?

Not many students think this way, but in a pedagogical point of view, most students just rely on their relationship with their teachers only.

Plain sympathy.

Well, obviously. If you're not sympathizing with your teacher, how can you learn anything the way you want to, right?

Right.

But what if you're teacher can't be there for you all the time? What if they gotta change of life, what if they wanna do something else or they don't feel like teaching anymore.

You'd likely to quit now, wouldn't you?

I gotta mind you. This wasn't always the case. 

Back in my day, and still to this day, there are many teachers who can't bring out the motivation to keep their students until they reach their full potential. Most say it's usually because of money matters, if you live in where I come from. And that's a valid reason. 

But in order to teach someone an instrument, even though some think of asking their pupils in the beginning about it, many teachers forget 'why' these folks wanna learn it in the first place.

I had a pretty bad teaching experience once with a group of theater pupils. Well it wasn't completely terrible but still... I feel like I failed them as a teacher just because I couldn't make them search for their 'how', so that when the whole learning period was over, they would need very less of me. I guided them, I showed them my repertoire of exercises and relaxation techniques but that was all I could ever do. 

Even though we had a session before we began; we had a conversation where we talked about why they wanna use music in their production - and that was a very awkward conversation I gotta say, because they didn't expect me to ask that... And that wasn't on them, that was on me but - I gotta admit, that month, wasn't the most prideful time I had as a teacher.

Anyhoops the thing is, there is this one other perspective where teachers think their student is just not... meant for this. That's the one that gets on my nerves the most. It's easy trying to blame teachers for that, but I know that, that's not the case. 

The thing is, I was one of those students. 

They say you master at something if you practice it for like 10.000 hours, right?  (I think that's a pretty round up number and not applicable to everyone but still..) Now imagine that, you practiced for 9.000 hours straight (metaphorically) and for 9.000 hours, everything was like, PLAIN WRONG. No right kind of tonal control, no breath work done the right way, just plain 'I do as I'm told' or 'I do as I've been showed' . 

Some people were like 'Maybe you could try something else and like not... singing? 

(o.o) .... "Umm, nope", I said. 

I think I'm making progress..."

I gotta tell you, all I had was this one thing in my head and in my heart to keep me going. 

And that was, plain emotion.

Now you may think "Well, you had it in you, girl. Not everyone's got the strength and will to keep going in your situation..."

I'm sorry, but no. There are so many people like me out there. So many students, waiting in plain sight and keep getting hurt with the feeling that they're just not good enough. I know for one, that's not the case.

Now I suggest that my professors, teachers and musician friends to keep their minds open each time they see a struggling student. I know you're saying that "practice makes it perfect". It's not some sort of a genetic advantage of having that musical gift more than the others, it's just a matter of practice, right? 

I know, you say that all the time, but can you keep your promise? How they practice with you, on your own time is your responsibility. But how they keep practicing at their home, is this only 'their' responsibility? 

Where I live is the neighbour of a war zone as a country. It's been this way a long time and it keeps getting harder everyday. We teachers try not to lose faith, trying not to focus on the horrors of everyday life; just like the students do. And believe me when I say that music, is way more bigger than you may ever think of.

Even though now in times of AI, I hate to say it but music educators are becoming a rare bunch. I remember writing about this once. So many people are concerned about music being consumed and produced in a more digital way, and that it's becoming way more artificial everyday. But only teachers are aware that training students will also become a scarcity too. Realizing the power in their hands, not many people are gonna feel the urge to sing for real. They can easily record and edit their voices whenever they want to. They can get a thousand likes for putting their record on Instagram and get instant gratification, like... in a heartbeat.

So why aren't we doing anything? Teaching students one-on one is always crucial. Instructing them, guiding them is crucial. And also not enough. 

I know that I am not the only one with these thoughts but I'm not seeing enough effort from the educators around me. I know people think some of it this way, but don't know what to do. But that's how it actually is. Having an open mind and doing something about it.

If you don't have the faith, take some of mine,

We gotta keep believing and keep developing each other,

Because that's how we can dissolve despair. Together.

Sincerely,

D.

Another Day to Listen - Tracy Chapman

Tracy Chapman,

Whenever I listen, whenever I hear her songs, I get a sense of freedom. 

Some people ask me why I post other songs here, other than myself.

Because I wanna share the music that's feels right for me. And that's what I'm gonna do.

They say we live in a time of 'shameless promotion"

I gotta say the expression itself sounds extremely funny. You just share things here, and that's all about it. Who's gonna listen, who's gonna reach is beyond me. I can not predict the future. I can only have faith in it.

And that faith, is something I get from artists like Tracy. Because every time a song comes by, no matter where or when I listen to it, it feels just like that. I rarely get this feeling that, even if I meet her one day, the feeling that I get, would be the same.

I never met her, and maybe I'll never do and that's ok. It just feels good to know that her songs existed, and that they are still reaching people to this day.

So listen today,

Peace. 

D.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGwK1jjemgE&list=RDMM&index=8

Anti - Automatic / New Album - ON AIR

I got so much to say today. 

But for now ladies and gentlemen,

Music...

Cheerios.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCXn9qlJB2g&list=PLyGX1FrjkaR9emc7hzCspQ6FP0HyIZPnq