Five Vital Approaches to Practicing, Zoom Session 5, We Become Our Practice, 2/8/25 11am Eastern

Greetings Everyone and hope all is well!

"Five Vital Approaches To Practicing" Zoom Session 5, titled "You Become Your Practice" will be this Saturday February 8th at 11am Eastern Time. Donation instructions and Join Zoom Session link are below.

Something to remember...

Most of the people on this email list who know a bit about my teaching and what is important to me, understand the principles that are talked about are not just trombone related. They come from the sentiment of "Music as a Living Thing." Musicians of all kinds would benefit from these principles, concepts, exercises and self inquiry my videos and courses provide. Certainly all brass players could use the brass techniques because they are just not trombone related. I've had many brass players attend the sessions over the years.

Inspiration for the Course

Since we spend so much time at certain points in our playing life practicing alone, it is important to realize we are never really practicing alone! We are always “attended” by our state of consciousness, mindset, attitudes, expectations, moods, successes, failures, timelines etc. and what these attract to ourselves whether useful or not useful. These thoughts create an internal ecology which oversees or governs our practice sessions.

Zoom Session 5, Part 2, is about "We ARE Our Practice." Every moment we live, we are involved in some kind of action. Looking at the physical, mental and emotional parts of our life, we know each one has a multitude of feelings and actions that accompany those feelings, thoughts and sensations. How about the actions of the conscious, semi-conscious and unconscious aspects of our mind? Each organ in our body is playing its role through various actions. Think of the actions of different states of mind when waking, dreaming or in deep sleep. There is always a corresponding physical response to these states of consciousness.

Putting all this into our musical life, I’m hoping that this 5 week “course” has brought participants into better focus through the experiments we did that our thoughts and attitudes play a very significant role (governing role) in what comes through our instruments. We will do further experiments into the basics of playing and find further application and confirmation of the truths, We ARE Our Practice and we can Change in order to Continue to Exist!

Please bring your horns. :-) We experiment in these sessions to bring to life through our horns why and what is being said.

Companion Notes for Zoom Session 5:

http://frequencybone.blogspot.com/2025/02/companion-notes-for-zoom-session-5-we.html

It is ok if you have not attended the other sessions. Eventually it all becomes interconnected. You can also find companion notes from previous weeks at: frequencybone.blogspot.com.

Five Vital Approaches To Practicing requires a donation of $10 for each session. The donation instructions are below* If this is really going to be a strain for you, please get in touch with me and we will work something out. Donations can be sent out before the session begins. Thank you in advance!

** I'm hoping to have a booklet of Companion Guide Notes at the end of the course for purchase. A notification email will be sent when this is available.

Hoping to see some of you on Zoom!

Moving forward anew!

Norman

Join Zoom Session

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89795385594?pwd=gDCrFtzlnBmPxv6zIyV1aoPvDx3lYY.1

*Here are the donation directions:

*IMPORTANT NOTE

BEFORE DONATING, MAKE SURE TO PLEASE READ THE DIRECTIONS BELOW IT SO IT IS DONE CORRECTLY. THANKS IN ADVANCE!HOW TO SIGN UP:

(Note especially #6)

1. To pay/donate, please go to:

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/vierabolter

2. You will arrive at a PayPal window with the Air-ev and Frequency Band symbols and the name Carol Viera (Dr V's name)

3. Click "SEND" option

4. Enter AMOUNT: $10

5. At the bottom of the same window is the prompt: "What's this payment for?" ENTER A NOTE about which session(s) you are attending (e.g. FBSMC 16, Train Athletic Craft, Private Lesson, or more than one)

6. **IMPORTANT!** Select left box titled "PERSONAL" (because you're not "purchasing" merchandise, which is the default option; selecting that option incurs extra fees and creates an income category error for us; we do declare these personal payments on our taxes, as we would private lessons and coachings)

7.COMPLETE TRANSACTION (make sure your transaction goes through)

Companion Notes for Zoom Session 5, We Become Our Practice, Part 2

We ARE Our Practice!

Every moment we live, we are involved in some kind of action. Looking at the physical, mental and emotional parts of our life, we know each one has a multitude of feelings and actions that accompany those feelings, thoughts and sensations. How about the actions of the conscious, semi-conscious and unconscious mind  aspects of our mind. Each organ in our body is playing its role through various actions. Think of the actions of different states of mind when waking, dreaming or in deep sleep. There is always a corresponding physical response to these states of consciousness.

If we understand that each thought whether conscious, semi-conscious or unconscious has a physical quality (symptom) that comes with it, it may be easier to see how we are what we do on a repetitive basis. But, there are parts of ourselves we do not see unless certain conditions or situations in our lives cause us to act in ways we could not have predicted. Surprise!

Putting all this into our musical life, I’m hoping that this 5 week “course” has brought into better focus through the experiments we did that our thoughts and attitudes play a very significant role in what comes through our instruments. What, why, how, where and when have allowed us to view this process consciously. When habit is strongly embedded in us, it is unconscious. So this way of going on,( there are a myriad of ways) is an excellent opportunity to experience an awareness of the interconnectedness of mind and body. Beyond that, it allows us to be freer to discover ourselves without being stuck in just a few concepts. In fact, if you are the type of player that has a particular school of playing (firm fixed ways of going on) that works for you, hopefully by doing this five week course brings more depth of understanding to why you do what you do and offers other ways of approaching your firm foundations, perhaps adding more space inside of them for you to navigate other options.

The third overlay point in all of this, is to move away from getting too fixed in certain thoughts and attitudes that prevent more comprehensive visions of art, life and ourselves. This is the greater freedom to be (and discover) who we are truly meant to be.

ONWARD!

Companion Notes for Zoom Session 4, You Become Your Practice, Part 1

No matter what we do on a regular basis, it constitutes what we practice in our daily lives. If "practice makes perfect", what is it making perfect? What we think, how we act, why we do what we do, where and when we act or do not act, all point to aspects of what we presently are or have become over time. "Hence, We Become Our Practice."

We have the ability to CHANGE and improve ourselves. It ain't always easy, that's for sure! So change is a real possibility and is a wonderful quality of being human. We have been changing since conception and developed through all the stages until birth. And notice, we haven't stopped changing!:-) As my great life mentor said:

CHANGE IN ORDER TO CONTINUE TO EXIST

The above statement comes from a very elevated place concerning the greater human potential, high third overlay level. What is interesting is that the human being, like other living things on the planet, has a 1st overlay that develops automatically into the physical vehicle. A phrase we've heard in the music field and other fields when someone has a strong aptitude for something is "they're a natural." Well, that natural 1st stage was part of what they were born with and didn't have to work for. The 2nd stage, 2nd overlay, needs to be worked for to develop fully. The 3rd stage is of WHY they do what they do. WHAT drives them??? In this case, the power of their desire (the desire being the expression of the essence that moves them, 3rd overlay) drives their 2nd overlay, the human driver which of course needs the vehicle (1st overlay) to be the instrument of outward expression.

The 2nd overlay is the driver. Like learning to ride a bike, within a period of time with all the falling and trying to remember what you need to balance, all this learning gradually becomes "2nd nature." The first overlay gets the hang of it and off you go. It becomes automatic. The 2nd overlay is called "skill and choice" which means you have more freedom for choice as your skill gets more developed. The third overlay dictates why you ride the bike and what you want to pursue with it. For example, do you want to participate in competitive racing or use bicycling for exercise or a means of transportation? Whichever is your reason or reasons for riding a bike, would be your purpose. A deeper third overlay would be for personal quest

Companion Notes for Zoom session 2, You Become WHY You Practice

Since this session is using why as a point to start this week's inquiry into practicing, the question may arise; Why did I choose the title for this course to be "Five VITAL Approaches to Practicing?" It is a good question and I'll give some of my reasoning behind it.

First of all, I wasn't doing lots of reasoning before I picked the topic. It came about when I was practicing and started thinking about an issue that appeared in my playing. In the midst of this, I became very aware of the naturalness of the reasoning process, in this case, problem solving.  After finding out what the issue was, I started to wonder why it was happening. Once the why it was happening became clear, I naturally found myself asking how I can fix this and work with this. But after working with the how and finding the means and ways to work with the issue, more practicing showed me that I had worked it out in one range and dynamic, but things changed a bit when going into different registers and dynamics. It was this that led to where does it start and when does it start!

However, a person in a similar scenario might start with a different order of what, why, how, where and when. In a moment of frustration you might yell out "WHY or "WHAT am I going to do about this!" or "WHEN will this ever end?"

 

As a matter of fact, I had to find when does it start and where does it start to even get to finding the register and dynamic that worked well enough to have a place to start! And guess where this led me? To the Can Do Point!

That whole practice session was a process of getting to the Can DO Point! :-)     

Zoom Session 2, 11/18 to Five Vital Approaches to Practicing, Zoom Link included

Greetings Everyone and hope all is well!

A NOTE BEFOREHAND

Most of the people on this email list who know a bit about my teaching and what is important to me, understand the principles that are talked about are not just trombone related. They come from the sentiment of "Music as a Living Thing." Musicians of all kinds would benefit from these principles, concepts, exercises and self inquiry my videos and courses provide. Certainly all brass players could use the brass techniques because they are just not trombone related. I've had many brass players attend the sessions.

"Five Vital Approaches To Practicing" Zoom Session 2 titled "You Become Why You Practice" will be this Saturday 1/18 at 11am Eastern Time. Donation instructions and join Zoom Session link are below.

Inspiration for the Course

Since we spend so much time at certain points in our playing life practicing alone, it is important to realize we are never really practicing alone! We are always “attended” by our state of consciousness, mindset, attitudes, expectations, moods, successes, failures, timelines etc. and what these attract to ourselves whether useful or not useful. These thoughts create an internal ecology which oversees or governs our practice sessions.

Session 1 approached you becoming what you practice. Lots came from this including a new short tune. This session on 1/18 we will get into you become why you practice. Even though this phrase might sound or look odd, Session 2 gets us closer to our motives and reasons about why we choose to play and the effects it has on practicing and our music making. This session is a deeper tuning into ourselves.

Please bring your horns. :-) We experiment in these sessions to bring to life through our horns to practice why and what is being said.

Zoom Session Topics and Schedule

-Zoom Session 1- You Become What You Practice 1/11

Zoom Session 2- You Become Why You Practice 1/18

Zoom Session 3- You Become How You Practice 1/25

Zoom Session 4- You Become When You Practice 2/1

Zoom Session 5- You Become Where You Practice 2/8

It is ok if you have not attended the first session. Eventually it all becomes interconnected. You can also view last weeks blog notes:https://frequencybone.blogspot.com/2025/01/companion-notes-for-five-vital.html

Five Vital Approaches To Practicing requires a donation of $10 for each session. The donation instructions are below*. If this is really going to be a strain for you, please get in touch with me and we will work something out. Donations can be sent out before the session begins. Thank you in advance!

Companion Notes will be located on frequencybone.blogspot.com

**I'm hoping to have a booklet of Companion Guide Notes available for purchase, after the course is done. A notification email will be sent when they are available.

Hoping to see some of you on Zoom! You are welcome to bring your horns!

Moving forward anew!

Norman

Please feel free to share this email with others you may know.

Join Zoom Session

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84518043287?pwd=t85L2blNmnaPXfE4VamaevP7XbWv9A.1

*Here are the donation directions:

*IMPORTANT NOTE

BEFORE DONATING, MAKE SURE TO PLEASE READ THE DIRECTIONS BELOW IT SO IT IS DONE CORRECTLY. THANKS IN ADVANCE!HOW TO SIGN UP:

(Note especially #6)

1. To pay/donate, please go to:

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/vierabolter

2. You will arrive at a PayPal window with the Air-ev and Frequency Band symbols and the name Carol Viera (Dr V's name)

3. Click "SEND" option

4. Enter AMOUNT: $10

5. At the bottom of the same window is the prompt: "What's this payment for?" ENTER A NOTE about which session(s) you are attending (e.g. FBSMC 16, Train Athletic Craft, Private Lesson, or more than one)

6. **IMPORTANT!** Select left box titled "PERSONAL" (because you're not "purchasing" merchandise, which is the default option; selecting that option incurs extra fees and creates an income category error for us; we do declare these personal payments on our taxes, as we would private lessons and coachings)

7.COMPLETE TRANSACTION (make sure your transaction goes through)

Companion Notes for "Five Vital Approaches to Practicing" Zoom Session 1

You Become What You Practice!

It's true! This phrase started in the health movement (probably many decades or centuries ago) with the saying "You become what you eat." Obviously this was referring to our physical health and well being or lack thereof. We do all know how we feel after eating certain foods. I might love dairy and sweets, but afterwards I pay a price. That price has a profound effect on my physical and mental well being. Some foods, for certain people, can fog up their thinking while other foods aid with clear thought processes. So that is at the physical or first overlay for those who are a bit familiar with the Overlay System that I talk about frequently.

Subsequently, the phrase "You become what you think about" speaks about our mental food, our thought and thinking processes that occur on a regular basis. This is part of the second overlay in the Overlay System. Consider our attitudes and how they govern aspects of our thinking and their effects on the quality of our actions, positive or negative in our daily life. This can be more harmful than physical food in terms of its impact on how we approach anything.

.

Then, to take a glimpse into the third overlay of the Overlay System, "You become what you are truly governed by." This means your true genuineness in motives and principles. This can be looked at from the wise saying: "it is not what you do, it is the reason why you do it" that determines the motivational quality of what literally drives you.

My hope is that this post will show a sense of how to open up a territory and make it come more multi-dimensional. You become what you practice is so true because like eating or thinking, what we do with our time is what we become as people and of course artists.

Time is the most valuable commodity a person has. It is a period of time (space) that will fill our life. What is our life?? So putting this thought into our musical artistic journey, it becomes easier to feel what moves us to do what we do. Quality process is what will determine the quality of essence in our Art.

More on this next week when we look into you become WHY you practice. A good question to ask! Why do I practice???

New 5 week Course starting 1/11/25, "Five Vital Approaches To Practicing"

Greetings Everyone and Happy New Year!

Starting on January 11th, 2025, running for 5 consecutive weeks, I will be giving a course on Zoom titled "Five Vital Approaches To Practicing" all at 11am Eastern Time. Zoom links will be emailed a couple of days before each session. Donation instructions are below.

Inspiration for the Course

Since we spend so much time at certain points in our playing life practicing alone, it is important to realize we are never really practicing alone! We are always “attended” by our state of consciousness, mindset, attitudes, expectations, moods, successes, failures, timelines etc. and what these attract to ourselves whether useful or not useful. These thoughts create an internal ecology which oversees or governs our practice sessions.

Oftentimes, we don’t have a clear plan to help. And there are many plans that do help! I’ve been thinking about this particular plan that will be featured in this 5 part course. "Five Vital Approaches To Practicing" is intended to give more options and insightfulness to the player’s practice sessions hence being more aware to help in getting off the hamster wheel of repetition that often can turn into a rut.

Zoom Session Topics and Schedule

Zoom Session 1- You Become What You Practice 1/11

Zoom Session 2- You Become Why You Practice 1/18

Zoom Session 3- You Become How You Practice 1/25

Zoom Session 4- You Become When You Practice 2/1

Zoom Session 5- You Become Where You Practice 2/8

If possible, I encourage those interested to attend all 5 sessions to see the connection and interaction of these 5 approaches with each other.

Five Vital Approaches To Practicing requires a donation of $10 for each session. The donation instructions are below*. If this is really going to be a strain for you, please get in touch with me and we will work something out. Donations can be sent out before the session begins. Thank you in advance!

Companion Notes will be located on frequencybone.blogspot.com. Extra notes and exercises will require a separate donation. A notification email will be sent when they are available.

Hoping to see some of you on Zoom! You are welcome to bring your horns!

Moving forward anew!

Norman

Please feel free to share this email with others you may know.

Join Zoom Session

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85647597667?pwd=HGpsp9Q3aeb44ZIYdatLVXA6qGs4ZR.1

*Here are the donation directions:

*IMPORTANT NOTE

BEFORE DONATING, MAKE SURE TO PLEASE READ THE DIRECTIONS BELOW IT SO IT IS DONE CORRECTLY. THANKS IN ADVANCE!HOW TO SIGN UP:

(Note especially #6)

1. To pay/donate, please go to:

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/vierabolter

2. You will arrive at a PayPal window with the Air-ev and Frequency Band symbols and the name Carol Viera (Dr V's name)

3. Click "SEND" option

4. Enter AMOUNT: $10

5. At the bottom of the same window is the prompt: "What's this payment for?" ENTER A NOTE about which session(s) you are attending (e.g. FBSMC 16, Train Athletic Craft, Private Lesson, or more than one)

6. **IMPORTANT!** Select left box titled "PERSONAL" (because you're not "purchasing" merchandise, which is the default option; selecting that option incurs extra fees and creates an income category error for us; we do declare these personal payments on our taxes, as we would private lessons and coachings)

7.COMPLETE TRANSACTION (make sure your transaction goes through)