Photo Gallery
Does this look fun to
you?
Adam's Flower Garden (15-17 year olds)
Mjölk (14-16 year olds)
Sadie Mortensen (17 years old)
Ella Bowen (14 years old)
Kalle Danfors (16 years old)
Eric Danfors (15 years old)
Kjell Danfors (14 years old)
Olivia Malm (16 years old)
Keira Lee (14 years old)
Kenadi Dodds (12 years old), playing for about
10 people and a few cows
Kenadi Dodds (13 years old), playing for about
100 people
Kenadi Dodds (15 years old), playing for about
10 million people, on national television
This is why I teach private
music lessons when I could be retired: when my students
perform and the audience loves them, that brings great
satisfaction to me. I feel like I'm making a
difference to those young people, and also in society.
I also feel much the same way when I perform, myself.
If you want to be part of that, and make a positive
contribution to others' lives through live music, I might be
able to help you.
In case you are wondering the answer to the question at the
top of this page, yes, all these kids are definitely having
FUN! They are having the time of their lives!
The reason they are having so much fun is they are really,
really good. The reasons they are really, really good
are about 25% amazing talent, and 25% excellent instruction
(if I do say so, myself!), but the most important factor,
perhaps even more than the other two put together, is hard
work. Practice, practice, practice. Practice
until they have it perfect, and then practice twice as much
until it is muscle memory and they can play it without
thinking. Practice when they are sick, practice when
they are busy, practice when they are tired. If you
think you can have this much fun without the work, you are
mistaken. There is no shortcut. There is no
hack.
For example, Kenadi Dodds was practicing at least 4 hours
every day from the time she was 11 until she was on
America's Got Talent at age 15. She practices even
more, now. That's what it takes to be at her
level. But what if you don't want to be a professional
musician? What if your goal is to enjoy performing
music through your life but not have it as your primary
career? You can do that with about an hour a day,
consistently, for 5-10 years or so. The bottom line
is: the more time you practice per day and the more years
you do it, the better you'll be, and the more opportunities
will come to you; and thus the more fun you'll have with
music throughout your life.