Tag: lifelong learning

Stamp Out the PHOBIA of Amateur Music-Making

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Expanded from “Recreational Music-Making,” published in the Fall 2024 UPPER ST CLAIR TODAY magazine.

The definition of a “phobia” is “an anxiety disorder involving excessive and persistent fear of a situation or object.” It is known that exposure to the source of the fear may trigger an immediate anxiety response. And, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 12.5% of adults in the U.S. will deal with a specific phobia in their lifetime.

Some of the most common phobias include arachnophobia (fear of spiders), acrophobia (fear of heights), aerophobia (fear of flying), claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces), mysophobia (fear of germs), and trypanophobia (fear of needles), to name a few.

But why on earth do we have a “fear of amateur music-making?”

Okay, I doubt there is any true rational cause for anyone to be afraid of picking up an instrument or singing in a group, except for a touch of stage fright (if it’s in public) or that always-present “fear of failure” (possibly resisting the urge to make a fool of ourselves?). But, making music or opening ourselves up to creative self-expression is one of the greatest gifts we have to personally experience and share. No one hesitates to play a game of cards, catch a ball, or swim with the kids… even if “we are not all that good at it!” So, why are some adults so reticent about letting down their hair, finding and dusting off that old band or string instrument in the attic, warming up their “chops,” brushing up on the fundamentals, and playing a few notes? Remember all the fun you had in school music? (Sure, you might be more than a little rusty, but that’s understandable. Do you recall your music teacher’s instructions on how to hold the instrument, read the notes, and “find” the fingerings? It’s not too hard to re-orient and recapture those early steps.)

We can and should be inspired by those breathtaking performances of professional musicians, singers, dancers, and actors – their amazing artistry always looks and sounds so perfect! But are you telling me that art is only for the virtuosos, maestros, or experts? No, music is for everyone! It is timeless and does not discriminate by age. It offers meaningful life-long learning for all stages, past experiences, and ability levels.

As if you really need stats to prove the benefits of music, please peruse the NAMM Foundation website here: https://www.nammfoundation.org/articles/2014-06-01/Benefits-learning-and-playing-music-adults. They quote “the value of recreational music-making to be scientifically proven” to help the U.S. workplace by reducing employee stress, depression, burnout, and improving worker retention. In addition, as a music teacher and former school choral and orchestra director, I frequently share this quote by Don McMannis in “Use Music to Develop Kids’ Skill and Character” from the March 19, 2009 online post of Edutopia:

“Music has positive effects on people’s emotions and creativity. When we sing together, we synchronize our breathing and feel more connected. Music is also an effective, almost magical medium for learning and retaining information, [because] it activates three different centers of the brain at the same time: language, hearing, and rhythmic motor control. By inducing emotions, it also creates a heightened condition of awareness and mental acuity…”

As for “us seniors,” there are so many amazing benefits of music lessons throughout our “golden years!”

  1. Cognitive well-being (“reduce the risk of cognitive decline…”)
  2. Emotional resilience (“provide a powerful outlet for self-expression and emotional release…”)
  3. Physical benefits (“improve motor skills, enhance coordination, increase overall physical activity…”)
  4. Stress reduction (“therapeutic escape from daily worries… relax and unwind…”)
  5. Lifelong learning (“promote a sense of ongoing personal growth… the joy of learning and mastering new techniques…”)
  6. Social connection (“bringing people together… combat social isolation… and create a sense of belonging.”)

Check out additional information at the New York Musician’s Center blog here: https://nymcmusic.com/f/the-remarkable-benefits-of-music-lessons-for-senior-citizens

Truly, you have no valid excuses! I am guessing there are many community choral, jazz, band, and orchestra ensembles inside and outside the surrounding areas where you live. And don’t forget to consider visiting a local church to join their choir!

In the southwestern Pennsylvania area where I reside, there are numerous opportunities for getting involved in adult amateur music, art, dance, and drama venues. I have the links to 20 ensembles from the Greater Pittsburgh area alone on the Community Foundation of Upper St. Clair Arts page here. Take a look at a few of their upcoming June and July concerts below.

This fall, adults and “music lovers of all ages” should drop-in to several open, free-trial, no-obligation-to-join rehearsals of the South Hills Junior Orchestra (SHJO) on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Upper St. Clair High School (USCHS) Band Room. After the successes of SHJO’s annual spring concert on May 23 and a community outreach performance at the Paramount Senior Living Facility in Peters Township on May 30, we’re taking a break over the summer. But mark your calendars! Our next practice is scheduled for September 12, 2026. Here are our proposed dates for 2026-27:

If you live in the South Hills/Pittsburgh area, musicians are also invited to another group that rehearses at USCHS, the Community Band South (adults only). Directed by Max Gonano, CBS meets most Monday evenings at 7:30 p.m., even over the summer months! Bring your instrument!

The next time you host a dinner party, bring out that old song book or pick up your fiddle or flute! Gather around the piano and encourage your family and friends to join in a sing-along. Hopefully it does not take a few glasses of wine before everyone can shed their inhibitions and relax a little… and enjoy the incredible effects of communal music-making! What do you have to lose? There’s no time like the present!

Stamp out the phobia of amateur music-making!

PKF

© 2024, 2026 Paul K. Fox

Learning New Skills and Hobbies

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A Musician’s Guide to Staying Curious and Creative

by Ed Carter

For musicians, educators, professionals and soon-to-be retirees everywhere, guest blogger Ed Carter returns with this article on exploring new pastimes and adventures while “living the dream” during and after full-time employment. What are you planning to be (or do) when you grow up? PKF

Musicians are lifelong learners by nature. Whether you’re a touring guitarist, a bedroom producer, or a choir director, you already know that growth happens when curiosity meets practice. Learning new skills and hobbies isn’t just a way to pass the time—it’s a way to deepen musicianship, prevent burnout, and build a richer creative life. From hands-on crafts to movement and language, the right skill can feed your music in surprising ways.

The Fast Takeaway Most Musicians Need

Learning something new works best when it’s low-pressure, connected to your existing creative instincts, and practiced in short, repeatable sessions. Choose skills that train your ears, hands, body, or sense of story. Let progress be uneven. Consistency matters more than talent.

Skills That Pair Surprisingly Well With Music

Here’s a quick, varied list of skills and hobbies that musicians often enjoy—and actually benefit from:

  • Cooking: Teaches timing, improvisation, and sensory awareness
  • Gardening: Builds patience, seasonal thinking, and long-term care
  • Photography: Sharpens composition, contrast, and mood
  • Sewing or basic clothing repair: Encourages precision and rhythm
  • Dancing: Improves mood, posture, and body awareness
  • Visual art (drawing, painting, collage): Expands emotional expression
  • Learning a new language: Trains listening, phrasing, and memory
  • Playing a second (or third) instrument: Resets beginner’s mind

Each of these taps into skills musicians already use—just in a different form.

A Simple How-To for Learning Any New Skill

Use this checklist-style approach to avoid overwhelm and keep momentum:

  1. Start smaller than you think
    Commit to 10–15 minutes a few times a week. That’s enough to build a habit.
  2. Choose tools, not perfection
    One good knife, one sketchbook, one dance class, one app. Avoid overbuying.
  3. Practice in public (a little)
    Share a photo, cook for a friend, attend a beginner class. Light accountability helps.
  4. Connect it back to music
    Ask: How does this change how I listen, move, or think creatively?
  5. Let yourself be bad
    Beginners progress faster when they’re not trying to impress anyone.

Learning Skills Side-by-Side: A Comparison

When a Hobby Turns Into a Calling

Sometimes a skill stops being “just for fun.” You fall in love with it, invest more time, and start wondering if it could become part of your career. Many musicians eventually return to school to formalize a passion—whether that’s audio engineering, education, therapy, or technology. Finding a program that supports your interests matters; for example, if you want to build skills in IT, programming, and computer science theory, earning a computer science degree can open doors, and this may be a good option. Online programs can be especially helpful for busy musicians, allowing you to study around rehearsals, gigs, and tours.

A Resource Worth Exploring

If you’re curious about picking up creative skills at your own pace, Skillshare offers beginner-friendly classes in photography, illustration, writing, productivity, and more. Many courses are short, project-based, and taught by working creatives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to be “talented” to start a new hobby?
No. Skill comes from repetition, not personality traits.

How many hobbies is too many?
If you feel scattered or stressed, scale back. One or two at a time is plenty.

Will learning non-musical skills really help my music?
Often, yes. Cross-training creativity keeps your musical thinking flexible.

What if I quit?
Quitting is data. You learned what didn’t fit—and that still counts.

Final Thoughts

Learning new skills and hobbies keeps musicians adaptable, curious, and creatively healthy. You don’t need a master plan—just a willingness to start small and stay open. Some skills will quietly support your music; others may change your direction entirely. Either way, the act of learning itself keeps you in tune with growth.

© 2026 by Ed Carter and Paul Fox

Retired from What?

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concert-662851_1920Do music teachers ever retire? Not really!

The other night, I was attending a community foundation meeting for which I serve as trustee. One of the other members came up to me and made a little fun of the fact that he noticed I list my previous employment on the footer of my email.

I have to admit I was taken aback and a little embarrassed. I recalled that several months after I retired from public school teaching, I prepared some business cards to distribute at music education conferences and collegiate seminars which included the job titles I assumed when I was working full-time at Upper St. Clair. You have to admit it may be a little ironic. Why would a retiree use a business card to help broadcast his skills and experience for possible future employment opportunities… something no longer needed?

choir-1438273

Then it hit me. Most people retire and want nothing to do with the daily grind to which they were assigned during their career. Many want to forget everything and wash their hands of all memories of their former position(s) in sales, management, law, medicine, trades, manufacturing, service industry, etc. – perhaps, even non-arts related education!

Musicians and music teachers are definitely unique. Our job is really more of a “calling,” never just a place to go to work and earn a paycheck. We were inspired to make music and then share this fantastic process with our students and audiences. Our employment was never 9-to-5. And, all of the Performing Arts have no notion of a 9-to-5 goal…  “Hurry up, let’s finish learning this piece, play it, and then go to the bar and have a few drinks.”

serenata-1191504

The mission of music education is to facilitate creative self-expression, to nurture understanding of ourselves, our culture, and our artistic heritage, and to seek out as many opportunities to “make music” in collaboration with other instrumentalists and vocalists. You have heard it before: “Music is lifelong learning!” That means there are no limits to lifelong participation in the arts based on race, color, religion, gender, sex, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, military status, and most importantly, age!

I know very few music education professionals who do not “bring home their music…” looking for more ways to experience it in their free time:

  1. Play, sing, act, or dance in a community ensemble
  2. Direct or accompany a church or community group
  3. street-musicians-1436714Practice and go out on a few gigs with your own jazz, rock, Barbershop, or chamber music group
  4. Teach private lessons
  5. Coach or compose for local marching bands, etc.

All of these activities become magnified when you retire. Once we are “set free” from the day-to-day academic schedule, lesson planning, faculty meetings, etc., we can focus our attention on what we really love to do. We are probably the luckiest professionals alive… we want to revisit our creative roots, not run away from them.

My previous experience (on my business card or e-mail footer) is relevant and I will no longer apologize for sharing it. I am not “stuck in the past,” but focused on the future! It means I am still active in the profession, available to mentor or help others in the field, always learning and growing, and exploring new directions and avenues to inspire my own artistry.

How many of you retirees agree that you are really just moving on to different pursuits in performance and/or music singer-1535103education? Of course, the best part of retirement is that you get to pick what you want to do every day for the rest of your life. So go ahead and say yes to those extra conducting gigs, writing/publishing your own “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” working with the church or community choir, accompanying a handful recitals, volunteering to help your favorite local marching band or civic theater, serving as an adjudicator for a music festival, supervising student teachers or teaching college music education methods classes, etc.

If you rearrange the letters, “retired” becomes “retried,” not “retread.” Yes, I embrace many of those other “re- words” meaning “growth,” such as redefining, retraining, re-targeting, re-tailoring, remaking, retooling, re-energizing, reflecting, and revitalizing, but not those negative or low-energy terms such as reverting, returning, regretting, retreating, recycling, refusing, regrouping, regressing, or retreading.

concert-1-1438833As long as I am alive, I will continue to inspire in others that music makes a difference!