Rocco & I are currently in ND for the off-season. Moving around so often makes it challenging for me to find 'real' jobs! I graduated from UND with a Music Edication degree last May, but didn't think I'd be teaching much while I was home. A great opportunity fell into my lap, & I have been teaching 20+ students as a vocal coach this summer. Ages 6-17, each voice unique. A great opportunity for me to learn & teach others. THANKFUL! The more I grow as a musician (& the more I teach), the more I notice clear patterns. Each path may differ, but certain components exist in almost every success story I see...I'm bursting to tell someone, so if you're down, read below!
In order to meaningfully excel in any given field, you need three things: 1. TALENT - An inate, natural ability given to you by God 2. SKILL - A leant & developed ability, acquired through practice & hard work 3. COURAGE - The ability to do something that frightens you If I could, I would bind these 3 components into a rope & give one to each of my students. Each component is uniquely necessary for success: if any of them are missing or lacking, you will miss out on your true potential. Success doesn't thrive on talent, skill, or courage alone. All three are necessary for meaningful success! WHY? I'm glad you asked! Everyone has different talents/aptitudes, some more exceptional than others, but each of us HAVE them. Some of the most talented people I know are wicked successful. Some are not. Why? Because talent can only take you so far. As a pianist, vocalist, violinist, dancer, teacher, & wife of a professional athlete, I know this to be true. I remember diligently practicing Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G Minor my sophomore year of high school. It's a very challenging piece - physically, technically, expressively, & mentally taxing. I would break a sweat practicing it! My natural talent as a small child was evident. From an early age I was writing new parts to my lesson songs, figuring out songs by ear - chords & all, humming harmonies to the radio...my natural talent made it easier to get to this level of play, but it wasn't just my talent that made pulling off this piece possible...it was the 30-90 minutes at the piano every day for 11 years under the leadership of a top-notch teacher that did. I would get so distracted while practicing as a little kid. I hated it sometimes. But my parents kept me going. Here's the good news: Eventually you hit a point, where you've come so far that you can't hate practicing anymore - because you see the fruits of your labor. It becomes a high - an addiction of sorts. In the best way possible. Once you see that practice gets you to the next level of skill, you'll be hooked too. Talent makes getting started easier, but skill developed over time gives your talent depth & consistency. It gives your talent some meat. Practice makes your talent a real-life skill. Something you claim a high level of mastery over. Once a person notices their talent & trains it, they're all good then, right? Maybe. Sometimes the courage is just there. Other times it takes work to find... Let's talk about singing. I spent the first 16 years of my life avoiding it! Church solos, auditions, singing in front of my family...I always knew I had TALENT, but I just wouldn't sing! Still not entirely sure why. Once I did start singing, it was full speed ahead. I needed to make up for lost time, so I quickly began building my skills. Why was I so quick to do this? 1. My sister was well-trained & I admired that. 2. I had already done this with instruments & dance my whole life, so I knew it was the natural thing to do if I wanted to really pursue this. My senior year I studied voice with an amazing teacher, soaking in all I could in my one year of study with her. I practiced at least an hour every day & couldn't wait for each lesson. As the year unfolded, I said YES to every audition & performance opportunity available. I was going to make up for that lost time, because I knew that TALENT would only take me so far. I needed to build SKILLS. My development as a singer was different from my development as a pianist...I faced real-life fear this time. I had gotten the stage fright out as a little kid with many things...but not singing. So this was it. My time to overcome FEAR as a performer. The time to look deep inside myself & find my COURAGE. I had never really needed it before. I had lead roles in plays, loved dancing center-stage, & played piano for anyone who would listen. But singing? Nope! Everyone talks about stage fright, but hardly anyone finds a way to move past it! I don't want to know how many people have given up things they loved because they didn't know how to move past their fear... I've been there. I am there. Let me share my story with you! *Abby's Mind 2011* "You know what's hard? Singing in front of 1,000 peers & parents, shaking in my shoes. Feeling so nervous...having no control over a moment in time. THAT'S ME. Ahhhhh! My first real performance: Singing "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones at my high school. So nervous, I could quit! There's no way I can be a singer, I can't overcome this. I'll stick to things that don't make me nervous. My friends say nice things, but an accomplished, usually fearless kid like me can't help but feel like a failure! I shouldn't feel this way! I bet no one else gets this nervous. But...I don't want to quit. I know I can be a great singer...at least when no one's watching I can..." So I watched the recording at home. Cringed over the nervous flutter in my voice. Gave myself a pat on the back for surviving that. And I said yes to the next opportunity. And the next audition. And the next gig. I knew I hadn't arrived yet, & fear was an every-performance battle. But I wasn't going to quit. I had yet to find my courage, but I knew not finding it wasn't an option. I was going to find my courage. So I continued to say yes. I figured, maybe next time, I'll be less afraid. And time after time, it happened. I DID become less afraid. People are so inclined to wish for an easy-fix, but courage is built over time. You chip away at the fear until your courage is revealed. The really interesting thing about courage is that, in my experience, no one can give it to you but yourself. Yes, pray to God each night you find it, but know that it's ultimately your choice to seek & receive it. No amount of praise from your teacher, coach, parents, or peers will ever be enough to give you a deep sense of confidence. That comes from within. It comes with time. It comes with embracing your TALENT, developing your SKILL, & finding the COURAGE to really BE the performer, athlete, student, professional you want to be. To give you some fast-forward in my story, I'm 23 now, & 5 years past high school. I took that one year of training from high school with me to college & started on the right foot in college. I had a great talent-skill foundation & a budding sense of confidence, but had a LOT of work to do in college, playing catch-up developmentally. I sang wherever I could. I'm so thankful my music education degree allowed me to take an additional 4 years of voice lessons. Now that I'm done with my music degree & am a nomadic hockey wife, I practice more than ever. I spend 1-3 hours singing most days. I think confidence is the seed of courage. Once you believe in yourself, your courage follows right along. " SO HOW DO I GAIN COURAGE?" For me, it comes from developing my talent & turning it into a tried & true skill. I trained with a variety of voice coaches & choir directors in college, each teaching me different things that have shaped my singing. But the real building comes when I'm practicing for two hours, recording myself over & over, struggling though self-doubt...then practicing more to kick that voice out of my head. Becoming the real deal at something is no walk in the park. It's a mountain you climb. It's one that you keep climbing even after you become better than you once were - because you know you can become better than you are once again. Over & over. You practice & perform. You doubt & you believe. & little by little, a great sense of COURAGE arises from within you. A voice that says, I have worked & accomplished, I know where I've been & I'm excited about where I'm going. I am on the right track, & right now I'm proud of where I'm at. And once that voice is inside you, you can truly GIVE to the world. With no need for affirmation or adoration. With no selfish motive or need. You can give as God has given you, & that to me is a beautiful thing! I hope my story inspired you to start chipping away at your fear & start finding your courage! Seek ways to discover your talents & develop your skills. As I like to say, you were born to SHINE. To wrap this up, I'm going to pray this over YOU! Dear God, Please bless this reader with an affirmed sense of Your love. Prompt them to draw near to You by reading Your Word & praying often. Set their spirit on fire for the things You have called them to. Show them their gifts & open doors for them to grow those talents into real-life skills. Give them courage to pursue those gifts, & propel them into a deeper level of understanding as to who You intentionally created them to be! May this reader be touched by Your love & promoted to receive You as their Savior & the Lord of their life. May this reader uncover the truth of their purpose, to live joyfully & ambitiously, & to serve You in all things. May this reader receive the words I have given & move forward with them. Bless their loved ones & protect their future. In Jesus's Name, I pray. Amen. Thank you for reading, friends! Rooting you on! Abby Grimaldi
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AuthorChristian Singer-Songwriter, Writer, Hockey Wife, & Fitness Fanatic. Nomad with North Dakota roots. Archives
January 2020
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