Words Of Wisdom: DIVERSIFY

Ok, so last Friday I was having lunch with and working on a project/business venture with one of the living legends of gospel music, Fred Hammond. At first glance, knowing Fred's background, i'm sure you would think this is a music project, or something to do with the gospel industry, or maybe a new group or band. While the project itself is in the music industry, it is definitely out of the scope of what you would normally think Fred would be lending his time and resources to.

Walking out of that meeting, I saw a teachable "moment" that I wanted to pass on to you in today's blog, that I think can apply to not only you and your music, but into all areas of your life!

The one word I would reflect to you from that meeting is DIVERSIFY. Its a word that is used in many walks of life, more so in the financial world, when referring to how one distributes their investment monies.  The ideology is that the more diverse your portfolio is, the more safe and stable your investment strategy is.

So, back to this "moment"...it was interesting that someone who, for their whole career, has been most known for singing gospel music, would be interested in doing something that isn't centered in that genre....and my challenge to you is to take Fred's lead and NOT be stuck in just doing one thing! Get out of your comfort zone a little:

• Don't just learn gospel songs. Branch out and learn some R&B, rock, or some jazz, or learn some theory.
• Don't just play in the key of C, F, and G. Invest the time to learn new keys.
• Don't just learn the piano...try your hand at another instrument (organ, drums, guitar, bass, etc.)

There are many more examples, but I think you see what I'm getting at...DIVERSIFY!!!

Post your comments below, let me know your thoughts!

Best Regards,
Tj

NO EXCUSES!!!

I was browsing through YouTube and ran across a video that I wanted to share with you. I'm not going to spend an entire message "preaching" like i planned too...i'll let the video speak for itself.  But just know that if God has given you the activity of your limbs, and given you the desire to play the piano, then thats all you need...and as Bart Gee will show you in the video below, you don' t even need the full activity of your limbs!!!!

Put in the work, use the resources that are available to you here at PCH, on Youtube, and locally in your own community. Keep pressing forward, and improve each time you sit down at your instrument.

I hope this video is as much of a blessing to you, as it was to me:

Best Regards,
Tj

Have an Android and need flash?

Like myself, many of you have an android phone or tablet, and may have found out the hard way that with the out-of-the-box settings, your device won't play our flash-based videos. Unfortunately, android devices does not ship with the software called Adobe Flash, and that is the main software that drives
our standard video players.

So, us Android users have to do a little extra extra work to get the videos to play. We will actually need to manually install the FLASH PLAYER on your Android device. It only took me a few minutes do to it, and I was up and watching PCH videos in no time!

If you have an Android device and need help getting it top lay, here is the link from Adobe that walks you step-by-step through the download and manual install of the Adobe Flash Player.

http://forums.adobe.com/message/4675670

I hope that helps!

Tj