Is it the tool or the training?  So often in my years of teaching, I noticed how people were immediately ready to buy a reed, knife, thread, cane, reed case.   When students enrolled for oboe lessons, the first question was “what should I buy for supplies?”

When students asked what was needed for the first lesson, my response was “Just bring your enthusiasm!”   I meant that.  My students could own a box loaded with reed making supplies, yet nothing in that box was near as important as their true desire to learn.   They too often overlooked the importance of the training they were about to receive.   Their curiosity, their intrigue of the process – that was the most important element in learning music or creativity — mindset.

The training you receive is worth MORE than any tool you can purchase, still holds true today.   I see many people clambering to purchase the latest, greatest computer software, program, and gadget.  However, without the foundation, training and breakthrough that occurs with their mind, no amount of technology will ever make them become a musician.  Some folks have become technicians with their tools.   But the ability to reach an audience with a transformational product, message or performance only happens when the mind matches the material.