The Process of Progress

The process of progress can be hard to see when you’re in the thick of it. Which is why I’m thankful for friends like Becca (featured in the video below) who remind me of the apparent progress I often forgot to recognize! I’m far from satisfied with this performance, but it’s real, and it shows significant progress from where I was a few weeks ago!

My deep-dive into jazz has been thrilling, but I inevitably fall into a slump every once in a while. But hey, everyone has experienced the process of learning something new! This especially happens throughout childhood. But the further removed from that stage of life I’ve become, the more I’ve forgotten about navigating through this process of progress.

The biggest rut I fall into is getting comfortable with one way of doing something. I’ll find one way to play a chord, one way to comp, or I’ll fall back on my various “musical tics.” And I often don’t realize I’ve slipped into these habits until someone points it out. Playing with the same people in my combo multiple times a week has yielded some valuable insight and some loaded inside jokes. 🤙🏻

Repeatedly sticking with a musical decision isn’t necessarily bad, but it does limit my creative potential. It’s like only having one spice in your pantry to cook with. What’s the fun in that??

That being said, I’m embarking on a journey to expand my creative horizons. I can feel something within yearning to break free. I’ve gotten tastes of my unique artistic voice, now I’m trying to take strategic steps to mentally tap into those creative spaces.

The process of progress as an amateur can be difficult, irritating, and discouraging, but it’s so refreshing—refreshing to be fervently growing again. Additionally, these experiences are giving me abundant insight into teaching! After all, I shall be forever living in spaces with little amateurs!

But I also want to continue growing as an artist and musician long after I leave BG, and I think my next step is exploring music by way of creating it and making it my own—something I never could have imagined myself saying 3 years ago. I’ve surprised myself, which I think means I’m heading in the right direction!

Here's for creating creatively!

- Maggie