I haven’t posted here in a long time! I started music lessons in September 2016 but the results of the election affected me deeply. My creativity and ability to focus were overwhelmed by the feelings of anger and worry. I cancelled lessons, withdrew into a cave, and developed a (temporary) alcohol dependency. I found that wine at bedtime does soften the feelings of worry and anger, but even the next day when it had cleared out of my system it still affected my mental skills. My responsibilities as a church musician are not large — I’m an alto in our traditional choir, and secondary percussion in our global group — but drinking wine before bed was having a negative impact on my musicianship.

One year after the election there is still a lot to worry about and many injustices to fight against, but I’m regaining my equilibrium.

I recently started a Masterclass by Deadmau5 and it sparked a surge of creativity, enthusiasm, and desire to learn. Because of this I’ve gone back to Coursera and Udemy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtj6dDARgfQ

Here’s a link to a Udemy course by Jason Allen. He is a young PhD with a casual, relaxed yet geeky teaching style. I have purchased several of his courses on music theory. The videos are there on the site where I can watch them at any time.

https://www.udemy.com/music-theory-comprehensive-combined-part-7-8-9/#instructor-1

And here’s a few at Coursera. These are free (though you can pay to take them in a more formal way, and receive a certificate). They are offered for a specific period of time.

https://www.coursera.org/learn/audio-engineering/home/welcome

https://www.coursera.org/learn/music-technology/home/welcome