What Have You Taught Yourself Lately?

It's probably not a secret, I LOVE learning.  Learning about all kinds of things.  The beauty of it is, I've been able to learn some pretty useful things over the years.  I've saved myself upwards of $500 by learning how to fix my own garage door last winter.  I've learned how to brew wine and beer, and though the wine has had mixed reviews, and the batches of beer have been few and far between, I simply KNOW more about the process and what makes a good beer or wine, which allows for some pretty good conversation.

Some of you were (un)lucky enough to see my first public performance with a banjo this past weekend.  Guess what, I'm self taught (like that wasn't evident).  I've only been playing banjo for nine months or so, and to be honest, I was a little uneasy about hopping up on stage.  I don't even like to play my guitar for people and I've been playing guitar for over 15 years.

You might be thinking, "get to the point already", and I am.  This week we've been learning about learning.  I am pretty clearly interested in music, and I am self motivated to continue to learn various instruments, songs, etc.  You could call it an intrinsic motivation, which is why I keep on doing it, even though there is very little monetary incentive to do so, in fact it's the opposite.  Once I learn how to do something, I want to do it more, which means I will eventually want another, more intermediate and expensive banjo.  Not cheap.

I'd really like you to think about your own motivations.  Motivations for this class, for your future career, and for your hobbies.  How does your interest level change based on whether your motivation is intrinsic or extrinsic?  Can you change HOW you are motivated?  Would you want to?

Those are definitely some questions you could ask yourself, or even answer in the comment section below.  AND...if you were wondering how I learned how to play the banjo, check out the video below.

Eight lessons to get you on your way to bluegrass fun!