I would not call this blog post strictly about music therapy, but that is the category I would put it in. I am not going into the science or research of music therapy. That is a post for a different time. I was just thinking about how I wanted to kick off the new year. I certainly did not want to post a cliché piece about resolutions and goals. That is when Brian Swenty’s words rang in my mind again. He was the one who convinced me to “pull the curtain back” and start DanMickle.com to reflect more about me, and not just the business side of Soul Performance Academy (717Soul.com).
Music has always been a major part of my life. As a percussionist, I spent many hours in the practice room (although looking back, not nearly as much as I should have). That led to becoming a marching percussion instructor for the better part of 10 years. After that, I became a club DJ for another 10 years. While the performance side of both was exciting and challenging, when I reflect back on it, it was more about the connection with music that made me take those paths. I started to think back to as many memories I could from the beginning of my life. I realized how much music was with me every step of the way. While there would be too many to list, I decided I would try and do a “series” of posts over the year that would share a song and a backstory. There is a real reason for me doing this, not just to let you in on my private life. One of the exercises I do with my clients is a deep visualization of a calming place (their favorite beach, ski slope, or maybe even Grandma’s house). The concept is that when we work hard enough off at visualizing it, we trick the mind into thinking we are there. That begins the physical process of calming the mind and body (think fight/flight vs rest/digest). That is what music does for a LOT of us. It is not just about recalling those moments we heard the song; it begins to trick the mind that we are back in the moment. We begin to feel the exact emotions we felt in real-time. It is usually a very powerful moment, both originally and in the revisit. Those moments can be good, bad, joyous, or even depressing.
We often see athletes wearing headphones to warmup before a match. I personally do it before I play as well. The key for me is that I have a very specific playlist for the task at hand. For example, my playlist against a team we should easily beat is different than a team I know I/we will need to be our best to win against. As a coach, my playlist varies as well. Typically, my music is VERY somber or downright depressing before I coach. This works for me because I like to have my emotional levels low before a match. The key is making sure I do not pick songs that trigger old memories. I don’t want my mind to switch focus to a tragic event when I was 10, right before a big match. There is a LOT of thought that goes into my personal gameday playlists as a coach.
The purpose of this post (and the series of posts) is really just to give a glimpse of the power that music has had on me personally, and how it can impact someone. So of these memory posts will be fun, and others will be downright painful. I just refuse to be the person who only shows the happy and the positive side of myself, even in the professional setting. The truth of the matter is that all of us in the field (mental training, psychology, performance psychology, etc) have much the same issues that we help others overcome. We have to work really hard at a lot of the same things as our clients. We stumble at times as well. That is was is hard, but also great about this journey of life. No matter what we do, it will never be easy.
I hope you all have a great 2020 and it will be all you ask for, just remember that it is ok to stumble. Brush yourself off, regroup, and start moving forward again…
My Musical Journey (Song #1)
I decided to kick off this project with one of controversy. At least controversy in our house. If you ask my wife what our “wedding song” is, you will most likely get a different answer than what I would provide. The back story is simple (at least from my point of view). I wanted a song that I felt was unique to our relationship. She wanted a song that was unique but also not so obscure that we would never hear it in public (or at other weddings) so we could say “aww….it is our song”. There was a great compromise…We would dance to the song I picked as our first dance, and she would walk down the aisle to the song she picked. Her pick was “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney. It is a great song, and I do instantly think of her and our marriage every time I hear it. That being said, my pick of the song was a little different, and it had a little bit of a backstory. It was the first song on a CD I made for my alarm clock. So every morning, it would wake us up. I am 100% certain she never heard the song before we started dating, and I am even more certain she would have NEVER heard it in her life had it not been for that CD. So, waking up every day with her and the song made the choice a no-brainer for me. It is one of the few songs that when I do hear it, I only think about her. No other stories, memories, or situations. It instantly takes me to those beginning years. So with that backstory in tow, I present to you the first song of my musical journey series:
“Happy Endings” by Neil Diamond.
