On the electromagnetic spectrum, humans can see only a small amount of light, which is called the visible spectrum. We see “Roy G. Biv” (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet).
If combined, each of the seven colors of the rainbow makes white light. Sir Isaac Newton found that a prism can split white light into these seven colors.
Each Color has a Sound Frequency
•Red = C (Do)
•Orange = D (Re)
•Yellow = E (Mi)
•Green = F (Fa)
•Blue = G (So)
•Indigo = A (La)
•Violet = B (Ti)
Play them and see how you feel?
Colors Evoke Emotions
Each color frequency is connected to how we feel as they vibrate at different rates of speed, affecting our bodies. Color Therapy has been used to change people’s emotions. A well-known painter, Mark Rothko, understood how color alters us emotionally. The painting below uses complementary colors, red and green with the red being a dominant feature.
The power of Rothko’s work is the use of color to create an emotional state for the viewer that was passionate.
Mark Rothko’s Earth and Green, 1950s
Music does the Same Thing: Evoke Emotion
We listen to genres of music to experience a specific feeling. Death metal can raise anger, classical with maturity, and country with the twang and a line dance. DJs get this. They curate music for the emotional experience.
I didn’t feel like doing anything. I was not motivated at all. I kept telling myself I was just tired and needed rest, but after a few days, I knew I was depressed. My heart was broken. You see, I was diagnosed with five rare diseases, yes, five. These diseases led to my gaining nearly 100lbs and becoming diabetic, with liver and kidney disease from medications. As my primary doctor said, “You are next-level sick.”
So, four of the five rare diseases fall under the sixth diagnosis of Dysautonomia. They say that once you are diagnosed, because it’s hard to pinpoint, you have between five and 10 years to live. That was almost three years ago.
Because of the symptoms I deal with daily, I consider it a miracle when I can get up and be productive. Because of these medical conditions, I am weaker overall, especially emotionally. I grew up with multiple traumas, and I must work hard to stay positive, which doesn’t help when depression sinks in.
The Reality is…
Logically, I know I’m fine because God’s got my back. But those traumas like to rear their ugly heads when they can. I get stressed when things happen that throw me off course. That stress shows up as more medical symptoms, fear of failure, fear of man, and operating out of reactionary mode.
I’ve also struggled with perfectionism. I insisted on 4.0 GPAs in post-secondary education. I’ve always had the mindset to do everything with all my best efforts.
So, that single two-star review on my first violin sale on Etsy was devastating. Not being able to make it right was more hurtful than expected.
Violin Therapy
Playing and making violins helps me be hopeful and positive in the storm of my life. I kept my couch warm for two weeks and finally got moving yesterday. I picked up a violin, and all seemed well again. I’ve learned once again how powerful emotions can be. And how nothing matters but enjoying violins, staying stress-free, and loving those who’ve hurt me.
Jesus is the only answer to keeping my emotions in check. If I ever get another two-star review, I’ll lean even harder on God. And, hopefully, I won’t keep the couch warm.
Firstly, I write this to share an experience, not to defend myself.
I received a two-star review on my very first violin sale with my new Etsy store. It’s amazing to me that two little stars can crush our hopes and dreams—if we let them. But if we can look at the situation objectively, not taking it personally, we can see it’s not the end of the world.
Like it or not, we create the bad “reviews” and “dislikes” we get, and we get them by ignoring warning signs, among other things.
I felt uneasy about shipping out that violin. I had interpreted those feelings as being afraid that something would go wrong, and it did. I had debated about how I was going to package the violin for shipping, and I chose the wrong solution.
From the Buyer’s Etsy Review
The fingerboard of the violin popped off with the pressure caused by the delivery process, even though I had “Fragile” stickers on the package. So, I learned a valuable lesson. It was a mistake that I was very forthright about fixing once I saw the review. I was never contacted by the buyer after multiple attempts.
I was left to my emotions. I felt helpless and I’m not used to that. I’m used to facing problems head-on and taking care of them for an amicable resolution. This was not to be the case. I reached out by returning half of the cost of the violin and offered again to fix it. Instead, I took a big loss financially and emotionally. And I still heard nothing.
Taking it Personally
I haven’t had enough experience with selling my violins, or any other artwork I have created, to detach from the work emotionally. The emotions that rose up from this were ones of hurt, helplessness, vulnerability, and I felt my very character was attacked.
These emotions are merely emotions; they are not who I am as a person. They do not define me.
Still, it took me four weeks to process, and, at that time, I didn’t work on any violins, or practice, or take lessons (I was out-of-town for one of the lessons that I skipped.). I basically shutdown. I began to question my motives and abilities. I wanted to delete the entire Etsy store and quit. But I knew that wasn’t the way forward.
Believing the Lies
There are many lies coming against us daily. Lies that we aren’t good enough, that we won’t succeed, that we are failures, and that we will never amount to anything. These lies are spoken to us from traumatic pasts and fears of the future. They are positions of victimization that will end in victory and survival.
We can thrive when we can define the lies and commit to never believe them again. There are opportunities in this process to reframe how and what we think about ourselves too. And we must. We must learn to love ourselves and to love others.
Celebrate Anyway
This experience has reignited my resolve to make and sell violins. I took friends out to lunch to celebrate the sale anyway. This learning opportunity humbled me to keep God even closer to me in the process of creating.
Plus, my celebration is in the very Word of God. In Romans 12:19–21 Amplified version it says, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for God’s wrath [and His judicial righteousness]; for it is written [in Scripture], ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome and conquered by evil but overcome evil with good.”
I didn’t need to do anything but be fair and pray.
So, I forgave the buyer’s two-star review, and I trust God wholeheartedly to resolve the matter as my Defender. And I will keep moving forward with my Etsy store, my blog, and my YouTube channel with God’s mercy and grace.
I think I know what the “rules” are for practicing an instrument. And I know that I don’t always do it that way. I don’t warm up and my fingers start hurting in the middle of my solo. When I practice scales and arpeggios, I get bored and act as though they are unnecessary, which they are. And let’s not mention that I don’t clean the violin after playing it. The violin I play most is a blonde-white, so the rosin dust doesn’t show and by the time I see it, well it’s pretty bad.
Oh, and using the tools available to me, like the metronome and recordings from the Essential Elements books. I only use them when I struggle. And then there’s the music I must practice for my lessons versus playing music I’ve composed. I feel absolute joy when I play my music, so I mix that in.
Flames Violin
I know my instructor knows. I always knew how much a student put into the work when I was a professor. So then, there’s this guilt and shame involved.
Bottom line is that I’m not respecting myself or the violin. It’s like some form of self-sabotage and it’s not the first time in my life I’ve behaved this way. I used to be a victim. I had many severe traumas as a child, so self-sabotage has been my way of getting out of doing something I’m afraid to do.
Playing violin scares me. I admit it. So, the question becomes, “How can I play if I’m scared?” My answer, face my fear. I’ve taken care of fear and victimization in many areas of my life, but music is difficult. I believe it was a squashed gift I should have thrived in doing. All this passive aggressive fear must go! So, I play, and I play, and I play.
Looking for a muse or waiting for inspiration is a huge waste of time. Whether it’s playing violin, composing music, or making any form of art, I don’t wait for good luck to happen—I don’t even believe in luck. I don’t wait for the planets to align or the night before a deadline. I use a strategy to be creative.
Yes, I use the left side of my brain to activate my right.
My go-to strategy for getting creative, brainstorming, planning, and organizing is to use a Mind Map. My second strategy, which I use in my Mind Mapping is The Creative Process, which I explain heavily in my book Hardwired for Creativity: Art Supplies for the Mindavailable on Amazon.
Mind Maps are quick and can be done alone, with a partner, or with a group—two heads are better than one and five are better than that. Scary, huh? Mind Maps can also solve any problem. Seriously, try it.
The beauty of a Mind Map is that it forces us to be non-linear thinkers. Linear thinking, such as A, B, C or 1, 2, 3., tends to stall or stop the Creative Spirit. Non-Linear thinkers tap into the Creative Spirit easily and are too often misunderstood for their efforts. Just because we jump from A to Q and then G, does not mean there’s something wrong with us. It means we can think all the way into and around the issue before putting it in order.
The Creative Process is very similar to the Scientific Process. The Creative Process includes these five steps:
Exploration, Research and Analysis
Ideation and Brainstorming
Designing and Planning
Developing and Producing
Evaluating the Solution for Improvement
NOTE: Each step of the process is enriched by using imagination and play, also in Hardwired for Creativity: Art Supplies for the Mind.
All That Said…
I’m mature in my creativity skills and The Creative Process is just part of who I am. But not so much with playing the violin or composing music. I’m new at this music stuff and can I just say, “It’s hard!”
Honestly, I have never even tried The Creative Process to write a song, learn a song, or as an approach to playing. I can see it now. I can Mind Map words to a song and maybe even a melody with rhythm. Then I can take the Map and organize the chorus, verses, etc. Humm, I’ve been waiting for a muse and maybe even some luck.
I never thought I’d love something more than figure sculpture, but admittedly I do. Violin playing sparks something in my heart that I can’t explain. I even liked violin when I didn’t know the difference between a C-natural and a C-sharp. I’d screech out sounds that hurt my ears as I prayed anyone listening would be okay. I’d get the occasional, “Keep practicing.”
Today’s comments are much more encouraging. I’m feeling more confident—sometimes. If you asked me why I play I’d have difficulty explaining because it’s a mystery. It’s as though I was being led by a supernatural force that wells up deep from within. I’m not trying to be poetic it just is.
Hitting the Right Note
I used to be obsessed with golf, though I can no longer play due to being disabled. Hitting the ball perfectly made me love to play. There was a ping sound when the perfect swing connected with the ball. Watching the ball fly exactly as planned made every other crazy shot worth it. I went to the driving range several times a week and played every weekend—always at pace with the guys.
Golf is extremely technical to play. There are lots of pieces to put together to play the game. My left and right brain appreciates the complexity. Playing violin is the same for me. Hitting the right note with perfect intonation feels like hitting that golf ball just right.
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